19.5

ACT 963161069-26889.23.(M3.D11-M5.D17)-Eve-Smith-Silver Prime

Eve puttered about Charlotte’s castle, which had only dimmed from the recent battles. Tapestries were missing, sold for war funds, and several expensive paintings had relocated to other shores. She used Spatial Steps to arrive at the central power source of the castle’s enchantments. Before her was a deep crystalline yellow gem. Eve looked up at the floating marvel, which shone like the heart of an ancient sun, casting the brilliance of a thousand stars. There was no darkness within the room, instead the very air within the room. hummed with anticipation.

“Rather quaint,” Eve said, looking with eyes that saw more than mere light. A rather brilliant piece of work. No wonder the enemy forces didn’t attack the castle directly. It would have been a slaughter even with the Tier Four forces interfering.

Charlotte had revealed to Eve why the powerful forces from outside the Aiqen continent were arriving. Older than the Elemental Lords themselves, a sinister force was brewing in the shadows, biding its time. It wasn’t anything unexpected. There was always something evil lurking in some part of the world.

Eve had already planned to create a suit of armor that would blend the pinnacle of human ingenuity with the essence of mysticism. This armor could protect Charlotte and her bloodline from the unspeakable horrors threatening her realm. It had already become obvious what would occur when she wasn’t around with this latest debacle. With a sigh of annoyance, Eve set to work, determined to bring her magical creation to life.

She gathered her resources crafted with Witch’s Dust: nanomachines, devices of such infinitesimal size that they seemed to defy the very nature of existence, and a tome of blood sorcery stolen from the College, bound in the skin of a long-extinct beast, its pages filled with cryptic runes that danced and twisted before the eyes of mortal readers. At least, the runes had done so before Nota talked with them. Now they just shimmered slightly as if shivering in terror at some deep horror from the Outer Realms.

Enchanting was nothing new, especially with her inhuman recall from the Eternal Memory. Eve delved deep into the mysteries of the arcane arts she currently knew, her spirit soaring to the zenith of the heavens and plunging into the abyssal depths of the earth. Soul Cooking provided runes that wouldn’t decay before the planet died. Even as she worked, maids came and went bringing copious amounts of chemical substances. Even though drugs had no effect unless Crystal Core allowed them, they still facilitated new ideas bubbling to the top of Eve’s mind.

For days and nights uncounted, Eve toiled in the Zienfer castle. She spent days weaving the nanomachines with the crimson threads of blood sorcery and binding enchantments upon each batch. It took several iterations before something functional was created. Lightning flashed, and thunder roared as she commanded the castle’s core through silver threads, infusing the armor with the primal forces. The entire construct looked like a flowing piece of liquid silver bathed in the ruby-red radiance of blood.

As the suit of armor began to take shape, its surface shimmered with the iridescence of the moon's reflection on the still surface of a tranquil lake. Eve ensured the armor would shapeshift to fit any wielder of Charlotte’s blood. Just a few safety settings to ensure the armor develops sentience over time. Artifact Spirits were always something I liked to read about in the past.

After several weeks, even with the help of Crystal Core, the moment of completion arrived. Eve grumbled about grey goo scenarios as she repaired the defensive core of Zienfer castle. The forty-seventh iteration had taken a bite of the yellow floating gem before being obliterated. Regrowing the missing piece and attaching it back seamlessly had taken an entire week!

Dusting her hands once the repair was done, she turned her attention to a floating suit of armor nearby. The armor stood before Eve, an exquisite masterpiece that seemed to have been wrought from the very fabric of the cosmos itself. It pulsed with an ancient power, a fusion of the arcane and the technological that promised to shield the wearer from the most terrible foes. Silver light flickered across its surface like the electrical impulses of a living mind. She put the armor through several tests before being satisfied with her work. If she can’t conquer the world with this suit of armor, then there isn’t any hope for anyone else to do it!

