Original – Luminaeris

FV – Portal

Fortuna Verto

Finally comes the third book of the body for the Celesi Veil trilogy, which may be considered a sequel for Essentia Animus (which was the second book of the soul) even if a reader should find no problem reading this book by itself (without reading either of the previous books first). This book is also the conclusion of the entire trilogy, with a final chapter that brings the entire trilogy to a grand closure (highly recommended to read the final chapter only after all other books are completed, even if reading out of order). There are no other complications with even starting with this book, before any of the others, as this story is so considerably distinct that it no longer even takes place upon the same world as the previous two, let alone having completely new characters. This book then completes the pattern of the trilogy, leaving no room for future stories to be told.

Fortuna Verto continues the events of Essentia Animus to advance society into a sci-fi interpretation of Celese, bringing events to a distant world of another star. At the same time, events interpret a real-world advancement into a similar sci-fi age of another planet that shares Earth’s galaxy, a planet that has also been linked by the Celesi Veil. While this story is the conclusion of the trilogy, it is also fully capable of standing alone in its own light, as the world of Celese itself is no longer a place the characters will be journeying through. However, the events of the story are a spoiler for all previous books, in case that matters to anyone. English remains predominant in both worlds of the story, but the presence of both sides makes certain Aethyx terms stand out, while Earth-styled scientific terms will also stand in a powerful contrast. Instrumentation remains an important aspect of the Elemental Era, but the influence of the gift has grown distant after discovering the superiority of the elements. Harnessing the elements had eliminated some of the original limitations of instrumentation, allowing for a self-sustaining focal source that provides solutions to problems such as automation. This turns the development available from the previous modern-day sense of a fantasy to one that is deep-future. Finally opening access to the passage across the veil will open this progress in comparison to a very similar deep-future parallel world without such fantasy elements, contrasting the laws of physics with the laws of elements in a convergence of time and space.

This story takes place in earth-year 3115, over a millenia after the events of Vitae Memorandum, and about eight centuries after the events of Essentia Animus. At this point, Celese had already developed into a hyper advanced world, having already accomplished interstellar travel, which is what had brought the story away from Celese in the first place. Within the Yhndaeqi Star Cluster lies the world of Ruixse, a newly cultivated world that was found capable of life but otherwise devoid of it. Almost half a millenia after life became stable in this world, the people there are gradually adjusting to their new everyday lifestyle. Their binary star system has Ruixse orbit Yhndae while Taeqhyx drifts into different distances from Ruixse. While Taeqhyx drifts close, the world is filled rich with elements, leading to a solar phase of prosperity. Right now, Ruixse was instead experiencing a void phase, with Taeqhyx far away.

At the same time, this story also takes place within the Centri System, on the planet Aestus. Aestus had been discovered by Earth over six centuries ago, an already populated but vastly under-developed world filled with alien life. The species there were known as Conduits as a rather rough term for their dual blooded system. In the time since, all conduit culture had been completely replaced by human culture as humanity rushed in to technologically advance the life-supporting world. In the time since the loss of their culture, conduits had at least achieved a very rough sense of ‘equality’ with the humans they were now sharing their planet with, even if oppression had lasted over four centuries. As Aestus orbits around Kenta and the fainter star of Proma, Toli orbits off in the distance in a cycle of solar seasons, shifting the planet globally between a time of high warmth and extreme cold (in addition to the slighter regular seasons). The last Diatal season was 3075, with the next being in 3155, leaving the planet in the middle of a cold Noctal season.

Lyunhtaeviyqia (Lyun) Iezhysevyeihr is also known as Rosalia (Rosa) Chalcedony who has been a Ruixsi Elf until she became an Aestean Human. Nearly 13 solar cycles old at the start of a new solar cycle, winter had started the new solar cycle off with the harshest conditions in her lifetime. Her heart set into the thrill of instrumentation, she had been finding the diminished effect of elementals to be highly destructive towards her personal ambitions. The largest cause of her grief remains the tight access to the crystalline components required to harness what little elements remain available. Desperate to make ends meet, she finds herself in over her head when everything she knows about instrumentation is technologically shifted into something far more foreign.

Korinna (Kori) Wisteria is also known as Axlnyhqiezrae (Axln) Qhtyzaexhiezyhan who has been an Aestean Conduit until she became a Ruixsi Human. With her 13^th sidus just five months before her next birthday, the 21 year old had never witnessed harsher climates before. With a devotion to learning and discovering the unknown, this left her with little recourse for most of her days but to seek solace within the protective shelters she had long called her home. However, even spending her countless hours invested in the development of complex software projects didn’t succeed in occupying all of her interests, she craved to discover something new and unexplored. Denying herself any such opportunity, she is left to one day unexpectedly discover knowledge that has yet remained untapped by anyone in the entire Orion Nebula.

Much like the other books, this book also has a teaser-styled chapter 0, while having a similar rhythm of chapters straight up to chapter 80 once again. The final chapter exists beyond the scope of the story, described as chapter infinity, rendering the cycle of the books into a full combination into its eternity and should not be read until all other books in the trilogy have also been read. Early elements of this book get dark very quickly, featuring considerable dark desperations before landing some very personal struggles across both worlds. Chapter 5 converges the two split perspectives, as both worlds are then explored from an innocent perspective. This story does contain a few explicit scenes of sever bodily harm that had to be described explicitly for the context of other story events, though such intense scenes remain infrequent.

Chapter 0 – Discordant Records
Chapter 1 – Limited Availability
Chapter 2 – Routine Practice
Chapter 3 – Obsidian Vault
Chapter 4 – Gilded Heart
Chapter 5 – Shifting Probability
Chapter 6 – Living Dream
Chapter 7 – Adopting Reality
Chapter 8 – Reversed Circumstances
Chapter 9 – Dawning Eras
Chapter 10 – First Contact
Chapter 11 – Equivalent Exchange
Chapter 12 – Limited Edition
Chapter 13 – Organized Chaos
Chapter 14 – Service Interruption
Chapter 15 – Responsible Discoveries
Chapter 16 – Twin Hearted
Chapter 17 – Surprise Exchange
Chapter 18 – Whistle Blowing
Chapter 19 – Long Night
Chapter 20 – Starlight Citadel
Chapter 21 – Escalating Responses
Chapter 22 – Mirrored Partnership
Chapter 23 – Overwhelming Advantage
Chapter 24 – Unveiling Chaos
Chapter 25 – Orderly Distribution
Chapter 26 – Time Management
Chapter 27 – Inventory Control
Chapter 28 – Logistical Exchange
Chapter 29 – Refinement Process
Chapter 30 – Tempered History
Chapter 31 – Business Opportunity
Chapter 32 – Navigating Markets
Chapter 33 – Designated Leadership
Chapter 34 – Complete Reversal
Chapter 35 – Distant Travellers
Chapter 36 – Combat Training
Chapter 37 – Dramatic Problems
Chapter 38 – Exceptional Solutions
Chapter 39 – Resulting Growth
Chapter 40 – Beyond Estimates
Chapter 41 – Isolated Experimentation
Chapter 42 – Without Meaning
Chapter 43 – Dispelling Shadows
Chapter 44 – Reusable Research
Chapter 45 – Cumulative Demonstration
Chapter 46 – Predictive Analysis
Chapter 47 – Chronological Intersection
Chapter 48 – Establishing Finances
Chapter 49 – Forgotten Passions
Chapter 50 – Legacy Memories
Chapter 51 – Preliminating Antiquity
Chapter 52 – Introductory Lessons
Chapter 53 – Mixed Parties
Chapter 54 – Flawless Performance
Chapter 55 – Familiar Connections
Chapter 56 – Cursed Concert
Chapter 57 – Divergence Phenomenon
Chapter 58 – Revisiting Origins
Chapter 59 – Willing Seeker
Chapter 60 – Wavering Hunter
Chapter 61 – Potential Candles
Chapter 62 – Parallel Approach
Chapter 63 – Chance Opportunity
Chapter 64 – Restraining Chains
Chapter 65 – Endless Misfortune
Chapter 66 – Lunar Liberation
Chapter 67 – Scorched Earth
Chapter 68 – Ephemeral Duality
Chapter 69 – Parental Bonds
Chapter 70 – Final Moments
Chapter 71 – Event Horizon
Chapter 72 – Missing Future
Chapter 73 – Fortified Return
Chapter 74 – Mesmerizing Inevitability
Chapter 75 – Convergence Formula
Chapter 76 – Deniable Fates
Chapter 77 – Beyond Destiny
Chapter 78 – Temporal Frost
Chapter 79 – Harmonious Resolution
Chapter 80 – Fortuna Verto
Chapter ∞* – Celesi Veil

*: This chapter is the final chapter spanning the entire trilogy, and should not be reviewed until after completing the remainder of the trilogy.

EA – Portal

Essentia Animus

This is the second book of the soul for the Celesi Veil trilogy, which may be considered a sequel for Vitae Memorandum (which was the first book of the mind) even if a reader should find no problem reading this book by itself (without reading the previous book first). In the year since writing the previous book, I’ve found that much of how the story had turned out had left the framework for yet another story in the same world. The tale of the original characters had however been completed, so none of them will be reoccurring. There is even still enough room to make a sequel for this book as well, bringing together everything into one monumental conclusion (the third book of the body).

Essentia Animus is yet another latin-styled title that hints in how we will be taking this opportunity to animate the essences of people. Just as the translation is much simpler than the previous book, considerations of translations do not continue from the old book as there are no memories of Earth to work with. Celese has instead let matters of Earth turn to myth and has simply moved forward with a single language (which is actually an accented version of our English). Thus, as with the name of this story, everything translates very directly at this point. For this story, we will focus upon the lives of three women from different corners of a small village who suddenly find themselves confronted by a disaster that fed upon their life essence (basically, their very soul). Having found their life sustained by the presence of a second essence within themselves, the three girls will then have to face their hyper developed fantasy world in hopes of it furthering their newly founded ambitions, and all while questioning if they are truly even still alive. In consideration of such, comparing to the previous book, it might be speculated that this second essence may come from a very familiar world. Correct, this is technically another Isekai story, the three girls will find themselves with the life essence of three people from Earth, the essence left to fuel their own continued existence. Even so, just how much of their old essence remains after such an incident still remains an unresolved question. From memories to essences, some questions can never be answered. As essences have no memories, the lives of those from Earth are never completely explored, but the characters are left with enough impressions of feelings and ambitions of such a previous life that the exact type of person could be interpreted in the details.

Khyzaxliehriyxia (Khyzae) Ymheqxhya is the daughter of a village researcher, at least she had been such ever since her family had arrived at a tiny village in the middle of nowhere. It was just a lunar cycle ago that she was instead living in the big city, doing her own research on astronomy. She would always look up at the stars each night and devote her time to learn more about the sparkles decorating the night sky. The moon, largest of the night’s sparkles, stood closer than any of the other stars in the sky, tormenting her to learn even more about the skies beyond Celese. Moving to the village, her family had provided her with an observatory within the first few days, and in the even darker countryside, she was capable of feeling even closer to the stars she admired. Her parents had other interests, they were instead inspired to discover ways to create artificial beings called Ersatz, almost doll-like impersonations of a living person. Her parents had made great strides in the creation of such dolls, but they were still struggling on finding a way such dolls could become autonomous. Until one was capable of its own will and able to run on its own, even their best efforts were little more than over-glorified dolls.

Vwyxzrihqaeli (Vwyx) Bhyiqiexhaez is the daughter of a village artisan, carpenters and crafters tasked with creating the various simple tools for a tiny village in the middle of nowhere. From cabinets to table lamps, she had spent her life so far learning how to craft some of the village’s most necessary mundanes. However, it just wasn’t enough for her, she instead aspired to create things of much more grandeur design, things far less ordinary and much more extraordinary. To her, it was like her family was in the past, completely missing the passage of the Instrumentation Era, rather than making things capable of doing extra complicated tasks. Every so often, her family was visited by a traveller from beyond the village, who always had with him some of the marvels of the modern day, instruments of the gift that could do more than anything her family strove to create. She had taken upon herself to try and learn from such creations in her free time, but the village was too old fashioned for such discoveries.

Srynihxaezhiyl (Srynie) Maexiqhezyhr is the daughter of a village chief, putting her family in a position of leadership and authority over their tiny village in the middle of nowhere. This has lead for a very boring country-side lifestyle, devoid of all serious responsibilities. With little else to occupy her time, she spends most of her time occupied in her books, dreaming of a meaningful existence. Her favourite books are stories of the Terran Mythos, mythological legends originating since the start of the Instrumentation Era, a couple hundred years ago. Such myths might only be of some fictional world called Earth, using fantasy elements they called Technology to achieve the impossible. However, she knew that these myths have inspired the entire Instrumentation Era, and that there would still be further discoveries to be found in the Mythos. Her little village had nothing more to teach her, she would have to search for more information on the Mythos beyond the reach of the land she had grown up in her whole life.

The story overall thus takes place over two centuries after the events of Vitae Memorandum, when Celese had developed into an advanced world, improved to a point that it is much like modern-day Earth while still using the gift instead of technology. Meanwhile, as was mentioned earlier, the story takes place in a distant corner of a Celese returning readers will be otherwise incapable of recognizing. The events of the story still remain a spoiler for the previous book, in case that matters to anyone. The Aethyx languages are still present in this book, and even English still exists in the world after the events of the previous book, but are much less of a focus after the same closing events of the previous book. What is instead important is how the ending events of the previous book had resulted in the start of the Instrumentation Era, and exactly how the gift translates in a modern-day sense. While this book is still effectively a fantasy world of its own kind of magic, it isn’t the classical medieval scene that would be typical for such a story. The laws of science still do not exist in Celese, but that didn’t stop it from developing into something that looks similar enough. Earth itself still remains present on the other side of the veil, and its previous exposure continues to shape and advance Celese into the world it has become.

Much like the last book, this book also has a teaser-styled chapter 0, while having a similar rhythm of chapters straight up to chapter 80 once again. Chapter 4 is when the story will take a very subtle dark turn, while chapter 6 will invest in some decidedly intense psychological concepts. This story exhibits incidents involving mania and is much darker in theme than the previous story.

