Rise of the Living Forge Chapters 550 - 551

Song filled Arwin’s mind. Layers upon layers of magic wove through every level of his being. The Infernal Armory’s presence connected him to the others and pumped all of them full of magical energy to ensure they wouldn’t run short during the operation.

Vix laid on the obsidian platform between him and Wallace, her chest cut open and a gaping wound leading straight down to her still-beating heart. Beside her rested a metal contraption that had taken all of them the better part of a day to create.  

If someone had walked in not knowing any better, they likely would have assumed that this was some manner of horrible ritual sacrifice. All the blood covering their hands certainly wouldn’t have helped their case.

Some distant part of Arwin noted that this really wasn’t all that different from a sacrifice. They were, after all, removing Vix’s heart. The difference came in what happened next.

Anna stood above Vix, a steady stream of magical power flowing from her palms into the other woman.

“We’re stable,” Anna said, her words distant and measured. “Get ready. We’ll have five minutes at the absolute longest from the moment we get things started. Are you ready?”

Arwin looked down into the hole. His stomach flipped. Vix’s heart was… wrong. What could have only been described as claws of black rot seemed to have raked across the organ. It was knotted and scarred — and though Arwin was no expert of hearts, it also seemed considerably smaller than it should have been.

He summoned Soul Lava to his hands, letting it coat his fingers to completely purge them of any impurities. Then he banished the magic and set his jaw. Five minutes. That was all they had.

It would be enough.

“I’m ready,” Arwin said. “Begin.”

A strand of black stretched out from the walls of the Infernal Armory to attach to the small orb. There was a faint click. Then the top of the orb hissed open, revealing a considerably smaller piece of magical machinery within it.

Vix’s core.

Power hummed within it with such an intensity that it nearly seemed to spill free of the metal containing it. It was composed of a dozen different metals and monster components, each one carefully chosen to ensure they would mesh together and fulfill every requirement that a heart might have had.

At its center was the most expensive crystal that the Menagerie had been able to get their hands on — A Darkstar Ruby, which had the highest capacity for magical energy out of every other material they had tested.

Arwin carefully lifted the small core from its protective housing.

“Core prepared,” Wallace said, placing his hands on Vix’s shoulder and narrowing his eyes. The only emotion in the dwarf’s eyes was raw determination. Nothing else had any room to take root in him. “Anna. You’re up.”

The Infernal Armory extended another strand, this one wound around a tiny, razor-sharp knife. Anna took it. She paused for a moment, studying Vix’s heart intently.

Then she lowered the blade and got to work.

It was gruesome.

There was no other way to describe it. Arwin had seen men die in more ways than he’d ever wanted to. But never had he seen someone quite literally remove someone’s heart. Anna made steady, precise cuts, severing the heart’s connection to the vessels that depended on it.

Something about it somehow felt even worse than just killing someone. Vix wasn’t even asleep. She’d taken a potion from Esmerelda that would help severely null the pain she felt, but she had to remain conscious during the entire operation to warn them if something was going wrong.

“Is it out?” Vix asked weakly.

“Don’t talk unless you need to,” Wallace said gruffly. “Focus on the song. Sing. Your mind, not your words.”

Anna made several more cuts. Then, slowly, she reached into the chest and pulled Vix’s heart free. A horrifying amount of blood spilled out from the incisions Anna had made.

Somewhere at the back of the room, Art let out a stiff whimper — but he knew that he could do nothing but watch.

Wallace lifted one of his hands. The blood filling up the hole in Vix’s chest stopped flowing. It lifted into the air like some ghastly apparition, moving out of the way so Arwin could make out the points where Vix’s heart had once been connected to her body.

Arwin lowered the core. He aligned the valves covering it with the appropriate vessels, letting magic pour out from him and into the still-unfinished creation. He didn’t have the faintest idea what any of them were. Anna had helped with the design.

Once he was confident everything was aligned, he glanced up to Vix’s face.

“Can you feel the core?” Arwin asked.  

“Yes,” Vix said, her voice faint. “It’s… weird.”

“Focus on it,” Arwin said. “Connect to it. Part of your body is already present within the metal. Just finish the connection—”

A sharp drain on his magical reserves stole the rest of Arwin’s sentence from his mouth. His eyes widened and he intensified the amount of power flowing out from him. The song of the materials magnified a hundredfold.

Vix’s core was doing its best to merge with her, but they needed more. The sheer amount of magic to fuse a core with a living being was astronomical.

Power pumped into Arwin from the Infernal Armory. Every part of it flowed from him and into Vix. He could feel everyone’s minds all weaving together, trying to solidify the intent and guide the song in the right direction.

Every second that went by seemed to tick off in the back of Arwin’s mind. They were racing against the clock. He could feel the song of the core slowly merging with the rest of Vix, but it wasn’t moving anywhere near as fast as he would have liked.

“Relax, Vix,” Wallace said. “You’re trying to control the song. There’s nothing to control. Just let it take you.”

“I’m trying.” A note of panic entered Vix’s voice. “It isn’t working.”

“It’s working,” Arwin said firmly. He pushed even more magical power into the core. A shimmer of black light ignited within it, then sputtered out a moment later. His jaw clenched. It was working… but slow. Things were going to be close. “Remember what we practiced, Vix. This is your heart.”

“Yeah,” Vix whispered. “Yeah.”