Eve presented the armor to Charlotte and enjoyed watching the deep shock emanate from within the younger woman’s eyes. She sat down at a nearby breakfast table while the Duchess twisted this way and that in front of a full-length mirror. Adorned in the magnificent armored suit, the Charlotte stood as an indomitable force against any who would decry her merits. She flexed and twirled in the mirror with the ghost of a smile on her blank face.

“Are you drinking schifindalot tea?” Charlotte said, glancing at the floating mug steaming in the air beside Eve.

Eve nodded and said, “Delicious stuff. Like chocolate mixed with cocaine. Kudzu will love experimenting with it.”

Charlotte facepalmed and replied, “Are you going to be addicted?”

“Nope,” Eve replied with a devilish grin. “How’s the heirloom?”

“Good enough for missing the rest of my birthdays,” Charlotte said, sitting at the table. The armor shifted into a red dress that prominently displayed and highlighted her assets.

“Oh?” Eve said, looking amused. “Having your private High Priest appears to have helped quite a bit.”

Charlotte smirked, “Justin certainly enjoys them.”

Eve rolled her eyes, “Of course he does. Keeping a powerhouse like that around is just common sense.”

“There are several safety features allocated inside.” Eve said, “There is also the option to capture the soul of a single willing entity inside the armor.”

Charlotte’s eyes grew half-lidded as she said, “Ralph?”

“Or another, yes,” Eve said, leaving the rest unspoken. Charlotte wasn’t an idiot. She could see the potential for immortality on her own.

“Would you retrieve the armor at some point?” Charlotte asked, her eyes fully intent on Eve’s expression.

“The possibility exists.” Eve said, “As you know, my true body is trapped. When I escape, and I will, it will send me to one of my anchor points.”

Charlotte nodded before sitting back. Eve didn’t hurry with her choice. It was one thing to be born a spirit, never knowing flesh, and quite another to choose to be one. Even with the safety features in place, there was a chance of going insane. Well, Charlotte is already insane by clinical standards. Nothing wrong with a bit of madness in the pursuit of living forever.

“I will have to think about it,” Charlotte said before summoning a maid to bring food.

Eve spent the rest of the morning talking about her adventures to the youthful duchess.

Once night fell, Eve left the Duchess’s quarters to meet Iantha. Eve had formed armor forged of technology and blood, but it wasn’t enough to give her peace of mind. Her close companion, Iantha, had become a genius artifact refiner. In the gardens, Iantha walked side by side with her. Together, they talked traversed the boundary between magic and technology, striving to achieve the pinnacle of power.

“Two more things are needed,” Eve said, looking at the bright night sky overhead. “A shield for the planet and a Summoning book to disseminate.”

“The book can be done with a few components, but the shield….” Iantha said thoughtfully. “It will take something already in place. The satellites orbiting overhead, correct?”

Eve nodded, thinking deeply about the problem. Within minutes assisted by her Crystal Core, a revelation descended upon Eve. She envisioned a summoning scripture, a divine artifact of peerless might that could call upon the myriad realms to bring forth powerful allies. It would pull her into universes that didn’t already have a System. That would allow her to sell their existence after she had escaped the Prison Plane. It would also aid her in gaining more anchor points. Killing ten birds with one tome. Kudzu would be proud.

Crystal Core also showed a runic diagram of the planet, and Eve nodded as she saw a world-protecting barrier, a wondrous treasure to shield Kudzu’s offshoot from harm. Iantha poked her cheek and said, “This is going to be expensive.”

“Right? But it needs to be done. There are too many advantages to the entire affair.” Eve replied.

Discussing the finer points of the required methods, Eve eventually moved off to her room. The next day the maids located Eve in the seclusion of her mystic sanctuary. The yellow gem sparkled above her as she delved into ancient scrolls and forbidden tomes copied from the College’s library, seeking the wisdom of ages past. Her spirit immersed in the ocean of knowledge, she tirelessly studied night after night. The air within the sanctuary grew dense, heavy with the essence of countless secrets, as Eve began her arduous journey.