Chapter 0 – Segmented Review
Chapter 1 – Solitary Workshop
Chapter 2 – Independent Narrative
Chapter 3 – Mannequin Collection
Chapter 4 – Nocturnal Nightmare
Chapter 5 – Extended Recovery
Chapter 6 – Beyond Death
Chapter 7 – Another Lifetime
Chapter 8 – Piercing Shadows
Chapter 9 – Accepting Reality
Chapter 10 – Personal Delivery
Chapter 11 – Unfamiliar Circumstances
Chapter 12 – Logging Complaints
Chapter 13 – Missing Connection
Chapter 14 – Late Admission
Chapter 15 – Revitalized Establishment
Chapter 16 – Occupational Hazards
Chapter 17 – Dinning Entertainment
Chapter 18 – Inconclusive Evidence
Chapter 19 – Informative Negotiation
Chapter 20 – Security Breach
Chapter 21 – Evasive Diplomacy
Chapter 22 – Potential Investment
Chapter 23 – Standard Practice
Chapter 24 – Shaded Tracking
Chapter 25 – Murder Mystery
Chapter 26 – Natural Stealth
Chapter 27 – Artificial Reveal
Chapter 28 – Internal Adjustments
Chapter 29 – Independent Exercises
Chapter 30 – Dusk Shades
Chapter 31 – Enraged Frustration
Chapter 32 – Paining Hunger
Chapter 33 – Fearful Laughter
Chapter 34 – Captivating Brilliance
Chapter 35 – Determined Struggle
Chapter 36 – Commanding Uncertainty
Chapter 37 – Unreal Arrangement
Chapter 38 – Unrelenting Motivation
Chapter 39 – Uncompromising Will
Chapter 40 – Exploring Alternatives
Chapter 41 – Abandoned Crossroads
Chapter 42 – Living Proof
Chapter 43 – Conflicting Interests
Chapter 44 – Overwhelming Advantage
Chapter 45 – Compelling Melodies
Chapter 46 – Taking Possession
Chapter 47 – Tracing Numbers
Chapter 48 – Restless Conjecture
Chapter 49 – Unspoken Truths
Chapter 50 – Building Futures
Chapter 51 – Divine Goddess
Chapter 52 – Angelic Stage
Chapter 53 – Global Perspective
Chapter 54 – Concert Production
Chapter 55 – Reversed Circumstances
Chapter 56 – Swift Ascent
Chapter 57 – Enlightening Reflection
Chapter 58 – Defensive Maneuver
Chapter 59 – Snow Maiden
Chapter 60 – Venting Malice
Chapter 61 – Blazing Fields
Chapter 62 – Bloody Inferno
Chapter 63 – Stone Fragment
Chapter 64 – Elementary Construct
Chapter 65 – Team Balance
Chapter 66 – Familiar Distances
Chapter 67 – Inverted Enmity
Chapter 68 – Stock Preparation
Chapter 69 – Combined Family
Chapter 70 – Salvaging Futures
Chapter 71 – Second Chances
Chapter 72 – Lakeside Ripples
Chapter 73 – Gigantic Hurdles
Chapter 74 – Ancient Maze
Chapter 75 – Mesmerizing Coordination
Chapter 76 – Unstoppable Destruction
Chapter 77 – Unattainable Serenity
Chapter 78 – Astral Flame
Chapter 79 – Harmonious Resolution
Chapter 80 – Essentia Animus

VM – Chapter 0

Conflicted Reflections

After the conclusion of a long journey, its often helpful to look back at everything that had occurred and learned from everything that happened along the way. This was exactly what Lwyn was doing, off on the Great Mountain.

She knew there were other things that needed to be done, other places she had to be, but things were going well enough without her, she would only get in the way. With her eighteenth birthday so close, there were several people who were just intent on getting things done, things were moving forwards anyway. However, Lwyn knew that with the changes everyone was bringing forward, the most important thing would be to learn from the past they were leaving behind, and to not forget it. Moving forward too fast could be just as bad as not moving forward at all.

Everything used to be so much worse, everyone used to struggle so much more, it was back then a time of hate and fear. Then.. everything just changed. She laughed thinking about it, remembering just how different she used to be, even half a year ago. Back then, she only had one set of memories, instead of two. Back then, she was basically alone, without the friends she had now. Life had been rough in the days before, as a result.

“Lwyn, here you are. What are you doing up here? I’ve been worried sick about what happened to you. I know you can’t help as much anymore, but you don’t need to run off like this.” Mhyl surprised Lwyn, showing up behind her while so distracted. Mhyl was one of those she could consider to be one of those friends she gained from her journey. Like Lwyn, Mhyl had started off alone, enduring her own harsh lifestyle. Also like her, Mhyl had gained a second set of memories. In both their cases, it wasn’t just any second memories, they were memories from a life in another world. Earth, according to such memories. Even after all this time, it was still kinda uncertain under what terms they got these memories, be it from having lived as these people from earth and then just being reborn in Celese, or if they had just simply inherited a portion of someone else’s memories in the middle of their own lives, as that person kept moving forward.

“Mhyl, is she alright then? Ah, actually this is kinda nice. The quiet serenity, a chance to relax, I can see why Lwyn came up here. Yeah, things are going well enough today, I think it’s time for a well deserved break.” Qheria came to sit down beside Lwyn, compelling Mhyl to do the same. Qheria was yet another of the group, from a harsh neglected lifestyle to the second set of memories. In fact, she was specifically the group’s leader, if sometimes only informally so. Her guidance had lead them through so many challenges, from bandit raids to factory heists. Not that everything was just peaches and cream, so many things had a tendency to go wrong, and they had suffered a good portion of grief in those failings. No, you couldn’t say everything worked out perfectly along the way, and it was easy to have regrets from more than a few outcomes, but it was hard to doubt just how much had been accomplished in that time.

“What the F~~k! I thought we were going to get things done today!? Come on everyone, this is going to be a pretty big deal, please don’t just let everything slide like this. F~~~ing hell, is this some shitty joke or something?” Thanrie suddenly showed up, once again livid with rage almost out of nowhere. Thanrie was the last member of the group, the one who had found the biggest shift of personality from their journey. All of them had changed from such, with conflicted thoughts struggling to resolve in their heads as if they were each two different people in one. No one had that in such depth as Thanrie, who almost had a light and dark side as a result. Although, it was more hot and cold.. but that’s beside the point. Living with such a complex shift in their own personality had made things very difficult at first, and took a lot to get used to.

“I’m sorry everyone. I just wanted a place to think about everything we’ve been through over the last half of a year. So much has changed, and there is still so much that needs to be done, but I just didn’t want to forget everything we’ve done together.” Lwyn still stood up despite her protests, realizing that she would have to return if she was causing this much of a distraction for everyone. Even despite her search for tranquility among her thoughts, she was still the most hyper among them in most cases, it was effectively her norm. That norm had been tried and tested through their journey, it had been threatened and battered though all of their hardships. It wasn’t at all missed to anyone why Lwyn would hold such a strong interest in taking a moment to reflect on their accomplishments.

Lwyn herself was not human, neither was Mhyl. Mhyl was an elf, which had given her quite a challenge when trying to fit in when she didn’t even know the human language. Lwyn herself knew both the elven and human language, being herself a half-elf. This had been a very negative aspect of her life, considering the degree of hatred imparted on half-elves. Yet despite this, all four of them had came together successfully, mostly in fact due to the duality of their memories. While languages of their old lives might have made things a bit challenging, the memories they gained from earth all included knowledge of English, itself not a language spoken by anyone else. This was only one of the many elements of their newly found memories that brought complexity into their lives. Qheria and Thanrie both even shared their own complication in memory, that neither of their alternate memories were even female.

While such memories brought a lot of complication, they also imparted some considerable advantages. The largest advantage was simply an understanding of earth sciences, which was nothing like what they had in their own world. Technology wasn’t a thing of this world, it was instead a concept much like a fantasy, itself considered akin to a form of magic. This world instead had its own set of rules, its own laws, its own.. sciences, almost in complete reversal. It was only with such knowledge that they were able to keep up when the world was challenged in technological warfare. It demanded constant improvements and learning from each of them, just to stay alive. Most of all, it demanded a knowledge of how the world works, and how their own fates were interwoven with it.

Lwyn walked back to the drop leading downwards. It had been a challenging climb to get this far up, but nothing she would have ever struggled over too much. Her own climbing ability had been profound, but for now her climbing ability wasn’t quite as it might normally be. Thanrie pulled out a rope with a mischievous smile, as Lwyn sunk her face into her hands. It wasn’t that she couldn’t count on her friends, instead she knew that her friends were the most dependable people she would ever know. If ever Lwyn needed help with something, her friends had always been there for her. She knew that even going forwards, such would eternally remain true.

However, seeing the rope, Lwyn took a moment to recall some of the gear they had used in their journey. It was not like everything was as peaceful as now, back then was a time of war and conflict, of bandits and assassins.. and worse. Lwyn looked at her hands, fully aware of how much blood had tainted them due to their journey, knowing that the sense of that taint would never in her lifetime disappear. It was probably the biggest reason for her reflection of the past, a sense of responsibilities for the outcome of her own actions and choices. As they had progressed their journey, travelling through distant fields beyond known lands, they had only found themselves with access to more powerful resources, which had thus compounded a greater sense of consequences for their actions. But with even the very fate of their world at risk, it was understandable to expect some degree of danger, and some degree of loss.

Such had only been their fate, after all, and things such as fate and fortune are fickle at the best of times. But each of them knew that never in their wildest dreams would they ever imagine having achieved all they had accomplished. Each of them had been certain they would just lead a minor life without any real degree of importance, and all of that had eventually unfurled into a world-changing legacy. All of them had progressed from being simple girls of everyday society, without even any real public presence, to internationally renowned super-weapons. Overall, it was almost overwhelming to look back upon.

As Lwyn made her way back from the mountain with her friends, she tried to recall some of the finer details of their journey. She remembered that everything had honestly begun with their meeting at the Citadel, late in the afternoon of that fateful day.

Start -|- Portal -|- Next

VM – Chapter 80

Vitae Memorandum

Dear Readers,

Thank you for reading our tale to the very end. As the new arch-magus, I felt like it was my responsibility to keep a record of everything we had gone through to bring our world forward into the future. I actually have other copies of these tales, but I made sure to have one written in English too, along with this letter. It’s been a lot of work, but I’ve finally figured out how to close the veil for good. The plan was, on the day of our twentieth birthday, we would meet up together to finally deal with the veil. That’s only in a couple of days too, so I don’t have much time.

My plan is to compile these stories and give it back to the world that had helped ours to grow, the same world we got our memories from, and hopefully our stories will make it to the same internet that my father had taken all of his information from. We still have no idea what happened to the lives we felt from your world, if they had kept going on their own after our memory had ended, or if they had died in that moment and had been thus as ourselves reborn, but whichever the case thank you.. everyone who had been a part of those memories.. whoever you may be. It was by your strength that we have made it this far, and by that strength that we can have our world keep moving forwards.

The four of us had been working hard on these records for a while now, I actually lost track how long ago it was. Mhyl has commented that the whole thing overall seems to feel like a Vitae, a resume in collection of all of our memories.. and yet also a Memorandum, a note and record of the duality of our lives. I don’t actually think it was.. formal enough for something like that, but I know this record is important. Once the veil here is sealed, the connection with Earth will be gone, and Celese will be left to continue on its own.

These last couple of years have been going well as is, so I’m certain the future will be at least equally as bright. The citadel keeps taking in new students all the time, people seeking to learn how to use their newly found gift, and the whole thing has grown into a really formal institution. Grandfather passed away last year, leaving me to run the place. I’m not exactly lonely either, not long after Thanrie was married on our eighteenth birthday, I actually got married to Yuxzn. Yuxzn has also shown such devotion, being immeasurable help in coordinating things at the citadel and making sure things keep moving forward.

I haven’t told the others yet, but the family might not end there, with another member of the family expected in about half a year’s time. It will be even more responsibility, but I have the highest hopes for a promising future. Such a child will have a lot of things to carry on into their future, but I plan to make sure I can pass off such a legacy while proud of its progress. They might be left to continue the legacy of the arch-magus.. even to maybe inherit mother’s book, if the High-Seer doesn’t demand it back one day.. but I’m sure any such child will be fully capable to do what they must. I even know to be proud of whatever they achieve, to share the extent of their entire legacy, because to withhold it would only do to serve the same injustice all four of us suffered.

I know though that such a child will also be a half-elf, one of very balanced blood in fact. They will have senses better than my own, a focus that surpasses my own, but never as much stamina. However, that will be the beginning and the end of the matter, I will ensure that my child is left to grow in a world of acceptance for who they are, who does not fear elf, human, or half-elf. Already, between the work Mhyl and I have done in this time, I’m pretty certain we’ll be paving the way for far less fear in the future. It might never be none, and the fact that bringing elves and humans together has only increased the fear of casualties in birth of a half elf… Still, it’s already improved dramatically, a future of acceptance is right around the corner.

Even considering my own wedding, Qheria and Mhyl didn’t stay long in the dusts either actually. Mhyl was in fact next after myself, herself getting married to Chyurae. Qheria’s wedding got delayed because she was helping with the construction of the Hyxiri capital, but soon after that she married Rhyde. That’s not even the whole of how much has changed, Hyxir is on the rise as being known as the center of gift instrumentation, and that’s totally been Thanrie’s fault. Zyuixqs’ father in the end actually didn’t himself take the crown, he instantly passed it down to his son, making Thanrie now a queen. Banditry in Hyxir declined dramatically after that, for reasons I could only guess, and many factions of the rebellion simply disbanded. Even the Marauders had simply broken apart, having lost all sense of purpose. Thanrie’s coronation then after was itself just over a year ago, not long after Qheria’s wedding. It really was a lot, feeling like everything was just happening almost at once, especially since grandfather died soon after the coronation.

The Crystalline Blossoms have become something of a legend too, one that will probably pass down through generations. We actually held a concert for our nineteenth birthday, like the musical sessions we had before.. but this time with some serious special effects because of our gift. Mhyl even got to perform on a piano as she handled stage lighting and vocals while Thanrie provided us with some amps and microphones. It seriously felt like we were using real electrical instruments there, ones of Celesi design. Qheria was using her barrier to deflect sound, so that everything sounded awesome, leaving me with throwing around smokes and sparks and such to dazzle the audience. Thinking about it, the only problem was.. that was the same day grandfather died… Mhyl really thinks we’re cursed in that area or something.

Footsphere at least has became an international hit, being played in tournaments everywhere. The Crystalline Blossoms haven’t had time to compete though, we’ve all been busy with our own lives. It’s still probably for the best, we don’t need more of a reputation than we already have. Someone else can take up the mantle of being a champion, we’ve had enough of it for a whole lifetime.. even more than one lifetime if fate throws us for another loop. Arch-Magus, Queen, Hero, Saviour.. all four of us have plenty to worry about as is.

This record has kept me pretty busy in its writing, going to the others constantly to get input from them as I kept going. Even with it’s ending, there will be a lot else to worry about. Mhyl has herself already produced several books, volumes covering so much of Earth’s knowledge, that I’m starting to feel like I’ve fallen behind. Her first focus was on languages, including books on learning both Celesi languages. She herself can write fluently in both, let alone speak both. I’ve managed to at least learn to write Elaethyx, which was important for elven records of our journey. Qheria has actually learned to speak a bit of Elaethyx, with Thanrie having fewer opportunities for lessons but still doing her best to keep up. One day, they might actually take up the written work too, while I’ll check to see what other languages Mhyl has records of, and maybe learn something new for myself.

Qheria herself was also going places, starting a company that picked up the mantle of the Crystalline Blossoms that was established on the principle of what could only be called gift commerce. This had her visiting all of them frequently, getting the latest in course development at the citadel for gift studies, while collecting information on the latest of innovation in gift instrumentation and records of any newly finished gift tomes. The citadel itself has started counting on her company to provide us with information on any potential students, and even several of the citadel’s students come by recommendation of her company. Meanwhile, the market treats her company as a life link to tools and books of the gift, as well as for any gift-related services. None of us really expected this from her, we seriously thought she would do something a lot more like the Shieldbearer stuff she had done in the past, but sometimes people surprise you.

Thanrie herself has been pretty surprising, actually settling into the regal role way better than her past would account for. Her rugged personality back then feels like a discarded past sometimes, although you can still see it return if ever she loses her temper. Lately, she’s instead started on making the most interesting garden in Hyxir, an assembly of plants mostly selected for their practical contribution rather than aesthetic appeal. Oddly, much like herself, she has turned this rugged collection of practical plants into something of refined beauty. Not even the Elniri has a cultivated garden that could compare anything close to what Thanrie has developed, in far less lush conditions.

