226: Busy Busy

Session end. Game state will be paused, and players are given a chance to rest.

Nicolai’s podium gained a new option. It read: Enter rest area. He tapped it, and the ground he stood upon shifted then began to sink. As the area his podium occupied sank into the ground, Nicolai watched the other Cultivators disappearing into their own underground areas.

Soon he found himself in a small room, cut off from the others

Here there was a bed, chair, table, and wash room, all of very minimalist though foreign design.

You may stay in here for up to five hours. Or you may leave at any time, returning to the space above. If you leave, you may not return until the next rest period. The game is paused and will resume in five hours.

Four hours was enough for a Cultivating human to gain a full nights rest. Some rest was necessary, but he did not think he could afford the full four hours. He had something much more important to do.

He needed to break the resistance of the undead Soul trapped within the Lotus Blossom Soul Trap Symbiote. The undead’s Soul was attuned to the Blade. Effectively, it held the keys to the Blade’s proper activation. Without dominating the Soul, he would be unable to ever use the Blade.

And without the Blade, he was very unlikely to emerge victorious when his battle with Hao and the other Cultivators resumed. That reminded him of something, and he took the Blade from where it was slung on his back. Settling down into a crossed legged pose, he placed it across his legs. It felt comfortable there. He Examined it.

Astarlotz the Third: Hungry Edge (Angelic Artifact Blade)

Type: Blood/Sword/Angelic

Tier: 3

Charge: 100/100

Astarlotz, a 9th Circle Demon, was summoned by the Blinding Lights Sect, one of the Peoples’ Seven Great Sects. They tore the Demon into three separate parts, which were used to create three Artifacts.

This was performed under orders by the Sect’s Patriarch, who wished to gift these Artifacts to his favoured son, Gideon, as a reward for reaching the third Tier of the Foundation Realm, and as encouragement to push to the Core Realm. The Artifacts were designed so that they could be combined once Gideon had reached the Core level, to become one singular Artifact.

Alas, Gideon was never to reach the Core Realm. He was slain in a duel, and the Artifacts taken by the victor. Later the victor was hunted down and assassinated by the Blinding Lights Sect, but by this time the Artifacts had been traded.

Disciples of the Blinding Lights Sect were known to frequently hunt for the Astarlotz Artifacts in the years following, up until the fall of the People.

Following on from this the Hungry Edge turned up in an outpost of the People, located in the Jungle. There it was claimed by Nicolai, an individual afflicted by the Black Gift. In an effort to save his own Soul, he engineered an energy flip, and the Hungry Edge had its Demonic Energy switched to Angelic. This had little effect on the Blades nature which remained devoted to bloodshed and battle. However, it is now especially effective when facing Outsider or Interior entities, and will no longer seek to possess its wielder.

Hungry Edge is the third of the Astarlotz Artifacts, one part of the set.

Sword-type or Blood-type Symbiotes will mesh well with this Artifact.

It has several Sword-type Arts;

- Phantom Edge

- Flying Sword

- Counter

- Discarnate Edge

- Sheath

It has three Blood-type Arts;

- Blood Drinker

- Blood Summons

- Slaughter Momentum

He found it odd to see himself listed in the description, following on after these ancient and legendary individuals. It was a shame there was no description of what exactly all these various Arts the sword had access too could do, but he would be able to find it out in time.

For now, he knew that none of them would be useable. Even if he successfully dominated the undead’s Soul, he would not properly fulfil the requirements to truly use the Blade. That wouldn’t be possible until he was Tier 3. In fact, it shouldn’t be possible for him to use it at all. His Soul simply wasn’t strong enough to activate a Tier 3 Artifact.

But he believed he would be capable of it. He’d already used it once before. Of course, it would be more accurate to say the sword had used him, but from that he knew that it was possible for it to be active in his hands. The description said it wouldn’t try to possess him, but he didn’t want that, and the description also said its nature hadn’t changed. He hoped that with the Dark, he would be able to coax it into activating.

Even then, the best he could hope for was being able to utilise its most basic Art—the ability to pass through shields made with Oma. According to what he’d learned, if an Artifact possessed that ability then the Art would be permanently active so long as the Artifact was being powered, and there was no need to manually activate it. So long as it did work, it would be all he’d need.