To create the summoning book in Charlotte’s world, the first component required the heartwood of the enigmatic Eldergold tree. These lofty behemoths, imbued with the profound essence of nature, concealed mighty spirits within their twisted trunks. Guided by the murmurs of the wind and the dim radiance of her magic lantern, Eve ventured into the depths of the bewitched forest charted in an old adventuring account.

The Spirit Forest was a place of death in the Aiqen continent. Eve’s use of Spatial Steps negated the most significant problem of being lost within. Several creatures attempted to eat her, but she turned them into forest fertilizer. Iantha had bowed out of the affair, not interested in testing her power in a Tier Four place of power. Scanning with her senses, Eve eventually located a grove of faerie sprites. Negotiating with the tiny flying pets, she gave up a bottle of honey in return for directions.

Several more Spatial Steps and she, at long last, stood before the Eldergold tree, its ancient branches extending towards the firmament like a benevolent deity watching over creation. Eve approached the tree, sensing its boundless wisdom and the untapped power hidden within. This was a creature who hadn’t cheated on the path to immortality. They had existed, season after season, fighting with only their unbroken will to live. With delicate precision, she traced a series of runes upon the trunk, forming a covenant with the primordial spirit dwelling inside. She could have stolen what she desired, but there was no need to be so wasteful.

“For ten thousand years, and ten thousand after that, my runes will stand guard,” Eve stated.

There was a quiet silence in the forest before the tree shimmered with divine light. A flawless slab of heartwood materialized before her, its surface etched with the intricate patterns of its arboreal lineage. Eve looked over the slab and nodded. A little extra effort had gotten her a premium ingredient. Harvesting the tree would never have given anything as good as this, she was sure.

Her form twisted and vanished from the Eldergold tree's sight as she used Spatial Steps to depart. Where she had stood, only silver runes blazed upon the tree’s bark marking her passage.

The summoning book's pages required an extraordinary ink, distilled from the inkwell of a legendary squid that swam the fathomless depths of the Astral Sea. Eve embarked on a perilous voyage to obtain this ink, sailing across the ocean charted on the Aiqen continent’s coast, guided by the celestial heavens and a nautical map from the Zienfer library. The sea's surface at night mirrored the vast expanse above, reflecting the glimmering tapestry of the night sky as Eve journeyed towards the weak point in the world’s spatial fabric.

Upon reaching the Astral Sea entry point, she plunged into the abyss, her constructed mortal form enveloped in a protective cocoon of silver sorcery, her senses attuned to the vibrations of the deep well of existence. Massive vines surrounded her silver sorcerous form glimmering with bright green light. Kudzu is such a worrywart sometimes. I told him I would be fine, but he still took precautions!

Descending among the vines further, a titanic shadow passed overhead, a great squid emerging from the inky darkness. It was clear the creature had received a warning not to be stupid. The shy creature moved slowly among the vines, wary of touching any of them. Swimming, she met the squid rapidly moving beside the enormous beast. With a gentle touch of her hand, Eve communicated her intentions, and the majestic titan bestowed upon her a pulse of ink that she stored in a spatial vial. The vial glowed a deep indigo hue pulsing with light that seemed to hold the essence of the Astral Sea’s countless oceans within.

She waved and then flickered away with Spatial Steps. After departing, a mouth opened in one of the nearby vines and said, “Passage within my domain granted for ten thousand cycles. Hunt well, fleshy bird eater.”

Eve was ecstatic at the rapid progress. The final component of the summoning book required the binding of a celestial thread spun from the silk of the Moonlight Moth. Bathed in the light of the full moon, these creatures were said to possess the ability to weave magic into their delicate strands at a level surpassing humanity. On a night when the moon shone at its brightest, Eve ascended to the peak of Mount Illuminare, the highest pinnacle in the Aiqen, where the moonlit moths were known to convene. The common dangers of the mountain were nothing to her. After two dead wolf packs, the other predators decided to hunt less lethal prey.