I know all four of us have set aside our old weapons, with the future no longer having a place for conflict. Sure, we still make use of the old outfits frequently enough, the formal dresses getting stuffy after a while, but even our personal gadgets have been put away. My glove itself.. I don’t think I even used it after that time I punched my father with it. Our gift has been something we turn to frequently instead. Thanrie usually has a coil of rope handy for anything she might need to use it on, but she is always wearing her bracelet too. Mhyl is back to carrying normal ordinary books full time.. and isn’t using them to kill people anymore either. Qheria and I always wears a pair of normal gloves, either silk or leather as the situation merits, so that we can do whatever needs to be done.

I’ve especially learned to not try to use the gift again without using a focus, one reason why I always have gloves handy. Nobody else beyond the other three girls actually found out, but for several lunar cycles afterwards, I simply wasn’t able to use the gift at all. It really felt strange, but it awakened the feeling that I know most people had gone their everyday lives with. It was almost restful.. to feel so normal for a while at the time. However, instead I had to rely on others to get a lot of the work done, stuff I could no longer do for myself without the gift. I can still remember Thanrie dashing up the Citadel’s outer wall way faster than I could naturally for my parent’s funeral, putting memorial decorations up in my stead. Qheria herself was warping around that whole day, being productive, while Mhyl’s levitation was also really handy. All I could do was provide instructions, never getting to help even once.

The ruins of the Fortress still remain to this day, as if as a memorial to change. Most people still don’t know why the world changed so much that day, many believe it was in my father’s death that the world was freed of its original chains and lead down a path of salvation, still without awareness of the choice I was forced to make. Such would be a hard realization, that’s why I’ve ensured there was at least records about what had happened. We will all grown after everything that happened, and we will find a way to make the future a better place as a result.

As for my predictions of the future.. I really have no idea what that might hold. I’m not even sure the world’s flow is certain about it’s new future, not with all of these changes. With everyone having access to the gift, there are far too many unpredictable variables, there is no longer any guiding factor that governs and controls anyone’s fate. The future is only what people make of it. All that I know of for the future is the fulfillment of my mother’s final wish. I will be putting together this report and making sure it’s ready for the big day. We will be making a huge ceremony out of the whole process, but it will only be the four of us, giving thanks to the gift given to us from another world. I’ll be sending all of this work through the internet, then sealing it with mother’s core.. and then that will be that. Nothing left to do from there but to keep going forward, doing my best to strive for a better future.

Lwynitsse (Yhseliahysse) Duxaeyhlit

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VM – Chapter 79

Harmonious Resolution

Even after all that had happened, there was still more that was needed to be done. Celese was in need of change, and there was now only one person left in a position to instill such measures of change.

The fighting quickly concluded after the fall of the fortress lord. With nothing to sustain the operations of the fortress, most of it’s functions just shut down, stopping the flow of enemies. Those still active were easy to finish off, putting an end to the conflict. Still, despite this, Lwyn still knew there was more to be done. She had yet to provide a conclusion to the world flow’s destiny going forward, to shape the future of Celese as a whole. She also still need to figure out how she could locate the world’s veil, so that she could finally apply her mother’s core to it. She also had plans to hold a funeral tomorrow, honoring her mother and father’s passing in the moment the world was saved. First, she needed a place to escape to, somewhere she could relax with her friends.

Lwyn opened the front doors of the Citadel Inn, leading the way for her friends. It sorta felt like she was revisiting her childhood, which might have been intimidating given the sort of unhappy lifestyle she had been left with at the time. Still, with everything else she had worked to overcome, she wanted to return to her roots, and relax in a peace that had ever been deprived from her. The young girl at the front desk jumped alert at the sound of the door, and turned to greet her new customer. Seeing Lwyn before her, the girl went stark pale.

“Hello, long time no see. Looks like nothing has changed, though I guess you’ve had a lot more customers than usual of late. We’re looking for a place to stay the night, to relax after a long day of work. I don’t suppose room 718 is available, that might be perfect. Oh, and please pass the bill up to my account at the Citadel, I trust nothing else will be required beyond that.” Lwyn looked around after getting no reaction from the statue of a girl who was too terrified to breath. It didn’t matter, she still remembered how stuff worked around here. She noticed that the key for 718 was still on it’s rack, which was good news for her.

The innkeeper’s son entered the room, now formally fully the innkeeper after his father’s official retirement. He had heard some kind of commotion at the front, and went to investigate. There, he found Lwyn, still waiting for her key. The young innkeeper also went pale on recognizing the Arch-Magus’ heir, the same woman who they had on staff as an adopted member of the family, the same woman they had mistreated all of those years. He noticed his little sister had also frozen in this situation, so rushed in to clean this mess up.

“Ah, greetings Lady Lwyn. We welcome you to our humble establishment. Is there…” “718, the key right there. Thank you, it seems the young girl has had a long day, possibly with all the commotion going on around here. I won’t need directions, I still remember the layout of everything around here. We will just head to our room and make ourselves at home.” The young innkeeper passed Lwyn the key with a nod, letting Lwyn pass into the halls beyond. Once they were passed, he started shouting instructions to staff while berating his sister for her neglect. Lwyn shrugged, it really seemed like nothing had changed in her absence.

As they were all getting settled into room 718, a maid rushed into their room, still shaking in fear. “Hello, I will be attending to you this evening, making sure everything is in order. Dinner hours have ended, but I’m certain that such esteemed guests could have an exception made for them. Is there anything you would want provided for you?” The maid’s lines sounded scripted enough that Lwyn knew she was told to recite them. None of this was lost to Lwyn, she could still remember being in the girl’s shoes. They were all very hungry, so the offer was not one they would care to dismiss. The girl returned shortly after with food, clearly exhausted by what was being asked of her.

“Ah, thank you for the food. Please, sit down with us, take some time to relax. It would be nice to hear how things have been going while we’ve been so busy.” “I would, but I uh…” “Seriously, just tell him that room 718 has made a special request, he’ll understand, especially considering the details. Oh, and feel free to enjoy some of the food yourself. I happen to know what the conditions are like around here, if you’re the one they have picked to do rough jobs, you deserve the extra care. I was doing the same thing, not all that long ago, I know how it is. Back then, I had a customer offer to share her food, and it gave me the strength to keep going, so I just want to return the same thing in kind.” Lwyn smiled gently to the maid in her gesture of kindness, Mhyl herself remembering the story Lwyn was talking about. It had been Mhyl who had made that gesture all that time ago, eager to help and support Lwyn against her despair. It seemed Lwyn was inclined to pay such a gesture forward.

Though some casual conversation, they learned that most people were generally worried about where things would go from here. The Qicir and Wyxir war was pretty much cancelled, and suddenly there was a new nation to worry about. Also, elves, lots of them, something most humans never have found themselves having to worry about before, even if they might have been neighbours all these years. Change was already happening, people just needed to figure out where it might take them. But was this really enough to pave the way for a better future?

After dinner concluded and their attendant departed, the four settled down for the night. Being so worn out from the day, everyone was eager to get some sleep.. everyone except for the one who was probably the most tired. Lwyn laid in bed, still subtly worried what might happen if she fell asleep. Would she lose control of herself again, or was she safe due to the death of her father? Lwyn held on deep into the night as a storm begun to gather, a downpour of hail without lightning. As the rocks started to break the silence of the night, Lwyn lost the energy to remain awake, with sleep quickly overtaking her, and in her sleep she found herself dreaming as she had before.

Lwyn bolted out of bed, still thinking herself trying to stay awake. Was she fine? The room however was still and silent. She recalled it was hailing just a moment ago, so went to look outside. Outside she saw the falling hail, frozen in the air as if lost in a moment of time. She tried to open the window, but it was invincible. She went to the door, but it was also frozen. Something about this was familiar. Without even turning around, she took a deep breath with her eyes closed, feeling somehow aware what was going on.

“Yhse, are you there?” “Of course, we did promise to stay together, after all. There is no way I would miss out on this… I mean, this is our.. my responsibility.” Lwyn nodded, still not turning to face the Yhse in her dreams. They did promise, and this was her responsibility. Even more accurate was not referring to the accumulation of Yhse and Lwyn in plural, she was one person. Knowing that though did make this whole confrontation a bit stranger. Lwyn finally then did turn around to face Yhse, seeing her much like herself, but wearing that night-gown once again from the Fortress. This was almost a complete reversal of the previous dream she had just like it.

“So why am I split in two again? Pretty sure we worked this out in a dream I had before.” “Mostly. I mean, at this point I’m still getting a lot of blame as Yhse for everything that happened to your friends.. and I mean your friends, even they seem to not want to be Yhse’s friend. It’s fine, all things considered… Right, back to the point. You know that you are both Lwyn and Yhse, maybe, but I’m a bit different in this case. I mean.. uh.. how do I explain this?” “Ah, the flow of the world can’t speak to me, so you’re speaking for it. Because the flow can speak through dreams, as I remember.” “Yes! Exactly! That was it. I should have trusted that I would understand.” Lwyn might have caught on, but she was still finding it weird to talk to Yhse like this.

“So, what do we do..? ..and yes, I mean all of us. Everyone, really. All the changes so far.. I know so many things are already going to change, but…” “.. but it’s not enough, yeah. Father actually did manage to do a lot of damage in his hard work, if things are left like they are.. things will actually get worse. I’m going to need to come up with an answer for all this, to find a way things could get better. Something integral to the world has to be.. remade.. before anything can start moving forwards.” Lwyn nodded, even if Yhse didn’t answer her question. There probably wasn’t much value in vocalizing her questions, not only because she was thus basically asking herself.. but also because as an agent of the world’s flow, Yhse was not in a position to provide the answer herself. Lwyn would basically have to tell Yhse.. to tell herself her answer, and the world would listen.

Her father’s cause was fueled to spite hatred, and also in spite of hatred. He might have thus also been consumed by such spite, but only because he had the wrong solution for the right problem. She pondered the details of that hatred once more, with people left to struggle in their solitude. They were bringing people together, but that might not end such struggling, such was actually in turn why everyone was afraid. Everything was too different, everyone was afraid. The four of them were probably the scariest of everyone, four beings of insurmountable power that no one could even dream of standing up to. She could even remember thinking of herself so lowly, and in that moment wondered at how fair it was that things had just changed.

She had gotten here only because she was fated to be here. Sure, it wasn’t even a gentle journey, it was full of hardships that she had to climb along the way, but it would have been absolutely impossible for anyone else to do it because none of them were fated to do so. It was a bridled chain of destiny, binding her to it, and binding everyone else from it. She meanwhile had other friends who had struggled through with her, tried their hardest to contribute, and were left hard-pressed to keep up. They just weren’t gifted, and it was impossible to defy such limits, even with the hardest of effort. Frankly, that was probably unfair.

Actually, that might be the entirety of it. The world blessed a chosen few with the gift, which blossomed those select people into a form of greatness of its own design, leaving everyone else to suffer. She had experienced life without the gift, and then life with the gift, she could see the measures on both sides. Earth didn’t have the gift, instead it’s resources were equally available to everyone, had they just put the effort to attain it. That root of model might be the best example to take, to not be so biased with the gift, to make the full extent available to everyone, but to challenge every single person to devote themselves to their gift in order to master it.

It should not be easy to achieve this mastery, not even as easy as it was for them, taking a life-long process of learning. In fact, they could even reuse other contexts, she had a book that passed on a touch of the world’s flow, why couldn’t records of study provide ways to accelerate the advancement of others? This way, the world would be able to advance, grow, and evolve it’s own kind of science towards the future, much like Earth’s technology. Actually, having instruments of the gift, like the cannon they had made for Ehryinae’s gift, that could provide ways for people to share their gift, to grow as a community, and to build a growing form of unity.

“Everyone needs to have the gift, that’s the only way. Hatred will always stir when people are forced beneath others, and never allowed to grow. The way things are, there is no room for anything to improve. Only by letting everyone in equal share their gift with others is there any hope for all of Celese to go forward.” “Ah, yeah, I understand. The whole.. uh.. artifact idea sounds pretty good, letting people make instruments of the gift, can totally see Thanrie getting into that. I wonder if Mhyl will devote herself to making tomes of the gift and fill her mother’s library with them. Qheria.. she would…” “Qheria obviously would be the most keen on making sure people shared everything properly. You could totally see her taking her Shieldbearer background into a sort of gift-based law enforcement. Meanwhile, I’m pretty sure what would be required of me in the process. The citadel has always trained people who had the gift, making sure that people understood how to use it properly. Clearly that won’t end, instead even more people would need such training, everything would have to be expanded upon to account for a world full of the gift. As the Arch-Magus, I’ll need to lead such lessons into the future.” Lwyn full-well understood exactly how much responsibility she was putting on her own shoulders, but making such a decision for the entire world would only mean she would have to be responsible to bear it into its future. Her grandfather had laid the foundations, she would see it into its future.

Yhse nodded her approval, accepting the whole proposal not only for herself, but for the world’s flow as well. In that instant, the laws of the gift were inexplicably changed, with the seeds of the gift sown in every living person, both human and elven. The seeds were each small, but with the potential of immeasurable growth. Every individual could unlock their potential, but they would first need to reach out for it, their gift remaining potentially dormant otherwise. Those without the ambition, the hopes and dreams for a better future, would find themselves leashed by the limits they only imposed upon themselves. This would not lead to any dramatic forms of change, it would be a slow ongoing progress lasting not just years, but generations. This was only the foundation for a new Celesi future, one where everyone would need to work together to prosper from.

With that, in her own dream, Lwyn started to feel tired. She considered it a strange feeling, how does one sleep in a dream? Regardless, she went back to her bed, Yhse already gone when she turned around. She settled onto the bed, with sleep quickly taking her this time. When she awoke, it was still dark, and the hail was still roaring, but she felt like she had already at least gotten a lot of sleep. She knew then that a lot of time had passed, and morning would quickly approach. She would then have to share her final decision with the others, and start on their futures.

Today would be the funeral, and then they would probably have to each go their own ways. The citadel would need a lot of changes if it was going to accommodate the new Celese, it would need to provide learning for people everywhere, not only of all three human nations, but even for elves. Unlike her father, she knew this would not be resolved simply by expecting the elves to learn Izhaethyx, she would ensure there was opportunities to learn in Elaethyx as well, exactly as Ehryinae had long ago predicted. Just as she was both elven and human, so too did she expect the citadel to welcome both elves and humans in equal measure. She would need to figure what else would be needed of the citadel, how else the citadel would need to adjust to what changes would come. She would also need to start research on the veil, to finally fulfill her last promise to her mother.

Meanwhile, she knew the others would be busy too. Thanrie wanted to be part of the establishment of a new nation. They didn’t even have a capital yet, although the spot at the lakeside now vacated by the Fortress might prove to be the best place to build upon. It would make for an excellent city, but only with a lot of time and effort. With the Fortress’s fall, it was time for the new crown to unify that nation and build a foundation for its own future prosperity. It would be a lot of work, but Thanrie was probably going to be alright. She wasn’t alone, not only due to being set for marriage at some day not far over the horizon, but because she still had friends who she could count on. Lwyn knew at least that she would make sure the Citadel would try to support Hyxir as best it could.