He took out the Soul Trap. Due to being a Symbiote, he was able to store it in his Nodes, and it was thus hidden from being easily detected and understood by other Cultivators.

But it was different to most Symbiotes. Currently, he could not do very much with it while it was in his Nodes. This was because he had not broken the undead Soul trapped inside.

As a result, it was as though the activation of the Symbiote was jammed. Only if that Soul was broken and dominated, would it be possible to activate.

He settled into a crosslegged Cultivating pose and held the Symbiote before him, focusing upon it. He could not activate it, as he could not activate any Symbiote in this Inheritance. But that was fine; he couldn’t activate it anyway since first he needed to defeat the undead Soul within.

This was a place where he had worried he might encounter trouble. But it transpired that within the Lotus Blossom Soul Trap, there was a small and strange space; a space considered separate from the Inheritance. In there, he could act freely, and the Inheritance didn’t block him from entering.

His mind pressed into the Lotus Soul Trap, and entered.

He found himself in a blank white space, nothing around him. He felt a rushing, and saw something shooting towards him.

Before he could react it had crashed into him, swarming at his mind and Soul.

Give in, and let me seize you! hissed the undead, digging at his mind.

Nicolai fought back instinctively, tearing at it, but it was fast and working hard, making ground.

I know… it said, as it dug through his memories. Nicolai. From a strange place. A strange thing. You will be mine…

Snarling, Nicolai shoved back, and suddenly he experienced memories from the undead. A great castle, long ago. He recognised it. The same castle, but back when it was in a good state of repair. Armies of dead. Warring on the jungle and the beings living there.

Chaos, as the People rose up against their Imperial masters. They needed might, and they found it in the Unwinder. They opened the gates, and it came through…

Nicolai was knocked from the memories as the undead surged into him once more.

They fought, back and across, but as they went Nicolai managed to dig more information out of the undead.

There was a secret, something it clung to, something that was right on the surface of its thinking but it tried very hard to stop him finding it. A piece of information that would change this battle, would cause them to no longer be on equal footing. Knowing this, he dug and dug, hunting for the crucial piece of information. After numerous back-and-forth mental battles, he managed to steal the secret.

This white space was his white space. He was the one who had control over the Symbiote. He owned this place. Making use of that control simply required a change of mindset.

Chains appeared from nowhere, in response to his imagination. They wrapped the undead Soul and pulled it away.

So, you worked it out. The Undead sighed, then it laughed. But you are in trouble. You only have a few days in which to break me and make me give in, Nicolai! I merely need to resist that long, and you will be killed by these Cultivators you have encountered. When you die, I will be free from this trap!

Nicolai gazed at it. But as you know, Ezreal, I am no stranger to torture, nor lacking in skill or willingness. I will put you through significant pain. Wouldn’t you rather avoid that, and give in now?

No, no, I don’t think I will. Do as you will—it will not be enough. You do not have long enough to break me.

Nicolai thought deeply. Was the undead correct? This strange place was under his complete control. He was a kind of god here. He should be able to find some ways to use that creatively.

For now, he settled on something simple, beginning to test its limits. The torture began. The undead was torn apart bit by bit, then put back together and it started again. Nicolai didn’t take any pleasure in the acts, but nor did he experience any squeamishness. To the undead’s dismay, he was increasingly creative.

Everyone gave in under torture—eventually. The only factor was how long they might last. Typically, not long, but there were always outliers.

An hour passed. Soon the undead Soul was blubbering and screaming, which he felt was a good sign. But it did not give in.

Another hour passed.

Another hour… and another…

###

The Cultivators had all linked their rooms together, a function the Inheritance allowed upon request. This was so players could sit and calmly plan, work out what they would do in the next round of the game.

Jinxiao, lined up silently beside the four other Tier 1’s, did not anticipate a calm and relaxing planning session. Her eyes moved slowly left and right as Hao stalked up and down in front of their line.

Click, click, click, click, click. The sound of Hao’s hard-soled slippers smacking the stone. Click! An angry stomp as he turned. Swish. The furious rustle of his robes. Click, click, click… Hao came into view, green robes thrashing behind him as he stalked, movements emanating a precise fury.

She was just starting to think that was all he would do, that he was calming himself, as the walking continued. Then he stopped. He turned to face them. She tensed, swallowed, stared straight ahead. Used her grainy Soul Sense to see who he was looking at.