As the firmament above was illuminated with the gentle lunar radiance, the magical insects took flight, their wings glistening like fragile silver thread. Eve extended her hand dipped in silver light, and a multiple Moonlight Moth alighted upon her fingertips, their tiny form pulsating with celestial energy.

Tiny runes swirled in the Witch’s Dust around her fingers, forming profound enchantments.

The first rune would grant fertility.

The second longevity.

The third wisdom.

The fourth was protection.

“Choose what you desire most, and it will be granted,” Eve said, looking at the tiny creatures.

In this fleeting moment, Eve forged a connection with the smaller lifeforms. The Moonlight Moths being magical insects, perceived the meaning behind the rune’s forms and, with a flutter of their wings, spun several spools of celestial silk, the delicate threads imbued with the essence of moonlight magic.

“Excellent,” Eve said, allowing the insects to depart unharmed. Air twisted and swirled as only a vacuum was left in her passing.

With all the components gathered, Eve returned to her arcane abode, her heart brimming with anticipation. Zienfer castle’s yellow crystal core glimmered with light as she assembled the components. The heartwood slab, the enchanted ink, and the celestial thread - each element was a testament to her unyielding determination. Gathering these items without Spatial Steps would have been a lengthy endeavor indeed. Eve meticulously assembled the summoning book, her fingers tracing intricate patterns and her spirit channeling the essence of the cosmos, binding it all together with the moonlit silk.

This book would be her path out of the Prison Plane’s confines, one summoning at a time.

As the final knot was secured, the summoning book resonated with power, its pages pulsating with the potential of untapped realms. It was a supreme manifestation of arcane craftsmanship, a testament to the indomitable spirit of Eve, who had traversed the furthest reaches of Charlotte’s world in pursuit of her path to escape.

Rising from the floor, she cracked her back as her body shifted, instantly becoming healthier. Her journey was incomplete, for she still sought to create the world-protecting barrier for Charlotte’s world. It wouldn’t do for some eldritch monstrosity to arrive from another dimension wrecking her detailed plan. This undertaking required a fusion of magic and technology like Charlotte’s armor. A harmony of the knowledge contained in Nota’s library and the world’s rules. All worlds inherently reject intruders. I will reinforce that while ensuring I can enter.

To forge the core of the world-protecting barrier, Eve enlisted Iantha's expertise, the two of them laboring side by side in the heart of the refiner's workshop. They crafted a sphere of orichalcum, a metal both ethereal and resilient, imbued with the ability to conduct the magical energies that would power the barrier. The globe, a shining testament, held within it the promise of protection and safety.

Next, they sought to create the barrier's energy matrix, a lattice of complex circuits and enchantments that would amplify and direct the orichalcum core's power. Together, they drew from their vast reserves of knowledge, their hands weaving a tapestry of spellwork and technological innovation. The energy matrix, a harmonious union of magic and machinery, reflected the essence of their unique skills.

Finally, they required a source of power to fuel the world-protecting barrier, a force potent enough to envelop an entire world in an impervious shield. They turned their gaze to the celestial heavens, seeking to harness the stars' energy. Through an arcane ritual, they opened a conduit to the heart of a distant star, capturing a fragment of its boundless power within the orichalcum core. This step required them to proceed outside the planet’s surface, just in case of an accident.

Fortunately, Iantha’s ability to forestall disaster was high.

With the world-protecting barrier complete, they activated the artifact, setting it upon the upper tip of the Zienfer castle’s crystalline yellow gem, a shimmering dome of light surrounding the artifact, a testament to the power it contained. As they stood within the embrace of the world-protecting barrier, the summoning book nestled securely within Eve's arms, she grinned.

“We did well,” Eve said.

“Indeed,” Iantha said, fiddling with her crystal bracelet.

“Let’s get the last part done,” Eve said, letting Witch’s Dust carve a summoning circle on the floor. “We’ll summon a demon and get this book out into the Multiverse.”

Ianth sighed, “Couldn’t you say it in a less evil-sounding manner?”