She doubted she would be alone in this, with Qheria set on her own heroic path. Somehow, Lwyn doubted Qheria would be just returning to the shieldbearers, Qheria’s interest would aspire about as far as her influence. It wasn’t hard to see the extent of her possible ambition, working to encourage further unity between both Qicir and Wyxir.. and probably including Hyxir, especially once you involve Rhyde. Compounded with her own estimates on how Qheria would react to the changes of the gift, you could totally see her all over the place getting work done, helping out everyone in the process and leading everyone of all nations into the future.

Well, maybe not all of them, considering Qheria couldn’t speak Elaethyx. Mhyl however was the prime candidate for connecting the elven and human nations in unity, considering how motivated she would be to that cause. The biggest barrier to everything would still be caused by languages. Mhyl still could not read Izhaethyx at all, let alone write it, and her spoken quality of Izhaethyx still had a lot of room for improvement. Lwyn herself would have to do her own research, as the Arch-Magus she would need to actually be capable of reading and writing Elaethyx, something she still had no ability with. She could totally see Qheria being left to endure her own Elaethyx lessons too as a result, and maybe even Thanrie would end up joining them as a form of royal study.

In matters of language, they had to consider the future of other languages, the ones they gained from Earth. English had been their personal staple though their adventure, but it might be time to consider sharing some of their knowledge, making records of things such as the other languages they know, so that such information would not be lost. This might not include simply the languages they know, there was some merit in passing on other forms of knowledge, especially considering how the gift will grow to depend on both written records and with tools created and shared in its purpose. The four of them have been left with a lot of knowledge, all things considered, and it might not be good to let all of it suddenly go to waste.

Pondering such thoughts, sleep took its hold over Lwyn once more, leaving her to complete her slumber until morning would arrive. As all four of them awoke once again, sunlight split the dawn of a brand new day.

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VM – Chapter 78

Celestial Storm

The four girls descended the short spiral staircase, which opened into the center of a magnificent and huge chamber. The laboratory was itself huge, larger than the work space provided to Sxeiva, but still much smaller than the storage space they had been fighting in.

Rather than what the girls would imagine a mad scientist’s laboratory would seem like, their first impressions were that they had entered a clock tower somehow. Gears spun everywhere with an ongoing click sound at a distinct rhythm and an endless faint hum. It was somehow still fitting, such an environment would certainly drive even the most stable person insane. It was all too obvious that this was in fact the core of the entire Fortress, the center of its entire operation. Lwyn could also tell by this significance, this was the root of her father’s potential, and deep within such a presence he would have the greatest ability to act upon worldly elements.. such as the world’s veil itself.

A storm cloud had gathered straight ahead, surging into the infrastructure above a great dais of the room. Centered below it, shimmering amidst the celestial fury, was the fortress lord himself. Khaexyn turned to them as they approached, himself not caught unaware. The look of disappointment at least made one thing clear, they had shown up to interrupt his diligent work, which might also mean they weren’t yet too late. All they needed to do was to figure out how to stop him from completing his work, to whatever means that required.

“I see you three managed to once again entrance my daughter into your cause. I will still see to deny you your hatred, I will make sure your corruption ends here. No more will the taint of the gifted inspire death and despair, I will ensure we have a world without such tragedy.” Khaexyn still managed to speak like he was the good guy in this whole situation, and probably honestly thought that he was. However, the four girls were not so deluded to believe in the same statement, not completely. Khaexyn was not himself without faults, and the means and ends to resolve the issue Khaexyn sought and end for were both a vested problem. Lwyn still took a moment to consider his words, while the others reflected on his own faults.

“Are you serious? You think someone like you is going to end tragedy? Have you seen what sort of things you leave in your own wake? Even your staff here suffered when blindly bound to your cause, left with some of the worst conditions imaginable. Living conditions here were a mess, safety was fully neglected, and seriously I’m all too positive you don’t even understand the value of life itself. Entrance? You ensnare your own loved ones and force them into your own bidding, even your own wife and child.” “Sxeiva wanted free, but you would never. She could only suffer.. even past death had to suffer. You couldn’t even let rest in death, had to force her unwanted shell to work even after. Steal rest, steal resolve.. steal hopes and steal dreams. All just steal everything from everyone.. minds, thoughts, ideas, will. Even from Earth, can’t even think yourself, only steal.” Thanrie and Mhyl were livid, finally getting the chance to express their ongoing fury at the one who inspired it.

Qheria and Lwyn were taken aback, totally unaware of these details. Mhyl and Thanrie had not shared the scenes they had found within the Fortress, the broken context such was left to resolve. Most of all, they had not shared the identity of the assassin who had tried to murder them at the Citadel. Catching on to the blank looks from Qheria and Lwyn, Thanrie threw one more verbal jab at Khaexyn. “I don’t even see how you could ever be the one to stop world hatred, you are almost a seed for the stuff. Instead of letting your wife rest, you refit her mechanical parts into an assassin, and then send her to murder her own daughter. If we hadn’t been so lucky, your daughter would have died to your own poisons!” Thanrie snarled the last statement, casting blame to Khaexyn. Qheria and Lwyn quickly put things together, realizing what this all implied.

Khaexyn was tempted to call out Thanrie for her lies and deception, but the despair he saw in his daughter quickly lead him to doubt such. Clearly, he might have overestimated the thoughtfulness of his artificial intelligence, which might have then almost made a terrible mistake. Still, even being far from perfect, it was still far better than what the living achieved in their day-to-day hatred. “I might have you to thank for, for returning my daughter to me. I might even consider making a memorial out of such, for keeping my daughter safe this whole time. However, this does not erase everything else, you still embody the will of hatred and are still intent on denying the world it’s own salvation. For that, you will still perish.” At the ending of his statement, electrical surges filled the room by Khaexyn’s gift. Clearly negotiations weren’t a solution here.

Qheria set up a barrier to block the current, keeping everyone safe. Mhyl discharged an explosive blast at Khaexyn’s position while Thanrie unleashed her Scythe in a toss. Both strikes were deflected by Khaexyn’s own force field, shimmering much like the one covering the Fortress. Lwyn however was not able to react, suddenly finding herself dizzy. Why was she so tired all of a sudden, needing a nap. Lwyn slowly collapsed towards the floor, being caught on her fall by Thanrie. Mhyl was alarmed, not aware of what would have suddenly cost Lwyn all of her stamina, but Qheria was seeing a repeat of a previous incident.

“Oh no, don’t let her fall asleep! Khaexyn is trying to manipulate her again, like a form of hypnosis. Bound in fate and soul, heart and mind, most likely because of the charm he placed on her fate when she was little.” Qheria reflected on the notes she read before, while adjusting her barrier to impart some added resistance to sleep induction. A fate controller, reaching the world access layer through a veil-link. Was Khaexyn really using the same resources he had for attacking the world’s veil to access Lwyn’s own personal fate? Wait, if he was, then bringing Lwyn here might have been a bad idea, his influence over her would be at its strongest with both of them in this room at this time.

Thanrie applied her gift to boost Lwyn’s own energy, much like a caffeine boost or an energy drink. Cluing into what Qheria was implying, there was no way she wanted that to suddenly happen again. Mhyl herself was alarmed, so it wasn’t just Sxeiva, but Lwyn too, manipulated by the strings of fate to dance at Khaexyn’s whims, almost in the same way. It was all chains of fate, the same thing that had killed Sxeiva, the same thing now threatening to kill Lwyn. Thanrie was also putting together exactly how integral the fates they had might have been, the magnitude of good and bad luck over their journey looked to have been set into Lwyn’s personal fate.

“Wait, how did you actually learn about this?” “Oh, while hunting around, I found some of Khaexyn’s notes in a surveillance room. Even got to see a broadcast of the later part of the hypnosis myself. His penmanship is atrocious, scrawling rough ideas in the most chaotic ways, connecting a World Access Layer to a Veil-Link through a Fate Controller, which itself is also bound to his daughter.. manipulated in fate and soul, heart and mind.” Mhyl pondered the answer Qheria provided, forming most of the same impression Qheria had. However, what stood out to her was a matter of concept, the whole thing sounded like Lwyn was herself bound to the link to the world. She considered some of Lwyn’s imparted responsibilities, the stuff presented from both of their mothers as represented by the world’s flow. Lwyn was interconnected by everything, the center of everything, designed and assigned by her fate.

Lwyn struggled against the need for sleep, thanks to Thanrie’s donation and Qheria’s support, but still looked a bit exhausted, caught within the fated pressure to fall asleep again. She had, however, heard the entire explanation. Khaexyn wanted to control her in her moment of weakness, to drive her into betraying her friends if she would let down her guard for even a moment of rest. She refused, even the memories she had of her friends being attacked by her inspiring a dark grief, there was no way she would let that happen again. Her father was tied into this mess, himself working to manipulate her fate, entrapping her just as he had her mother. Her mother had endured against him all these years, she could at least endure this confrontation.

Lwyn set a projectile into her weapon and blasted it at her father, a dark energy designed to bleed away energy. Khaexyn’s barrier however negated the attack with little effect. Mhyl set to help Lwyn, trying to turn the electrical energy of the storm above Khaexyn against him, but even that had no effect. “Even if you cling to your false bonds with my daughter, your hopes are futile. Yhse will awaken again, eventually, but that’s not all. I know your barrier will not hold against this assault, both in lightning and in fate. After connecting myself to this fate, the presence of the gift itself weakens in its attempts to reach me. Soon, you will find the gift has left you, leaving you defenseless before me.” Khaexyn might not have finished his goals, but in truth he wasn’t far from it. Very soon, the veil would be torn wide, with everything that represents Celese itself unmade. Even now, buried so deeply in this fate, there was nothing left that could touch him.

Lwyn evaluated her resources, looking for any possible solution for this mess. Khaexyn was effectively immune to any creations of the gift at this point, a sort of anti-gift vortex. His shield however seemed to be empowered by this same fate, which would block anything ordinary.. and probably technical. By measure of this fate, there was nothing that could touch him, because everything was bound by world principle. Nothing could interfere with the fate that it was bound to, to do otherwise would be a paradox. The fate woven was withdrawn from everything else, contained only within itself. However, it was the principles of the gift which had caused this state, Khaexyn’s gift had applied to create this measure of fate in the first place. Knowing how the gift worked, that means that the extent of this fate was determined by the ideas that had originally forged it.

Lwyn’s eyes went wide, a caffeinated stare supplemented only by a bounty of insight. Qheria had spoken of some notes regarding the mental construction of this process, connecting her father’s link to the veil as his way to access the world itself. There was only one other element left in that web of fate, Lwyn herself. Using that same connection to fate to try and manipulate her thus provided her a connection back, which could itself leave Khaexyn vulnerable. However, it wasn’t like she was capable of much by herself, especially if her projectiles weren’t included in this web of fate. How would she do anything, if all she had was herself?

Lwyn took a deep breath, realizing there might then be one way. “I’m going to need a hand with this. Mhyl, can you setup a giant steel magnetic wall on the other side of Khaexyn? Thanrie, I need you to boost the magnetic effect of my gloves. Qheria, I’m going to need you to launch me forwards towards my father, just to provide some momentum.” Lwyn instead received looks that she herself might be going crazy. She didn’t blame them, this whole idea seemed crazy even to her. One of the earliest lessons they had on the gift was to never do this, Ehryinae had explicitly warned them about using their own self as a focus, but it was the only projectile she had that would work. Even if she switched her focus to her glove like a flying punch, the context of her gift would fail once faced with the glove’s fate. But if she was the focus, it would be a collision of her fate, which was integrated into the entire design. There was no other alternative.

Reading Lwyn’s determination, Mhyl nodded and focused with her book to create the requested wall. It successfully rose up in the distance behind Khaexyn, collecting additional magnetic potential from the ongoing storm. Thanrie sighed, holding up Lwyn’s worn glove so that she could focus on it properly. Qheria stood there, still stubbornly trying to dissuade this idea as her barrier tried to hold. However, everyone kept moving forwards regardless. Qheria was mostly worried what would happen to Lwyn, worried something would go wrong, but Qheria knew there were otherwise out of options.. and it wasn’t like Qheria didn’t trust Lwyn. Qheria ensured that she was ready to cause a repulsion force with her barrier when the time was right.

With everything prepared, Lwyn exited the barrier with a light forward leap, landing upon it much like she would any other wall. Lwyn activated her gloves the moment after Qheria unleashed her barrier, sending Lwyn flying. Lwyn knew she was the projectile here, and focused upon her very self for this, her entire self as a whole. Not just her body, but her fate and soul, heart and mind. All of her that was her was a projectile here, being cast forward in defiance of her father’s endeavours. His reasons were sound, but the rest was all flawed, she refused to let things go that way. She smashed fist-first into Khaexyn’s shield, which shattered in an electrostatic burst, the shield itself unable to stand up to the fate influencing it either. She then collided with the fate protecting her father, cancelling it in equal measure to her own. Finally, she collided with his stomach, sending him flying into Mhyl’s wall with considerable force. Even Thanrie cringed at the force generated by this punch, a measure she had never had reason to resort to.

Khaexyn collapsed to the floor, his strength rapidly leaving him in such a battered and broken state. To think it would be his own daughter who would deny him in the end like this. “It’s.. still far too late. Everything has been set in motion, the veil will unmake itself at this rate, I don’t even need to be part of it. Once it’s gone, only I can put the new model in place, the world will be left a broken dying void until then. Once I’ve recovered, I will reclaim my daughter, and we will ensure the world is finally saved.” Khaexyn was still struggling through the pain, but confident in his victory. There was no other way things could end any differently anymore.

Lwyn rushed to consider the context of events, watching the storm still surge above violently even without Khaexyn’s control. She reached out with her gift, looking for anything she could do, but nothing responded to her. She somehow just knew, the flow of the world was bound by fate, but it wasn’t directly connected to her. Before her, there was one other person, the person who had bound this fate to the world, and still had the foremost authority over it. She was linked, but only second in line. Unless control was passed down to her, the world would not listen. However, she knew that in his devoted fanaticism for Earth, he would never surrender. Meanwhile, the clock was still ticking, the clicking sounds of the room almost tracking the passage of time, and Khaexyn was loosing consciousness.

“Khaexyn, give up! Earth is nothing as great as you would imagine! We’ve seen it, in our memories, this will not save our world. Earth, Celese, they are just their own unique places with their own differences, and should simply remain as such. There is no solution in making two Earths, we should instead just make a better Celese!” “Ah, so that’s the secret of your knowledge. I had been left wondering how my enemies had found such measures of greatness. That greatness will be imparted upon Celese, just as it has caused improvements upon each of you. I ask instead for you all to give up, to come to accept change and the bounty it can bring. Do so, and I don’t even care if you decide to make use of your knowledge to rule over it. Even if I am cast unto death in my success, I will never yield.” Lwyn was desperately trying to plead hope with her father, but Khaexyn refused to surrender. If it took his death to end the world’s hatred, sending him into the arms of his fallen love and passed the hopes of the future to his daughter, that wouldn’t be a bad ending at all.