Wan, he’s looking at Wan. And she felt a little rise of giddy relief that made her want to smile. She kept her face in an expression of determination and focus.

‘Explain to me Wan, how precisely did you fail so utterly to contain the barbarian?’

‘M-my lord,’ began Wan with what Jinxiao judged to be an excessive amount of hope in his voice, ‘you need to understand I did all that I could! The barbarian is sneaky! He—‘

‘Tricky?!’ screamed Hao. ‘You worthless fucking worm! I should stomp your face into the ground! You are an embarrassment! You are a failure! You are completely fucking useless!’

‘It wasn’t entirely my fault, lord!’ wailed Wan. ‘What about Jinxaio?! She was his neighbour, too!’

How she loathed him. Ugly bald idiot!

Click, click, click… Click!

Hao was before her.

‘Did you hear that, Jinxiao?’ he hissed. ‘Wan says it’s all your fault.’ His merciless eyes bored into her.

‘My lord, I held my position. Not only Wan but even Tong were forced to retreat! But I held strong, my lord!’ Wan had stuck her in the shit with him, now she dragged Tong in to accompany them. What goes around comes around, as the Sect’s Battle Master liked to say.

‘You think I care a handful of dog shit for your holding strong?!’ Hao shrieked at her. ‘You should have killed the bastard!’ he howled, spittle raining on her face.

But he turned and stomped away, robes a-thrashing once more. He paced up and down in front of them like a caged beast, face twisted in a snarl reminiscent of a deranged wolf. ‘We are getting fucked out there! The barbarian is outnumbered five to one and he is pressing us! This is unacceptable! I don’t need you to hold strong, I need you to kill him! Control your Symbiotes better, seize resources faster, I don’t care, just fucking win! I refuse to lose, I refuse to lose to that scum, that trash, that filth!’

‘I have a suggestion, my lord,’ came a voice, Tong. Soft-bellied prick!

Hao glowered at him. ‘This had better be good.’

‘What we need is an all out assault, my lord,’ declaimed Tong. ‘We should sacrifice some of our members, have them send all of their units at the barbarian! With their sacrifice bolstering our Symbiotes, the rest of us will be able to take him down! End the barbarian threat now in one good charge!’ And he slashed at the air as though tearing the barbarian’s head from his shoulders.

Hao stared at him. ‘And who do you think should be sacrificed?’

‘My lord,’ began Tong in his wormiest tone, ‘clearly the greatest fault lies with his two neighbours—Jinxiao and Wan. If anyone held a responsibility to deal with the barbarian, it was them.’

What a moronic idea. We struggle to control many Symbiotes at once, a problem that for some reason the barbarian doesn’t have. If we sacrifice members, his advantage will only grow.

Hao’s expression turned oddly kind, a friendly grin appeared. ‘What an amazing idea. I’m a little confused by your choice of sacrifices, however. Wan, I understand, but Jinxiao is in quite a good position now.’ She felt a warm glow of satisfaction at these words. Yes! ‘Whereas you, Tong, are nearly as weak as Wan,’ spoke Hao cheerfully. ‘If any should be sacrificed, it is you two.’

‘B-but, my lord,’ began Tong miserably, only to be cut off.

‘Fortunately for you, I’m not a fucking idiot!’ Hao screamed at him. ‘Sacrifice people?! We can only control so many units, unlike that freak! We need every member! Are you deranged? Have you tasted demon blood, or are you just that fucking stupid?! I need solutions, not methods to hand him a free win!’

‘How is it the barbarian has this capability?’ came a murmur, Xin. That cold-blooded snake. ‘There must be some explanation, lord, for how he can control so many, and so seamlessly. Perhaps some unusual Symbiote, one that works even in the Inheritance? Some oddity or unique trait within his spirit? If we could understand how he does it, perhaps we might find a way to remove the capability. With that, he would pose no challenge.’

Hao stood silent, for a moment, frowning and tapping at his chin. After a moment he shook his head. ‘See what you can find out. Watch him, Xin. But I doubt you will find anything. Even outside of an Inheritance, it is not easy to learn of hidden spiritual traits or the precise Symbiotes others hold.’ His eyes rose, glimmering with a cold light. ‘I need strategies that will be quick, and effective!’