Lwyn’s mind was spinning at the concluding statement as well, being cast unto death. The chain of fate was a rule of succession, willingly giving up was only one of the two possible ways for control to be passed down, the second solution requiring death. Even despite everything he had done, Lwyn still felt a measure of love for her father. Tears coursed down her face as she pressed her alternatives, her father already accepting death over surrender. Leaving him to live would instead be at the cost of everything else, everyone else she cared about would then suffer her neglect. Still, she had only recently lost her mother to this chain of fate, would she have to also lose her father to the same, even after having thought she had lost both when she was very little? No, in fact, maybe that first loss was the real one, her parents had both been lost to her ever since, broken by their fates. It just tore her to have this state of loss stretched out so long, compounded upon so much grief. Worse, she realized that, exactly like her mother, there was only one person who had the responsibility to resolve this death, to close the doors in one terminal moment.

Lwyn pulled out her crossbow, loading it with a plain metal blade, and struggled through her tears. Mhyl was the first to realize what Lwyn was planning to do, but again could not find a way to stop the course of events. Mhyl herself felt pain in understanding the weight of responsibility that Lwyn was being tasked to carry, it would be far too much for her to bear. All that she could do was to be there to support Lwyn through all of this, it was all any of them could do. She stopped Qheria and Thanrie when they were about to react, shaking her head. Lwyn turned to Mhyl, still broken-hearted by her own fate. Mhyl passed Lwyn her own version of a plastic smile and nodded, despite her own tears.

Khaexyn’s final moments were quick and painless, with Lwyn not wanting to make it any more painful for anyone than already was. At the moment of Khaexyn’s death, the storm overhead started to fade, having formally passed control of the world’s fate to another.

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VM – Chapter 77

Thoughtful Intercession

As the three girls continued their battle, a brilliant light flashed from the exit far above them. Mhyl took advantage of the distraction to make a dash for Thanrie’s position and started provisioning some healing from her gift.

Yhse did not like where things were going. She knew Thanrie would be pretty injured right now, which was a good thing. If she could have broken through her defenses, it would have left Thanrie in a weakened state, easy to finish off. Mhyl meanwhile should be losing her stamina fairly rapidly, and would just be a matter of draining her the rest of the way before she was in the same state. However, not only was Thanrie getting healing, but Qheria had arrived. Yhse had to do something about this situation, before it got any worse.

Yhse dashed up the exit, finding Qheria standing there waiting almost impatiently. “Oh, Lwyn, nice to finally find a familiar face. I heard some commotion going on, care to give me the story?” “Oh, yeah, seriously outnumbered down there. Thanrie is pretty badly hurt, Mhyl is trying to look after her. We could use you down there too.” “Ah, I see. That does sound like some rather rough odds. Why don’t you and I go down there and join in on all the fun, Yhse.” Qheria smashed into Yhse’s head with the blunt side of her shield, taking Yhse completely by surprise. In the same motion, Qheria set a barrier which she used to warp the two of them down to the platform below. Smashing into Yhse once more with the flat of her shield against Yhse’s back, Yhse fell to the ground as Qheria warped once again closer to where Thanrie and Mhyl were.

Yhse, in a serious daze, was completely confused how that had gone so poorly. Absolutely nothing she sad was even wrong, she was outnumbered two to one, she had described exactly what Thanrie and Mhyl were doing too. As injured as she still was from the fighting so far, she was certain her case would be all to believable. Qheria also had a pretty good fighting and tactical prowess, but had figured out so much with far too little information. Even with Thanrie and Mhyl, she had at least had enough of a chance to employ a surprise attack. Qheria instead had surprised her ever so skillfully. There was only one plausible explanation for her, Qheria was the one who had originally manipulated her. With her father interrupting the control, Qheria was obviously fully aware Yhse was no longer under her control. Of course, she should have compensated for that earlier.

Qheria gave a quick review of the situation, seeing things generally as Yhse had described. She had expected a very carefully woven tale, something designed to mislead her into a false pretense. Instead she found everything exactly as Yhse had told her, which was quite a clever move. She could always depend on Lwyn to be smart when it mattered, that’s why she couldn’t afford to waste a moment of this opportunity. Yhse’s biggest mistake might have been to forget that Lwyn would have never left the side of Thanrie or Mhyl when they were in trouble. “Thanrie, we need to get Yhse here under control so that we can undo this mess. Mhyl, see if you can cure her of whatever it is that is corrupting her mind.” “Control? You will not control me any more, I will not…” Qheria smashed into Yhse’s head again with her shield, interrupting her. Mhyl and Thanrie exchanged a glance, Qheria was faster to pick up on these things then they had expected.

Thanrie pondered what she had available to her. With Yhse unable to dodge, she could stop time to provide an opportunity to resolve the matter. However, while time was stopped, only she could then act, Mhyl wouldn’t have any opportunity. Instead then, Thanrie coiled Yhse with liquid chains, restricting Yhse’s movements so much she could hardly twitch. “I saw her in the library, getting a heavy dose of mind control. We just need to erase it.” Qheria then set about trying to apply anything with her gift that would help Lwyn in resisting the mind control.

Mhyl blinked in a moment of confusion. So Lwyn wasn’t lost to them? Like Thanrie, she had all but given up on finding a way to save Lwyn, but they had been making so little progress not having the heart to make this end quickly. Mhyl looked over Thanrie and pondered the situation. Qheria has misjudged one thing already, just like a poison of the body, Mhyl could do nothing about a poison of the mind. She scoured over Yhse, trying to at least identify details of what was affecting her, but came up with nothing. Much like when Khaexyn had tried a similar check himself the last time they were in the Fortress, identifying mental problems like this just didn’t involve the same approach and thus Mhyl’s efforts yielded no results. Qheria herself found her gift making little progress on bringing Lwyn back to normal, building resistance might have worked while Lwyn was fighting to resist such influence, but it was too late for such solutions now.

A sudden explosion detonated the chains binding Yhse, having called forth one of her spheres to provide her with an escape. The explosion mostly hurt Thanrie, who had only recently recovered from similar wounds to her liquid metal. Yhse got a bit hurt in the process as well, but she had made sure the blast had mostly propelled away from her. Overall, it provided her with a pretty decent edge, which was good because Qheria was still a huge danger. No matter what, she needed to keep a distance from Qheria, to make sure such mind control did not visit her again. Things were still pretty bad, she was now against all of them at once, and Qheria seemed to be doing just fine. Yhse contemplated a martyr’s victory, utterly destroying the room just to take down her enemies with her. It might at first seem like a really good plan, but a projectile with enough power to do that would need some time to build up the force needed, giving either Thanrie enough time to freeze time on it, or Mhyl enough time to erase it. Overall, it just wasn’t exactly such a good plan.

Mhyl was finding her hope receding once again, much as it was for Thanrie. She firmly suspected the only one who had a gift that could fix this for them would be her mother, way back at the Citadel. They simply were not prepared for a problem at this scale. Bringing back a violent Yhse to her mother wouldn’t be anything close to an easy task, not this deep into the Fortress. There was also the high risk of her mother being attacked in the process. High risk of a lot of damage, Yhse was a huge threat right now in her current state, capable of devastating their forces if she chose to do so. She really couldn’t figure out any solution that would involve saving Yhse.

Qheria however was not going to give up that easily. Her solution might have failed, sure, but that just meant it was time for another solution. She didn’t exactly have another solution at the time, but she had only just arrived, she would need to gather more information first. Yhse certainly would oblige her that much, much as Lwyn had done in the past. Qheria struck down on the platform she was standing on, warping behind Yhse in the process while lashing out with her shield again. Thanrie stumbled, finding the entire rafting shake under the force. Yhse meanwhile managed to dodge away, but just barely. Qheria was really really scary, no questions about it.

Qheria noticed the situation in the aftermath, this really was a good choice for fighting for Yhse. The darkness and water were fitting touches, a creepy fear that would normally have impacted both girls to Yhse’s benefit, but it was the durability of their footing that really haunted Qheria. Her own gift would be limited here, she had to be very careful. However, she also didn’t miss a flaw in Yhse’s estimates. The area was designed to inspire fear in Mhyl and Thanrie, to have them act with uncertainty. They were very obviously full of uncertainty, but it had nothing to do with the scenery. The water might have normally chilled Mhyl, the horrifying darkness might have shaken Thanrie, but nothing scared either of them more than losing their friend. She suspected that neither of them were even putting much thought on the other fear factors.

Yhse needed an advantage, more than she already had. Qheria would be limited in what she could do, but she wasn’t very hesitant or shaken at all. “You witch! You corrupt all of your pawns, don’t you! Oh right, that’s also your weakness, you treasure your pawns, you would sacrifice anything for…” Yhse stumbled, a dizzy spell coming over her. The others all paused in concern, which only provided Yhse the opening she needed. Right, she needed to stay focused, and she had a plan. Yhse launched another mass volley towards both Thanrie and Mhyl, a swarm of dark spheres. Mhyl brought up some ice pillars, but the spheres devoured the ice on contact. Qheria warped over to intercept the attack, her shield eating the entire assault. Yhse smiled, her plan working, Qheria was vulnerable to having her friends attacked, she was afraid of them coming to harm.

Though such, Yhse kept staggering in her latest daze. Somehow things were proving more taxing for her, she didn’t even understand why. Maybe it was Qheria’s influence, possibly trying to bespell her once again. Yhse’s approach was sound, but she might need to find a way to counter Qheria’s assault against her as well. She threw projectiles in two locations, one into the water below her, the other to the platform her enemies stood upon. The water-bound projectile burst up a surge of water in a massive wave, splashing upwards in a violent surge as the platform they were standing on shuddered under the force delivered to it. Qheria had no room to defend with, and the waters separated each of them. Yhse then sent two more projectiles, darting straight towards both Mhyl and Thanrie. It would be impossible for Qheria to block both of them, she would have to choose.

Qheria however wasn’t given any room to even choose, left struggling to find her own ground, by the time she succeeded and warped to try to block both strikes, she ended up blocking neither of them. Mhyl and Thanrie however were also left with no room to block, Thanrie putting all of her effort to grapple to get her footing back, as Mhyl tried to lighten her fall. Both of them were struck from behind, Thanrie in her right thigh and Mhyl with her left shoulder. Yhse was left aghast by her latest failure, that was such a prime opportunity, and yet she had missed once again.

“Stop.. dodging! Just die already, for F~~k sakes!” Yhse wiped the water from her face, although not sure how she had gotten so wet from this distance. Generally everything around her was still pretty dry. Qheria took note of the situation, reviewing what had just transpired. It was a very opportune shot, brilliantly executed, leaving none of them room to deal with, no ability to dodge. Neither Mhyl nor Thanrie had dodged that attack, Yhse had just.. missed. Against worse odds, Lwyn had always landed perfect shots, taking out her enemy in that moment with a strike to anything vital. Lwyn’s accuracy was all too perfect, and yet this was a lack of precision she hadn’t seen since they had last left her trying to wield a longbow.

“She’s.. crying?” Mhyl was quietly reflecting on what happened as she tried to heal Thanrie despite her own injuries. Qheria hadn’t noticed, not being as good at picking out Lwyn’s feelings as Mhyl had became. Yhse lashed out with a series of shots, which Qheria blocked with her shield, the meaning behind those shots being much more devoid of her previous tact. “I don’t know, I just get the feeling that she.. just didn’t want to hit.” Thanrie stood up and stepped towards Qheria, feeling healed enough for now. Mhyl took some opportunity to start healing herself as well, so that she was not left behind.

Qheria considered the situation, grasping her pendant. Of course, even while fighting Yhse, it was not like Lwyn was lost to them. Lwyn was still there, fighting with them. Yhse had staggered reflecting on Qheria’s weakness, revisiting memories of when Qheria had all too much sacrificed herself to help a friend in dire circumstances. That friend had been Lwyn herself, saved from a life-threatening danger that held considerable meaning for Lwyn. Lwyn’s conviction was strong, and instilling on those memories only lent her more strength. Qheria felt like cheering, a new plan coming forwards in her mind. All they needed was to present a powerful, vivid memory to Yhse, something which would overpower herself with strong memories of her own self conviction.

Qheria contemplated all the things they had done together, trying to figure out the one thing with the strongest feelings. The near loss of her friends were all powerful memories, even the pendant they wore still powerful signs, but through everything they had done, it might not be the most powerful thing. Yhse was so totally entranced into her father’s cause, the most powerful memory would be one to remind her exactly why he had to be stopped. She quickly developed a plan, knowing only one way this could be accomplished with what they had available. Even with that, she would have to leave for a time, but she wouldn’t need to travel far.

“Thanrie, Mhyl, I’ll be right back. Keep Lwyn here occupied, I won’t be long.” Qheria slammed her fist against the wall and vanished, warping a distance away. Neither of them knew what the plan was, but trusted Qheria would figure something out. Yhse did not like the way this was sounding, she needed to deal with this. As Yhse dashed up to the exit, Thanrie lashed her way upwards even quicker, slamming her scythe into the wall beside her, a time freeze sphere enveloping the exit. Yhse tried to shoot Thanrie as she just hung there, but the projectile stopped right as it reached the bubble of the time freeze. Right, this wasn’t something she could just break through. Thanrie herself felt proud, for once actually setting up a defense using her rather aggressive gift. She would just need to wait until Qheria returned.

Yhse saw only one advantage in this situation. With Qheria gone and Thanrie occupied, the odds were suddenly far more balanced as it was herself against Mhyl once again. Mhyl realized that she was once again left to deal with Yhse alone, even being the one with the least capable defense, in a battle where she needed to be as defensive as possible. Thanrie however had managed, despite all odds, in all of her absolute offense.. to defend. Mhyl would not back down, she would find her own way.. Lwyn was depending on her.

A sphere of light enveloped Mhyl, shining upon her. While within the sphere, the remainder of her injuries started to rapidly fade away. Yhse prepared another shot and fired at Mhyl, Mhyl not even trying to dodge. The shot struck her calf, tripping her to fall down to a lower level. She crashed into that platform, her injuries already fading. Yhse shot again, the projectile passing straight through Mhyl’s right hand, a searing burst of pain. Mhyl tried to remain calm, as the injury also healed away. Mhyl had confidence in Lwyn, knowing they could get through this, she just needed to hold her ground and bear through the pain. Even with these wounds, the pain was nothing compared to the fear of losing Lwyn.

Yhse wailed in despair, grief strickening her in a deep anguish. Why, why could she not kill? Her opponent wasn’t even trying, was simply enduring the blows. Yhse threw another projectile, completing failing to connect with Mhyl at all, missing by a long distance. Her accuracy was only getting worse, as she wiped the tears from her eyes, the pain she herself was suffering being all too unbearable. Still, she would not give up, she would find a way, something, somehow.. to not let her father down.

Qheria searched around desperately, knowing it was somewhere around here. She stubbornly pressed on until she finally found what she was searching for, a fallen aethyrnz, it’s body mostly whole. She set to work on it’s wreckage, carefully dismantling it’s torso to open up the parts contained inside. From within, she extracted the unit’s core, itself in perfect condition. It was a much simpler version to the core left back in the Facility, but there was no time for anything that pristine. Even so, the whole visual did not paint as complete of a scene as it possibly could. Qheria turned her blade upon the lenght of her own left arm and slashed it, drawing a considerable amount of blood. She used that blood to paint a crimson picture over the core she had taken. Mhyl might be better at art, and Thanrie was a way better actor, but it was reality that Qheria wanted to bring before Lwyn, devoid of as many illusions as possible. Even if it was not the blood of Lwyn’s mother, she was certain this would present a very vivid memory for Lwyn.

Trying to hold the core in her left hand, soaking it further in her own dripping blood, Qheria relied upon her right arm to warp her all the way back. She returned, heavily exhausted due to her serious injury. Thanrie gave room for her passage, to only then notice the severity of Qheria’s wounds. Mhyl and Yhse stopped fighting, noticing Qheria’s return as well. Mhyl gasped in horror at the bloody nightmare walking before her, the terrifying visage of her friend wounded so seriously. She rushed to help Qheria, who only warped beyond her. Qheria walked right up to Yhse, who herself was shaking in fear.

“Don’t forget your own conviction, your own promise to your mother. You still have a job to do.” Qheria passed Yhse the core, and then collapsed on the floor. Yhse cradled the core, the tears flowing in full force as a torrential river, her promises to herself coming right back to her. She had indeed made promises she needed to keep, promises to her mother and her vision, promises to her friends and their unity.. promises to Lwyn, to always share in their struggle. It was time for her to remain true to her promises.

Mhyl worked diligently to make sure Qheria was healed. Thanrie stumbled forwards, her head in a spiral, realizing to what degree Qheria had gone to save Lwyn. “I’m sorry everyone… I’m.. very sorry for all of this. F~~k, I can’t believe what I’ve done.” “F~~k, Lwyn, you’re back! It’s about F~~~ing time. Don’t worry about it, we’re just glad you’re back.” “F~~k, is Qheria going to be okay..? Actually, is everyone else alright too? I’m…” Lwyn, herself once again, sniffled though her torment.

“Okay, would you two stop with that stupid swear, it’s getting on my nerves, and I’m kinda busy right now. Your swearing sucks, seriously.” “Huh? But it’s not like…” “Yes, yes, you two have been doing it forever, and it’s like ‘F~~k’ this, ‘F~~k’ that, ‘F~~~ing things. Bloody hell, do neither of you have even an ounce of vocabulary? I was expecting to hear things like B~…” Mhyl was fuming, having snapped in the tense moment herself of trying to save Qheria. Thanrie was still slack-jawed, never hearing Mhyl talk like this before. Worse, instead of complaining that they were swearing, it almost seemed like she was just upset that it was always the same swear, the whole time.. which in reflection that might actually be true.

Their whole journey had mostly been full of the one awkward swear to keep them going, and even Thanrie herself, the most prized at using such foul phrasing, was finding herself feeling a bit out of place. Somehow, it was like the one who had the best skill with such language might actually be their language expert, who had refrained from it their entire journey. It made Thanrie seriously doubt her abilities with such context, which in hindsight might be for the best. In a way, it was like the one thing she kept doing to try and pretend she was someone of a world she wasn’t part of. The mixture of memories, the freedom of expression it enabled felt very empowering for her, but she really wasn’t even as skilled at it as the terran self of her memories. Even Mhyl sounded like she could do the whole thing better, if that was something which interested her. It was an idea she would have to keep in mind going forwards.

Meanwhile, Mhyl had stopped her sudden speech due to being interrupted by Qheria. “I know everyone is stressed right now, but could everyone please even try to remain level-headed. Yes, we’re back together, and it looks like my plan to save Lwyn has worked, but maybe we’re forgetting something. Instead of sinking into problems that have been caused, we have to keep moving onward. There is still more to be done, Khaexyn is still out there after all. We still don’t even know where he is.” Qheria stood up, her arm wound having closed already in the light of Mhyl’s gift. She was still feeling the onset of some serious blood loss, but even that was recovering from Mhyl’s gift. While this occurred, they would need to plan their next move.

“I.. I do. Father had told me where he was going, where I had to make sure to protect. He’s in his main laboratory, in the basement of the Library. It’s in a hidden doorway, I know how to open it.” Lwyn was realizing that the instructions that were left to Yhse were their key to actually finding her father through all of this mess. The knowledge provided was almost in betrayal of her own father, feeling like how Yhse’s existence was even helping to pave the way to stopping her father. All that was left was to make use of this knowledge, and stop him before he completed his goal. She startled to alert, also recalling that Yhse had been trying to stall for time. They were racing against the clock here, they didn’t have time to lose.

“Mhyl, actually, we have to get moving. I don’t think we have much time left, Yhse.. I was supposed to stall you guys. Try and see if you can heal things up along the way, I’ll show you guys where we need to go.” Lwyn summoned a mass collection of gravity wells and supplied them to carry along everyone else with her, leading the way with her own gift. She took mental note that she couldn’t consider herself as two people, Lwyn.. Yhse.. she was both of them after all. Mhyl attempted to do as instructed, carrying out Qheria’s healing as they proceeded.

Quickly after, the four of them arrived at the library, with Qheria’s healing finally completed. After getting the hidden door unlocked, the four of them descended into the hidden laboratory in the levels below.

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VM – Chapter 76

Mesmerizing Betrayal

The trap was finally set, all that remained was for all the pieces to play their part. Khaexyn continued on his efforts, focusing on the world’s veil, as his greatest weapon ever went on the prowl.

Mhyl found herself in yet another familiar area. This would be the place where they had rested on the first night, narrowly escaping from capture. Recalling such thoughts, she wasn’t very inclined to rest there, but was going over her thoughts to see if she could get her bearings. However, at this point, she couldn’t even recall if they had made a right or left after exiting the room. All of this had felt so long ago, the details were so fleeting for her. The fact that things were so run down wasn’t helping jog her memory either.

As she pondered the answer, a small sphere floated towards her. Mhyl set to her guard out of reflex, before recognizing it. This was one of Lwyn’s things, Lwyn did this? It hovered over her head for a moment as she pondered its design. Then, as programmed, it set off again. Mhyl ran after it, knowing that Lwyn expected her to follow it. If she was lucky, it would lead her right to Lwyn. She carefully followed it along the halls, which had grown especially quiet. She glanced around, wondering why there wasn’t any more defenses all of a sudden. Easily keeping pace, she followed the sphere until it lead her to another familiar location. This was the place they had first found Sxeiva, outside where they were basically keeping people captive. She remembered when they had passed here, searching for Lwyn. The sphere continued inside.

Mhyl followed it until she found Lwyn, tied up with strange shackles in one of the cells, looking very tired. “Lwyn!” Mhyl’s shout alerted Lwyn, who hid her excitement at her plan coming together. Instead, Yhse used the short smirk she couldn’t hide to bluff her excitement at being rescued. “Mhyl! Thank goodness that worked. They.. took me captive. These cuffs, they stop me from using my gift, but I managed to get that one sphere out there. Don’t get too close to them, just drop something on the chain or something, if the chain breaks the effects will wear off.” Yhse of course was making all of this up. The chains binding her were completely natural, she could easily break free on her own at any time if she wanted. Mhyl however followed instructions, cautiously setting Yhse free. Mhyl gave some idle thought just how come Lwyn might have been aware exactly how such shackles worked, but knew Lwyn was pretty smart, so that probably explained it.

With that done, it was time for the next step. Yhse summoned two spheres, with instructions to find the other two, follow them, and to flash brightly if it returned too close to her. It was like setting an alarm for their approach. After Mhyl was taken care of, she could try to restart the whole process with Thanrie, repeating the whole thing another time for Qheria as well. She knew the spheres would prompt the two to search for her instead of her father, which would also give him the time he needed to finish his work. Mhyl however looked at the two spheres in confusion, wondering what that was about. Yhse caught on to the confusion, and gave an explanation. “Oh, I’m still looking for Qheria, but I actually found Thanrie. She’s in trouble, we have to go save her!” Yhse built urgency to encourage Mhyl to keep going.

Mhyl however still felt confused, something wasn’t right. “Lwyn, what about you? You were weakened a lot there, are you sure you’re alright?” “Oh, I’m doing fine, don’t worry. Lets just hurry.” Mhyl noticed the return of Lwyn’s plastic smile, that fake smile that showed she was being kept from something, which just caused her to worry even more. Even Yhse was not aware to what degree Mhyl had grown capable of detecting this of her best friend. She followed along anyway, keeping an eye on Lwyn the entire time. Eventually, they arrived at a tunnel going down, a faint dark glow humming from below.

“Thanrie and I had gone down there, when suddenly the lights went dim like this. Thanrie had suddenly freaked out, and we got ambushed. I had stayed behind as Thanrie had fled through the room into the area beyond it. I heard the guards saying they were going to lock the place down, because there was no other escape. Thanrie would be trapped in here, we have to save her!” Yhse marvelled at how well this story worked, how inviting it was. From here, it would only get better. Mhyl looked down, not seeing much of anything in the darkness, not even being aware that the room was mostly flooded at this distance. Two weaknesses in one setup, it was perfect. When Yhse brought Thanrie here, she would just need to turn the lights back on and comment about Mhyl and the water. Yhse could then just get the lights to fail again, putting Thanrie in this eerie darkness.

Mhyl looked down, finding it especially weird that Lwyn wasn’t bursting ahead of her like normal. Mhyl had grown used to needing to keep up, something here was really wrong. Figuring out that Lwyn expected Mhyl to go first, she set off down the ladder into the darkness. “Make sure to search down there carefully, we don’t know where an enemy might show up or something.” Yhse shouted down at her as she also descended. Mhyl tried to scan the room with her headset, but saw a lot of nothing. Something in the room was interfering with her headset. Mhyl then summoned a light to help her see better, as she continued leading the way. It became quickly obvious that the room was huge, with her light failing to pierce the darkness in all directions, the minor existing lights failing to show anything of value due to being so dim. Mhyl also had her book ready, keeping a careful eye out for any enemies. She noticed Lwyn also had her crossbow ready, glancing around casually.

Having progressed far enough into the room, Yhse focused on her crossbow, taking aim on her real target. Mhyl noticed Lwyn focusing, but could see no target anywhere. There wasn’t anyone here but.. her. Yhse fired, and Mhyl went invisible, dodging forwards with an aerial flip. The bolt struck right where she used to be, unable to track her very well through her invisibility. Mhyl did not drop the stealth, but her landing made audible noise for Yhse to pick up on. Since Yhse herself was fighting blind, she summoned a series of spheres, so that she could engage her enemy in melee. She hadn’t actually had time to figure out the trick to Mhyl’s stealth, so this was kinda annoying.

Seeing the spheres summoned, Mhyl focused with her book and stepped off of the landing into thin air. Landing upon her invisible platform, she took to the air. Yhse found her attacks reaching nothing. However, she knew of a slight advantage. The room itself was very cold, the ice water cooling things down as they advanced. Yhse and Mhyl were the warmest things in the room. Heat-seeking shots, excluding herself as a target. If they tracked her by heat alone, that would do it. Yhse fired bolts into the air, which spun around and set out after their mid air target. Mhyl narrowly dodged the bolts, but fell from her floating platform in the process. She used her gift to decrease the impact of her fall, having fallen a couple of levels. Descending this far, Yhse’s trap was no longer hidden by darkness. Not far below Mhyl was an endless expanse of freezing cold water, the chill of the sight going straight up her spine as the shots Yhse sent off ended up passing into the cold water and lost their course in the cold. This was, without a shadow of a doubt, a trap.

“So this is what you were hiding. Really, I should have guessed.” “Huh? What exactly gave everything away?” “Oh come on, really? You’re nothing like Thanrie, you’re probably the worst liar imaginable.” Mhyl was actually only half serious, her fear hiding the other half. She knew Lwyn was a pro at hiding her feelings, that’s probably why she was so good at that board game. But after the time they had spent together, she had learned to spot all the signs of when Lwyn was keeping something from her. This was probably the first time Lwyn had actually came up with such an intricate tale, direct lies clearly weren’t her strong point either.

Yhse shrugged, realizing she might have made a few miscalculations. Maybe Thanrie would have been a better choice to start with. Still, even if her surprise attack failed, she still had Mhyl exactly where she wanted her. Mhyl also realized she was in trouble. In situations like this, she would usually dodge the simple moves and obliterate her powerful enemies. Yhse wasn’t any simple enemy, but was also someone she was seriously hesitant to simply obliterate. This was her best friend here, firing on her for some still unknown reason. Mhyl was doing everything she could mostly to fight back against the her tears. The comfort was that she knew this wasn’t the Lwyn she had always known, she knew Lwyn’s feelings had been honest all that time just the same way as she could instinctively know she was being lied to now. Something had changed, something she couldn’t figure out.

Yhse fired off another heat seeker, which Mhyl targeted directly, erasing it while in the air. Yhse pondered the issue, ah, the things were too slow, made them easy to pick off. She would need attacks that flew faster against Mhyl. “Lwyn, stop it, why are you doing this?!” “Stop calling me Lwyn! I’m not your F~~~ing Lwyn” Mhyl noticed Yhse pause in fury, rejecting her very name. But if this wasn’t Lwyn, then… “So, you’re Yhse again, aren’t you. Papa’s little lap dog?” Mhyl was furious, having to fight Sxeiva was a torment, but this took the cake. Was Lwyn really lost to them, then? Was everything really just going to end like this? Just how low was Khaexyn going to sink in his depravity.

Mhyl focused on the water below her, chilling the air above it. This chill still felt like warmth to her, her own feelings as if ice to the air itself. As Yhse prepared another projectile, suddenly a lance of ice shot out from the water and surged towards her. Yhse activated one of her gravity wells, pulling her safely out of the way as the lance struck the wall behind her, freezing everything there solid. However, pulled out of the way, Yhse had a clear shot, and Mhyl had no opportunity to dodge. Mhyl was struck in the shoulder as she fell into the water.

Yhse was momentarily disappointed in herself and her moment of weakness. Surely she had better aim than that, and could strike a place much more vital. This was the healer she was fighting, any non-lethal attack could just be healed. Still, having knocked Mhyl into the water was a victory in itself. Yhse prepared to advance on her victim when she caught the flash of a bright flare above her. Wait, now? Someone else was here.

Thanrie looked down into the dark abyss, hearing the crashing occurring below. She knew there was fighting going on, and had the feeling someone was in trouble. She braved herself for a closer look and descended part of the ladder. Faintly in the dim shadows, she saw Lwyn there waiting for her. “Oh, Lwyn, what’s going on?” “Thanrie, just in time. Mhyl just fell into the water, I need help rescuing her. Do you think you can lend me a hand?” Thanrie got one of her feelings again, this one confusing her. Thanrie basically got the feeling that this whole thing was a trap. But certainly she could trust Lwyn, right? Thanrie descended the ladder, hearing everything had faded into silence.

Yhse hid a snarl at this, having figured out Mhyl had heard the conversation and wanted to turn everything into the wrong impression. Knowing that gasping for air would only lure Thanrie into the trap, Mhyl had instead opted to suffer the water longer. She used her gift to bring a bubble of air under water, and used the submerged air as a place to recover in without being heard by the surface. She tried hard to recover as quickly as possible. Thanrie meanwhile noted the absolute silence. The feeling that this was a trap was getting much harder to ignore, instead it was looking really convincing.