‘I have an idea, lord!’ spoke up Jinxiao. Risky, but I need to curry favour where I can. Due to her actions a week ago, Han had been killed, and Hao had favoured Han more than most. Thus, her current unfortunate position within the group. She knew that if she didn’t get back in his favour before they returned, her life at the Sect would become very hard. Of course, Han had deserved it, but Hao wouldn’t understand that. This was her chance to gain back some standing!

‘Another idea, Jinxiao? After your last?’ There was a definite note of sarcasm and hostility in his tone, but that wasn’t unusual.

‘This is a better idea, lord!’

‘Speak.’

‘When we ended the game, the barbarian was about to fall on our Workers, the healers and injured, and the Yin-Yang Rotation Symbiote. It is clear he wishes to destroy them all, and take the Yin-Yang Rotation Symbiote.’

‘Yes. Obviously! So what?’

‘So, I believe he will likely prioritise taking the Symbiote highly. It is the greatest prize. He wants it, as we all do.’

Hao snorted. ‘He won’t be having it. I’ll destroy it the moment the game resumes. The Inheritance’s instructions explained that unique Symbiotes respawn after a time.’

‘But my lord… the barbarian might not know that Cultivators can easily destroy Symbiotes. Or if he does know, he might not expect it. It seems his people have little experience with them, based on those last we met. Most aren’t even Cultivators.’

Hao wore a thoughtful frown now. ‘Go on.’

‘The Symbiote cannot escape… but if it tries, it could lead away some number of his attackers. If you had it retreat towards our bases, the Workers could simultaneously retreat towards our Symbiote army, which is closer. He might split his force. Then, when a large portion of his force has been drawn away, you could simply have the Symbiote destroy itself. This should allow more of the Workers, the injured, and the Red Grass they carry, to escape, and in this moment, they are more important. It is a minor advantage, but in a battle like this, any advantage is worth seizing!’

Hao smiled. ‘Well, well. Not a bad idea. We will try it.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘It had better work, Jinxiao.’

‘My lord, I have complete faith!’ spoke Jinxiao, praying she was right.

###

Nicolai’s podium rose up again, and he saw the others likewise rising. Hao’s eyes locked onto his own, and from the expression on the man’s face, he had the impression the man was trying to burn a hole through his head with nothing but the power of his gaze. The rest of them looked at Nicolai with dislike, but tempered by concern and wariness and a multitude of other things, their own personal worries and struggles bleeding through. The bald man looked seriously put out, giving the impression he’d not had a particularly relaxing break. Jinxiao wore a deep frown, gazing at the game board as though hoping to dig out every secret the it possessed.

Nicolai watched them calmly. Que sera, sera. With the Angelic Blade on his back it was easy to maintain his relaxed state of mind. He hadn’t had any hallucinations or other trouble since leaving the castle. His true worry lay below, where he’d come from. He’d ran out of time and the undead had not been broken. It had laughed, and said it would remain strong, that he didn’t have time to break its will, before he had to leave the Inheritance. We will see, Nicolai had said. We will see.

Thus, the game resumed.

It had ended just as he was launching a sneak attack on the Cultivator’s support group, the Workers with their Red Grass, the injured Symbiotes which had retreated to be healed. He saw no reason to change this plan, already committed, the Workers already surrounded, and the Yin-Yang Rotation Symbiote beckoned from amidst them.

His Wolf Bugs fell upon them, and the Cultivators reacted instantly, clearly having planned what to do during the break. But their units were just as out of position as they’d been before the game had paused. However, there was a split.

The Yin-Yang Rotation Symbiote fled toward their base areas, while the Workers and other Symbiotes fled towards the army. Nicolai gazed at them, thinking. This was a strategy to split his force. An effective one. He wanted to destroy as many Workers and seize as much Red Grass as he could, but he also wanted to take that Symbiote.

He sent a quarter of his Wolf Bugs to chase after the Symbiote, figuring that ought to be enough, and the rest fell upon the Workers and the injured. The damage quickly mounted up, and Nicolai grinned upon, seeing his Wolf Bugs close around the Yin-Yang Rotation Symbiote. He’d be able to seize it from Hao.

‘Nice trick, barbarian,’ said Hao, and the man for some reason wore a faint smile. ‘You’re not the only one to think of it.’