“Lwyn, could you explain what is going on? Nothing here is making sense, there isn’t even any sign of Mhyl. I just heard fighting not long ago, what happened?” “Oh, I was defending her when she got hit by one of them and uh.. Oh F~~k it!” Thanrie managed to block the sphere that Yhse sent surging towards her, using with her metallic claw after still having kept that ready. “Look out Thanrie, something happened to Lwyn, this whole thing is a trap.” “Mhyl, thanks, yeah.. you’re a couple moments short on that warning. Still, I had a feeling something was wrong.” Mhyl struggled out from the water as Thanrie lunged towards Yhse. Yhse however applied another gravity well to go upwards, then came smashing downwards with her sphere in a follow up. Right, Lwyn could calculate this stuff, Thanrie had almost forgotten just how bad this match-up was. She had dueled Lwyn before winning only because she was physically stronger. This however was not just a fist fight, Lwyn was making full use of her gift in addition to her cunning intellect. This was the exact match-up Thanrie had originally worried about.

Still, Thanrie had endured the same situation against the mechanical assassin of Sxeiva, this was almost the same thing. The only difference was, this was really Lwyn, she couldn’t pull out some of her best against this kind of foe, but Lwyn didn’t seem so hesitant. “F~~k, so why are we fighting Lwyn exactly?” “I told you, I’m not…!” “Yhse, not Lwyn anymore. That idiot is seriously going to pay for this.” Thanrie clued in past Yhse’s objections with Mhyl’s insight. This was somehow Khaexyn’s fault. Sending Sxeiva wasn’t enough for the deplorable maniac, he had to break Lwyn too. Realizing Lwyn was lost to them, Thanrie’s rage built along with Mhyl.

Thanrie surged into a frenzy, slashing towards Yhse ceaselessly with a chaotic swirl of claws. Yhse dodged one, only to find another was going to that space already, to then have to dodge again. Left with a chain of dodging, Yhse was unable to keep up, and got slamed by the claw, sending her into the far back wall with a crunch. The sound returned Thanrie to her senses, realizing what she was doing to her friend. Mhyl rushed over to provide healing for Yhse, only to get struck by another sphere. Yhse struggled to her feet, determined to not let her father down. Things weren’t going as well as she had first hoped, but she just needed to hold on as long as possible, even if it killed her.

Yhse advanced on Mhyl, left wide open after her careless approach. Yhse then summoned a laser blade into her hands and set it off towards Mhyl, only for Thanrie to smash into it with her scythe. Providing time by slowing the blade’s own time, Mhyl was able to get out of the way. Right, Thanrie could time freeze, that wasn’t convenient at all. Thanrie was also really good at close range, but still couldn’t beat her long range dominance. Backing off a large distance, she called forth a multitude of spheres. Sure, at this distance, Thanrie might be able to deal with one, maybe two. Not all of them. She sent the entire mass forth as an ensuant surge, all coming from different directions. Thanrie knew right away her odds of dealing with all this were slim. However, two giant pillars of ice appeared at her sides, freezing the projectiles mid flight. Taking advantage of the opportunity, she lashed out with a time freeze at those making a more direct course. A few still managed to get by, some slamming into her claw, a couple caught her by the leg.

Thanrie was starting to get a bit dizzy, her claw having taking quite a bruising so far. While it looked useful to block with, she couldn’t forget that using it was akin to blocking with her own flesh and blood. Her one leg was starting to tremble to the pain, having taken quite a harsh shot. Her pride sunk in this instance too, realizing that a sharp pain to the knee really does a lot to ruin your sense of balance. Maybe that stupid silly quote wasn’t as funny as she had always thought it was. Mhyl rushed over to provide healing, only to suddenly have to dodge a large blast from Yhse. The attack didn’t strike her at all, but did force her to retreat. Yhse just knew, no matter what, she had to make sure to keep the two of them split up. Having Thanrie healed by Mhyl would only make this whole situation worse.

Qheria paused in her trail as a sphere of energy approached her, sitting there patiently. Qheria knew right away where this sphere came from, and what it would represent. This was how Lwyn would track her, which implied things had already progressed. Qheria was falling behind, she had to find the others right away, before things got any worse. She started pressing forwards with her warps much more carelessly, almost as if to outrun the sphere following her. In the nearly silent warp process, she could hear conflict far off in the distance. She headed in that direction, intent on it’s destination, already certain what she would find when she arrived. Warping towards yet another corner, the sphere following her suddenly exploded in a brilliant flare.

Qheria noticed the ladder going downwards at this point, hearing the conflict going on below. Lwyn would know she arrived, she would have to play her cards very carefully.

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VM – Chapter 75

Inevitable Reversal

Lwyn left the library, her thoughts preoccupied with her new agenda, the new task she had to accomplish. The challenge she was suddenly to face was immense, but she would not turn from it, instead she would keep moving onward, walking as if in a hypnotic trance.

“Yhse, daughter, do be careful. You might know more about your enemy than I do, but I know they are dangerous. They will not be easy to deal with.” Khaexyn wasn’t wrong, she knew just how powerful the three girls she hunted were. The three of them were friends to this Lwyn, someone she was no longer. Her father had cleared her mind of their manipulation, had set her free from their lies. Yhse owed him for it, and would return that debt with the death of his enemies.

Yhse waved at her father as he went back to his work. He was hard at work at erasing the chains of hate shackling the world, trapping it under the guise of a gift. He would still need more time to keep going, and she would need to ensure she could buy him that time. While outnumbered, she knew she had an advantage. All three of them were separated, letting her deal with them individually. Additionally, they all seemed to find value in her, still thinking she was so completely manipulated by them. She could turn that against them, catching them completely unaware.

Still, that wasn’t enough of a plan. Being also separated from them, she had no idea where they even were. Worse, she knew what they were capable of, a surprise attack might not be enough by itself, so she needed a way to invite further advantages for herself. To do that, she needed more information. A map would have helped, but she knew the book from the library which would typically handle such was still left at the facility, along with the veil core. Her father was not impressed to hear such news, but was more alarmed by her dizzy spell, recalling such details. He had warned her that she needed to be careful for that reason as well, the tampering of her mind left by the other three girls could have harsh repercussions if she let herself get too distracted by thoughts. She needed to remain focused on her objective at hand.

The basement levels of each Spire had their own secure rooms, with a lot of extra supplies. The bottom of the nearby fifth spire contained a very detailed map, like a spoiler for the entire Fortress layout. She took the news provided to her and set off for that location, following her father’s guidance. Such guidance was only betrayed when she found the path had caved in, leaving her in a bit of a predicament. She considered the layout, and found she wasn’t certain of any alternate path. Instead, she summoned a sphere, passing it the instructions to find her a way forward. The orb however simply fell from her hand and shattered. That did not help, she got the feeling that such implied all the passages were equally blocked, or that this was the only path.

She contemplated for a moment destroying the rubble before her, but recalled that this could bring the roof down above her. With consideration of a roof falling, she got an even further idea, maybe she could cause the roof below her to fall instead. She was aiming for a basement, going down was just part of the plan. She backed off a long distance and threw forth a sphere, which coursed towards the center of the hall and crashed into the ground at high velocity. The impact caused the ground to give way, forming as a ramp downwards. She then tried her guidance sphere again, which this time proceeded down the makeshift ramp. Yhse chased after it, still considering the rest of the details of her plan.

Mhyl paused in alarm as the path before her suddenly caved in violently. Well, that direction wasn’t an option any longer, she would have to find another path. As she turned around, she thought she saw a faint flicker of something moving from her headset, but it was gone quickly. She suspected it might have just been things sliding in the collapse. Mhyl backtracked along the path, plotting out a new course. She had found that suddenly she had ran out of enemies to fight, instead she was passing wreckage of shredded enemies. She was pretty certain she was travelling in circles, but couldn’t see another way forward. She had tried to back-track, but that had only lead to a caved in portion of the path. Realizing she might be trapped, Mhyl tried to erase a bit of the rubble blocking her path. As she could only expect, disturbing the fallen rubble simply shifted the ceiling, causing more rubble to fall nearby dangerously. However, this time it had cleared enough of the area above her that she could go up.

Mhyl struggled on the surfaces of the climb, wishing she was even half the climber Lwyn was. There was nothing simple about this climb, and she couldn’t even warp it like Qheria could, or grapple up like Thanrie. Struggling in despair, Mhyl settled back down, deep in thought. Well, if Thanrie and Qheria used their gift, why couldn’t she? She looked at the obstacle before her, considering her options. Flying would be the easiest thing, if only.. actually, she made her book float through the air, why couldn’t she? Right, because using herself as a target of her gift was dangerous at best. But then, couldn’t she just stand on something valid? She looked upon the book she held, too small, even as a platform. If she didn’t have what she needed, she would have to create it. Shimmering into the air before her was a transparent sheet of crystal, almost glass in its design, but more like plastic. She sat upon it carefully as she used her gift to lift it up. Surpassing her obstacle, she took a step to the ground before suddenly rethinking her move. There was almost nothing to the design for her floating sheet, and not only did it move faster, but it took less of her stamina than all this walking. A smile forming upon her face, she relaxed onto her accommodation as it set forth in the air along the path.

Yhse made sure to return her father’s map to its safe confines, not wanting for even more of such things to become lost to him. She did take a moment to consider though how much value there was in that, the Fortress was obviously a lost cause in its ruined state. Still, it might not matter, it was better to leave things as they should be, her father would look after the rest. It had been his life’s work, certainly she could keep order for him in such a minor gesture of appreciation. In that light, it wasn’t even her place to envision how things would be after his work came to light, she would simply figure things out as they were presented to her.

The map had even done it’s work, and shown her exactly what she needed. There was a perfect room in the bottom levels of the eleventh spire, the only exit was from above and the room itself was full of wireframe bridges over a giant spanning room. The contents of the room were all experiments, sealed in vats that worked hard to expend the growing heat from the furnaces within, glowing with the heat generated. But, in case things got out of hand, there was a backup measure in place, to flood the room with ice water in order to deal with any disasters, which could also be drained. Yhse couldn’t think of a more perfect room, to make use of. However, first she would have to reach the control room, and cause a bit of chaos. She was apologetic for misusing her father’s work like this, but there really wasn’t any better option.

Continuing towards her destination, Yhse heard sounds echoing down the hall. Someone was approaching. She climbed up the ceiling and hid behind the infrastructure, much like she had done around here in the past. The footsteps got closer, and she looked down at the one named Thanrie wandering by. Thanrie had however paused, getting the feeling she was missing something. She continued looking around, not sure what she could be missing in an empty hall, and just shrugged. Not once did she look up. Thanrie had a pretty good idea at least that she was no where close to where she should be, and that she was totally lost. What really bothered her was that, the more she travelled around, the more she saw absolutely no signs of life anywhere. When they were last here, the place was full of people doing all sorts of things, but now there was nothing. She had found what was probably the kitchen earlier, completely in a state of disuse. She had some idle hope that she could have found someone who knew their way around, that someone knew where stuff was, but she had found nothing. At the very least, she had found no signs of death either, but things still seemed grim in that regards.

Continuing along the halls, she confronted yet another enemy. Still faced with more aethyrnz, she sighed, getting bored. “Halt, aethyrnz patrols are not permitted at this hour. Curfew has passed already, please return your head to my scythe for routine rest.” Thanrie mocked her enemy as she sliced into it. It didn’t help much, she didn’t even have her friends around to see it. She had a feeling Lwyn would have sighed in reaction to seeing such a performance.. actually, wouldn’t she have normally laughed? Laughing at such a thing was much more like Lwyn, Mhyl was the one who would usually sigh at her for such banter. Didn’t matter either way, no one was here. The way things were going, she was getting the feeling it was going to be far more important to find her friends before anything else. They just needed to regroup, discuss their findings, and work things out. Qheria and Lwyn usually had a plan, after all, they just needed notes. It was sad she didn’t think she could provide many of such notes, she was generally at a loss here.

Yhse sighed at Thanrie’s behaviour, watching her continue on her way and around the corner. Disrespecting her father’s creations like that was pretty rude, she would need to make sure Thanrie was taught a lesson for that one. Still, now wasn’t a good time, she needed an opportunity to get everything ready. It was at least good to know where one of them was, even though they were going opposite directions and would be long separated by the time she was done. Considering Thanrie’s approach, and the layout of the halls, it was obvious Thanrie would either get lost going circles in the central area, or end up at the spire she had just left. With that information, she might want to consider targeting someone else when the time came, just out of matters of opportunity. Maybe the best target to start with would be Mhyl, especially considering the arena she would have set up. There was also the fact that Thanrie’s intuition often seemed far too good, setting the stage might be easier with Mhyl, especially since Mhyl had exposed herself so much more to the aspect known as Lwyn than any of the others.

Yhse pondered the third of the group as she traveled. Qheria might in the end prove to be the biggest problem, considering her nature. Being so defensive made her difficult to reach, being able to teleport made her the hardest to avoid. However, Qheria got most of her gift from being able to slam the ground, something which would become very difficult in the arena she was setting up. As such, she was certain that she would do best by making sure Qheria was not involved at the start of the fight. She would need to set measures to warn her if any of them were approaching, so that she could prepare accordingly. But such measures could wait until she was ready to confront Mhyl. Having only arrived at her destination at that moment, Yhse set about preparing the resources of her plan, making sure everything would be ready. It wasn’t the most complicated plan, sure, but none of them would see it coming until it was too late.

Qheria finally arrived at the library and looked around. As soon as she stepped in, two aethyrnz exited their storage and attacked her. So this room was guarded, huh? Odd then that Lwyn had been in this very room, left alone, as if her stay was welcomed. It instead honestly felt like her arrival was predicted, preordained, fated. Qheria smashed into her enemies with all of her pent-up fury, directly smashing into one as the motion to trigger her gift, instead of using the ground at her feet. Both enemies crushed together, smashing to pieces. However, she could find no clues of what transpired here, or where anyone had gone. All that she had was the evidence that Lwyn had let her father go, and her father had obviously lead her here. It reminded Qheria of hypnosis, just with a bit of a Celesi twist maybe. Leaving Lwyn in such a state could cause any number of problems, especially if Lwyn found either Mhyl or Thanrie before she did.

The biggest threat was that neither of them would be prepared for the state Lwyn was in, which could put them in any kinds of danger. But more so would be the sudden shock of what Lwyn might do without them knowing why she did it. Qheria remembered the other’s reactions to Lwyn sending them away, it had hurt, and that was done when she was only being lightly manipulated. This time, she might do something more dramatic, and it would tear their hearts apart in confusion. She needed to save everyone, first by bringing this knowledge to Thanrie and Mhyl, secondly by restoring Lwyn to her senses. To do any of that, she needed a plan.

It was fortunate that Lwyn would not know Qheria herself was so informed, which could itself cause Lwyn to slip up to Qheria’s advantage. However, if Lwyn was working with her father, she had the advantage of the Fortress to work with. Lwyn would certainly not underestimate them either, she would be working on her own plan to ensure her own success, making use of whatever resources she had at her disposal. Qheria still had no idea what kind of resources those might include, but her biggest concern was how she might get Lwyn to submit, how to remove the manipulation. Her best bet was either a resistance gift or Mhyl’s healing, but in either case she had to have Lwyn unable to fight against it. Meanwhile, in a worst case, Lwyn might be driven to attack them with all of her might, and Qheria was fully aware just how capable Lwyn was in this area. Even the idea of compelling Lwyn to bleed out her stamina, that could put their lives in danger just to accomplish, with very minimal assurance of success.

Thinking things over carefully, Lwyn was probably planning on using the fact they were all separated to try and take each of them out individually. She would pick an initial target, the foremost probably not being herself, unfortunately. To break Qheria’s own defenses, Lwyn would want to salvage her stamina for the big strikes. Considering everyone’s potential, Lwyn would probably go after Thanrie before the rest of them. Thanrie’s highly aggressive nature would make her important to secure first, and her lack of defenses would make her the easiest target. In that light, Qheria had to make sure to find Thanrie first. Thanrie would be navigating in two ways, either scythe grapples or dashing with her boots. The scythe would leave subtle marks on the wall, while the boots would scatter a dust pattern from it’s wind current. Qheria set off to locate either.

After a while of exploring, she passed by a section of the floor that had collapsed. Inspecting the area, she found what was clearly section of the walls that had simply vanished. That was Mhyl’s work, she had clearly been here. However, she wasn’t searching for Mhyl, Mhyl would come later. There weren’t any tracks around here anyway, no sign Mhyl had came up to this level, so she was probably down below somewhere. Qheria kept exploring until she found an aethyrnz with its head divided by a blade. This certainly looked more like Thanrie’s work. With a few more observations, she eventually picked up on Thanrie’s trail.

Yhse sighed, her hard work finally completed. Everything was going according to plan. She summoned another orb and provided it with instructions. It was to traverse the halls, searching for Mhyl, and to go completely invisible when in the presence or line of sight of either Qheria or Thanrie. Once it finds her, it is to hover over her head for a few moments, and then instead start searching for Yhse herself, still with the same invisibility requirements. This way, if the sphere returned without Mhyl, she would know they had re-converged and Yhse would need to figure out a new plan. Maybe she could then use the halls to separate them again with yet another force field? Maybe she could draft a story telling how her father had escaped and was now racing across the mountain, which would then at least give her father the time needed to complete his project. Either way, such plans would have to wait for if they were even needed, and by her calculations they shouldn’t be. Instead, she would have to keep moving, to get into position to present a fitting story for Mhyl to suffer with.

Yhse sent the sphere on it’s way, watching it glide casually along the halls. Meanwhile, Yhse set off towards her own destination, carefully going over all the details of the plan before everything would finally occur.

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VM – Chapter 74

Security Network

The four girls made their way into the fortress, determined to press the advantage they had worked so hard for. Somehow, they needed to bring this conflict to an end, and that would involve finding Khaexyn.

The four girls were otherwise alone, everyone else remaining outside. There was still a large number of enemies to deal with, leaving everything undefended would not have been a smart choice. Sending all four of them in was still a very aggressive move, but that might draw in some of the fighting from outside. Qheria could see the benefit of acting as an aggressive bait for everyone, to keep people safe. That just meant that, unlike their first trip, they wouldn’t be using her mother’s approach. This time, it was far more like Ehryinae’s method.

Lwyn fired off a volley, clearing a path forward through the dim hallway. Thanrie was finding the wrecked halls looking even scarier than they had while whole, but she wasn’t going to let that bother her. She passed a hall intersection and slashed apart an enemy waiting around the corner with her scythe. The gentle light Mhyl had watching over them made the halls bright enough she didn’t have to worry. Qheria meanwhile crushed an enemy chasing them from behind, realizing that so far they had everything under control.

Suddenly, within the intersection, a cross formation of shields lit up, from corner to opposite corner of the intersection. Thanrie ran into the force-field as she turned back around after her strike. Qheria paused before it, as did Mhyl, wondering how to advance. Lwyn turned around quickly after noticing no one was following her, curious what had just transpired. Qheria tried to strike the field, but the entire blow was repelled. Instead, the intersection responded with a buildup of electrical current. The four of them ran from the ensuing bolts, sparks flying all over the place. As the four of them took cover a distance away, a massive explosion resulted, taking a giant portion of the roof of the hall itself down. Getting through that wasn’t going to exactly be an option.

Qheria was fortunate though that her position gave her visibility to the level above, so used her gift to warp up to that level, and looked around the large room she ended up in. She couldn’t see any way back down, not even with her warp ability. They really were separated, then. With nothing left to do, Qheria chose to keep going. She knew everyone else would, she would just have to meet up with them in the process. Qheria set off along the winding halls on her own. Left without someone to tend to her back, Qheria picked up the pace. In long and straight halls, she would slam the ground and warp to the other side, keeping the shield up in case she was attacked. If there was an enemy in the halls, she would warp into it, destroying it in the process. Smaller halls however asked for something more casual, as she wasn’t going to waste her stamina in those situations. Having dual shields helped for covering both her front and back in the process. Overall, it wasn’t the enemies she faced that denied her, but that she had quickly became lost.

Thanrie had quickly realized that forgetting the book that mapped out the entire fortress back at the facility might not have been the smartest of choices. The thing was however about as much of a mess as the halls, so it might not have helped much. The fact some of the halls were ruined didn’t help either. Thanrie had been sorely tempted to break her way though the walls, but she knew the shielding would make that much harder than going by foot, let alone how much would be needed to break through the wall without having more roof fall on her dangerously. She just wasn’t in the best of moods, being caught now in the darkness without Mhyl’s light. Any bystander who did not know her would have however found her the scariest part of the scene, holding her scythe in a reaper stance with one hand, as she had manifested a vicious liquid metal demon claw over her other. When faced with any enemy, it could find itself divided by either weapon. Thanrie wasn’t also exactly interested in a robotic mercy for her foes, she just wanted to get through this mess.

Mhyl realized that, for once, she was totally alone. This would be hardest for her, considering that most of her gift abilities could drop the roof on her. She then instead took to a lighter approach, making use of what she had on hand. This was mostly her book, this one element not having been forgotten. It was her prized focus through her travels, something Chyurae had made for her to defend herself. As she came across her first enemy, the book also finally claimed its very own kill, as Mhyl wielded it telepathically to block an attack and then slash her foe in a spiral of motion. It didn’t make for the cleanest of kills, but she had to use what she had on hand. Another enemy showed up, which instead of getting the book thrown at it, got the previous kill spun at it instead. This did not result in a kill, frustrating Mhyl. Stupid things were more useless than her book was at being used like a weapon.

Mhyl went completely invisible, advanced upon her enemy, and opened the book. She then focused on the metal sheets acting as pages to the book. The pages unfurled from the book as duplicates, leaving their original forms behind, and spun as a stationary whirlwind in the place of her enemy, being sliced into tiny pieces before the cyclone faded away. She nodded at the results as she continued forwards, this would be an effective way to proceed, way better than her existing alternatives. Just took a bit of realistic illusions, a form of conjuration summoned as a bladed trap. Didn’t even take much from her to do this, and the results were dramatic. Being invisible would also give her a bit of a defensive measure, but she knew to remain careful. There was always the chance someone could find her even while invisible.

Lwyn considered her situation, in the moment she was lost, and realized she was the last person who should ever be lost in such a situation. She summoned a tiny orb, which floated over her hand for a moment as she gave it instructions. It needed to find her father. The orb flickered in the air, as if lost itself, and then vanished. Weird, her gift couldn’t find her father either, then. She considered the force shields set everywhere, figuring out that her father was probably likewise protected. The shields were probably also why Mhyl had found it so hard to use her headset to travel around, itself being affected as well. The things had a nasty habit of blocking the gift as is. She considered creating another orb to track one of her friends, but realized that since they were all moving such a decision might be impractical. In fact, such a choice might have worked, if only she had more information. Instead, she would have to depend on her own natural ability. After all, right now, there was only one direction, she could save a guide for when she had a better idea where she was trying to go.

Lwyn however no longer had any close range support, which put her at a bit of a disadvantage. However, she had a solution for that, and summoned plasma spheres to orbit around her, close at hand. She advanced and fell upon an enemy. She passed her spheres a simple instruction, to go through the enemy and return, as if like a boomerang. This would keep her defenses at a high, and if any of them spent themselves instead of returning, she could just recreate them. She also kept a group of dark gravity spheres on hand, ready to pull her quickly in any direction if she needed to dodge. The biggest benefit of this would be that she could still go around carrying her readied crossbow. If an enemy was too close for using it, she could commit a gravity sphere to provide enough distance for firing. With such measures prepared, she wasn’t having problems keeping safe while clearing her path of enemies.

Mhyl arrived at a signboard, providing directions for things in the immediate area. After some quick inspections, she tossed it a firm glare. She had figured out the glyphic system used for the bandits, but this looked way too much like it was Izhaethyx. She had learned to speak a lot of the language, but still couldn’t read any of it. Scoffing at the sign, she kept going regardless, and took out her frustration on the next passing enemy. She continued until she arrived in a large and somewhat familiar room. She looked up, seeing a familiar window in the level above her. Right, this was that laboratory she had seen a while ago, themselves fast at work on.. something.

Mhyl searched around, looking for anything of interest. Discarded at the side was blueprints for.. something. The words were still meaningless to her, but eventually she figured out the pictures from familiarity alone. Designs for a video game system, clearly discarded by lack of interest. As with Lwyn, Mhyl herself was also familiar with the system in question, even the corporate branding was still left there from Earth for reasons that bespoke a lack of originality. Corrupting her source of fun from Earth like this, it was insulting. Then again, that seemed to be Khaexyn in general, always one to find ways to misuse machines that should be left to rest in peace. Mhyl vaporized the blueprints before continuing, not wanting to remain in that room any longer.

Thanrie kept going until the path hit a bit of a dead-end, rubble blocking the path forwards. There was a door leading out of the hall to the side, an invitation she opted to take. Inside, Thanrie found herself in a dark yet familiar room. This was the change room she had hidden in before, leading to her meeting with the three girls she later found were spies. Sitting discarded to the side was the blood-frayed outfit set for the one who would be assigned laundry duty, so far neglected as the organic staff no longer remained. Out of curiosity, she wandered into the laundry room itself.

The giant hand-cranked mechanism stood above her, teetering on a precarious ledge. She only had a vague idea how it worked, but could already imagine a list of reasons why this wasn’t safe at all. It was ludicrous, making something like this with a total disregard of humane conditions like personal safety. This was the design of someone who wanted to re-write the laws of the world, someone who didn’t even consider elements like personal well-being. Thanrie knew, even if they had any need of anything from Earth, it would not be without some of the saner elements such as safety mechanisms. She pressed on, finding a second exit from the laundry room, leading passed the rubble that had blocked her path before.

Lwyn kept wandering onwards, making her way forwards through all the loops and turns of the Fortress. As someone whose gift helps with navigation, she could truly grasp the complexity of the network of tunnels before her, like an extra defense system within. She did however prefer the Citadel, being a lot more inviting. Making things harder for people by sheer design was only good if you expected to have more enemies then friends, an idea which didn’t sit very well with her. She could totally understand though why her father disagreed, considering everything he had lived through. He was still an idiot, though.

Lwyn eventually entered a hall she somehow found familiar. The passage split, leading to a ruined corridor she swore she otherwise recognized. Looking around, she became even more certain, this was the base of her spire. Well, Yhse’s spire, but that was close enough. She followed the path along memory lane until it took her back to the library. She remembered this place, finding her friends here with the plants, finding the truth of her father here. She felt like she was generally guided to this spot, like she was supposed to be here. It made sense, they would all recognize this spot, it would be the perfect place to meetup.

Lwyn sat down in one of the chairs, figuring out that since she hadn’t been attacked for a while, this place might be too far removed from their enemy’s forces. It was a great place to sit and wait for that reason as well. Mostly though, she was suddenly getting really sleepy. She didn’t think she had burnt that much stamina, but maybe she just hadn’t recovered enough with just her short nap at the facility. If this place was so safe, so secure, so inviting.. maybe it would be fine if she took a quick nap here. As footsteps approached from a back hall, Lwyn rapidly lost all consciousness.

Qheria considered the layout of the Fortress, a spiral maze in nature. Despite this, she had one idea pressing her thoughts, that the best place to go would be the spot that was the most important, a supervisory perch for the Fortress. From there, she could get more information, maybe even find the actual supervisor of the Fortress himself. They had been through two other designs like this in the past, and one prevailing rule was true in both the facility and the factory. The supervisor perch was always in the highest central level of the main area. The whole Fortress was split into twelve segments with an outer and inner portion. Even as a maze, these principles gave some guiding foundation on how to proceed. She had eventually arrived at what she was certain was the central section, and kept looking for ways up. The spirals were all inaccessible, having been destroyed. However, she was interested in going even more central than that, the very top middle of the entire Fortress.

Eventually, she found a stairwell that accomplished that very goal, leading into a cluttered and otherwise abandoned work space. The scene before her looked as of a marvel, like a modern day security room, one of them smashed to pieces. Papers and documents scattered everywhere, while a collection of glass boxes cluttered a wall. In closer inspection, she figured out that such devices were akin to display monitors from Earth. She just didn’t know how they worked, not even how they turned on. She felt overall the least qualified for this task, knowing the other three were generally faster at this sort of thing. Thanrie had the least knack for it, but could at least use her gift to hack into it. Qheria herself couldn’t figure out how she could apply her gift like that.

Left without recourse, Qheria fiddled with the controls until one of the boxes came to life. It showed nothing of interest, just a dark and empty room. Fiddling further, it flicked to another similarly boring scene. Qheria turned to the desk, searching over the papers left there, notes scribbled in haste for calculations of mostly nonsense. She flipped through some of the pages, looking for anything useful, until she found a scrap page with notes of a familiar word. Yhse. Scanning the page further gave more disjointed words that alarmed her. Manipulation, Veil-link, World Access Layer, Fate Controller. Lines connected Veil-link to World Access Layer, as a line passed through the circled Fate Controller connecting Veil-Link to Yhse. Under it was a note, ‘fate + soul, heart + mind’, with an arrow pointing up to the ‘Manipulation’, itself having an arrow pointing straight to Yhse. It was like a mad scientists mental road map, putting a plan together for the next great scheme.

Not liking her thoughts in the matter, she leaned up against another monitor, which turned on. She jumped at it in surprise, but glanced at the picture presented. This one was much more interesting, it was a visual of the Library. In the picture, she saw Lwyn resting on a chair, completely out of it. There was no sound, but she noticed the shadows shift as someone else entered the room. Qheria dropped the page as she noticed Khaexyn cautiously approach Lwyn, a pale shimmer enveloping him. He stopped a short distance from her, then made a quick motion towards her. She didn’t react, being fully unconscious. His hand, already extended, suddenly started to spark with a ghastly light, generating what looked mostly like a deep pale color but creating very little light. The light linked to Lwyn, passing over her for a moment in her weakened and defenseless state. Then it all faded, leaving only the original pale shimmer. Khaexyn clapped his hands, startling Lwyn awake. Qheria’s face went as equally pale as the colors she had witnessed as she noticed that Lwyn stood and gave her father a very respectful curtsy before leading him out of the room.

Qheria looked back at the sheet of paper she held, the meaning dawning upon her. Khaexyn’s manipulation would not end with just simply the loss of his wife, he had ways to manipulate his daughter too. It reminded Qheria of Sxeiva’s story, where near the end there was the part where Khaexyn had set some kind of charm on Lwyn, to manipulate her fate. It seems the depth of that charm extended a lot farther then they had expected, and that things might have gone really bad all of a sudden. If Khaexyn’s gift had just charmed Lwyn, was now manipulating her, they had a new problem. Qheria flipped through the monitors, trying to locate her other friends, but found nothing.

With no other recourse, Qheria rushed off to locate the Library and try to track everyone from there. She was determined to ensure that Lwyn would not be lost to them again, it was a sense of obligation she even owed Lwyn to hold fast to.

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