Nicolai saw a team of quick-moving Attacker come streaming towards his own Workers from all sides. Trouble. His retreated in good order towards his own army, but that army was forced back to meet them, forced to stop harrying the other army—who were thus able to reach their Workers. He had his Wolf Bugs retreat, focusing on the those attacking the Yin-Yang Rotation Symbiote. He have to break its will fast. His will flexed as he worked to seize it from Hao’s control.

That was when the Symbiote exploded.

He stared at it, eyes wide, and heard sudden laughter.

‘Did you not know about that, barbarian?’ crowed Hao. ‘The owner of a Symbiote can order it to destroy itself at any time! You were never going to take it from me!’ The others joined in, laughing merrily, clearly glad to finally have some kind of win.

Nicolai gave the man a slow nod, pulling his Wolf Bugs back. Some of them were caught by the Cultivators army, and killed by massed attacks. ‘Well played,’ he acknowledged.

Hao sneered at him, they all did. Except Jinxiao, for some reason, who continued to gaze at the board, and now wore a faint smile.

Nicolai had known about the self-destruct for Symbiotes, but only in a vague way, as something Kleos had mentioned once. It wasn’t something he’d ever thought much on. He knew why Hao had been willing to destroy it, though. Because the book had said that any “reward” Symbiotes, the unique ones like this Yin-Yang Rotation Symbiote, would respawn after a few hours, if they were destroyed.

The focus then, would return to the centre. That was where it would respawn and that was where the Golden Shardache was.

He pulled his army back a bit, watching the Cultivators warily, just as they watched him. All had taken a licking, and since they’d all drawn together with their Workers anyway, he opted to have his healed, and they did the same.

 A pause in the combat, but it would soon resume. Two more days of this endless, vicious battle. 

###

The Cultivators glared at Nicolai with fear and loathing. They all clustered on the same side of the table, now. Across from him. Their podiums had been reassigned as the state of the game changed. It was nearly the end of this second session.

The board was split in half. One side was his, full of wild Symbiotes. The other was theirs, where they had armies of basic Symbiotes and small groups of the elite, highest-level Symbiotes.

The war was endless and gruelling. The Red Grass, at first one of the most plentiful Resources, one they’d all used freely and wastefully, was beginning to dwindle. It was crucial for healing Symbiotes. Nicolai had his own horde, kept aside only for his very best Symbiotes, and they had their stocks kept for the same purpose.

The Cultivators did not speak loud and bold, not anymore. They muttered very quietly to one another in low and serious tones, covering their mouths and watching him warily, planning and plotting their strategies. He could feel their rage and disbelief. Hao especially. The man was incensed that the five of them were being fought on even terms by only one man, by one barbarian.

The Cultivator stared at him. His lips were twisted with disbelief. His teeth clenched tight with rage. His eyes boiled with hatred.

Nicolai gazed back, face blank and eyes empty. He raised the side of his lip in a tiny smile and Hao released a hiss of fury.

And the war continued. Endless and gruelling. Skirmishes and ambushes and all the tricks of war. Nicolai delighted in them. He took every opportunity to confuse them, to trap them. Scouts lured them in. Wild Symbiotes charged from the flanks. He took control of every Worm Spitter on the board, and used them to kite enemies whenever he could, a trick he and Aiming enjoyed immensely and which caused the Cultivator’s untold fury.

In each break he descended back into his private room where he focused on making the undead Soul give up.

Nicolai found an increasing dislike for the torture. Not because of any screamishness; the suffering of others gave him little rise to concern, and he was easily able to suppress the Mask’s reaction due to the undead’s non-human nature.

But the torture, in a way, disgusted him. Largely because of how he felt the Dark stirring within him, and its sick enjoyment. If he could have done it clinically and with no reaction, he wouldn’t have been bothered. But the idea of taking pleasure in it upset him. He was a professional. Not a sadist. Or so he hoped.

At it was, he did his best to take to it in a methodical manner. But he knew that he was having limited success. The undead Soul was strong and good at resisting.

He needed to find another way.

As a result, he began to think on the nature of the Lotus Blossom Symbiote, and the strange space it created within; where he was in total control.

He needed a more efficient method of torture, a more efficient method to break the Soul and make it give him the keys to the Blade.

That, and perhaps he ought to indulge the dark. Sick as this drive within it was, and though he disliked it, in this moment it could be of use to him.

Time slipped on, more brutal war on the board, accompanied by ruthless torture below…