The gem at the center of the core sputtered. It lit, then snuffed out once more. More and more magic flowed through both it and Vix. The scent of cooking flesh filled the room. Small scorch marks started to form on Vix’s innards, only for Anna’s healing magic to sweep them away moments later.

Her body was burning from the sheer amount of power flowing through it. There was only so much magical power that normal flesh could endure before it gave in, and Vix was reaching her limit.

Arwin tried to take more of the song’s burden onto himself. Vix still had to lead it. But the more burden they took off her, the easier it would be for her to relax. That did seem to help… but it still wasn’t enough.

More and more burn marks clawed their way into being. Vix’s fingers slowly tightened into fists as her breathing grew labored.

“You’re almost there,” Wallace said. “It’s close. Some of the veins have properly fused. I feel some blood flow. Remember. It’s your heart. There’s nothing to force. It already belongs to you.”

“I’m trying,” Vix said. The light at the center of the core shimmered back to life. “It’s not—”

“It is enough.” A new voice cut through the room.

Two pale blue hands fell on Vix’s shoulders. The form of a tall man materialized beside Vix at the edges of Arwin’s vision. One of the Infernal Armory’s tendrils drove into it an instant later, and Arwin’s eyes widened as he felt a new presence brush across their song, weaving itself in effortlessly.

“Koyu?” Vix whispered.

“Peace,” the lich said. “You have already nearly completed the task. I simply did not want to miss its conclusion. You are my test run. It is not permissible for you to fail. Stop trying to gain control. Give it up. All of it. You are fighting yourself.”

“What?” Vix asked. “But—”

“Give it up,” Koyu said again. “Let the river ferry you away. The power is already your own. Do you have to think when you raise your arm? No. It simply happens. Give in to yourself.”

Vix stiffened for a moment.

Then her shoulders relaxed.

The light in the gem sputtered out.

Their song shifted. Its tune changed. Power hummed in the air all around them. It made Arwin’s hair stand on end and electrified Koyu’s beard until he looked like a porcupine.

Vix’s gem ignited with pitch black energy.

A wall of force slammed into Arwin and nearly sent him stumbling backward. Vix drew in a sharp breath as a dull hum kicked to life within the core.

“It’s up!” Wallace barked. “Anna!”

The healer pressed her hands to Vix’s chest. Power burned so brightly at her palms that it forced Arwin’s eyes to narrow. Vix’s flesh knit itself back together, bone rebuilding and flesh bubbling back into being.

The song grew louder in all of their heads. It raised to a crescendo as the core stabilized within Vix.

Her flesh slowly sealed back over the wound until no trace of it remained. Then, with one final sharp, victorious note, the song wound itself to a close.

Power slammed into Arwin. Freezing magical energy poured into his soul, tearing a gasp from his lips and sending him staggering backward. It was a tsunami. The power kept coming, pouring into him relentlessly until he could barely even breathe.

Then it ground to a halt.

Arwin caught himself on the edge of the platform Vix rested on. The others had all staggered as well, but every one of their gazes were focused on one person.

Vix.

She slowly pushed herself upright. The wound on her chest was gone. It had completely sealed over, but a faint dark energy still pulsed beneath her skin where her heart had been. Disbelief and shock mixed in her features.

For several long seconds, nobody said anything. They just all stared, too drained to muster up much of anything at all. Vix raised a hand to her chest. She touched the healed flesh. Then she looked down at her original heart, which rested on the platform beside her in a sad, bloody lump.

She picked it up.

Then Wallace lost his contration. All the blood he’d taken from Vix — which still floated in the air above her — splashed down. It splattered all over vix and the altar in a red rain.

Vix sputtered in surprise. She dropped her own heart and it landed on the ground with a wet splat. They all stared down at it.

Wallace winced. “Sorry.”

The corner of Vix’s mouth twitched. Then she threw her head back and burst into laughter. Thin trails of tears streaked down her cheeks to mix with the blood on her face. She clutched at her chest and flopped back onto the blood-soaked platform, her mirth only growing more intense. The laughter shook her entire body in a mixture of relief and excitement so strong that no words could ever hope to represent it.  

They’d done it.

 Chapter 551

It was nearly a minute before Vix managed to get a hold of herself again. She let her arms hang back over the edges of the platform as she stared up at the roof of the Infernal Armory, blood and tears still mixing in a mess on her face.

“How are you feeling? Is anything different?” Arwin asked, somewhat pointlessly, as Anna scurried around Vix, examining her from every angle to ensure her healing magic hadn’t somehow faltered for the first time in history.

“I… I don’t know,” Vix said. “I’m numb. I think Esmerelda’s potion is still keeping me from feeling much at all. But I’m alive. Can you believe that?”

“That was the whole point of this, was it not?” Esmerelda asked from where she watched beside Art. She had a hand on the boy’s shoulder, holding him back from charging at Vix. It didn’t look like she was going to be successful for much longer. “And the potion will wear off in a few more minutes. I made it extra strong. Didn’t want you feeling someone prodding in your heart. Anna, is your work done yet? I think the boy is going to rip my arm off if I don’t let him go.”

“She’s fine,” Anna confirmed, stepping back from Vix and nodding. “I don’t sense any abnormalities in her bodily functions right now. Everything seems correct, but I need to keep an eye on her for longer to make sure the core operates properly.”

“So I can let the kid go?” Esmerelda asked.

“Yes,” Anna said. “She should be fine as long as she doesn’t do any strenuous activity that I’m not there to observe. We should give time for the core to fully adapt to Vix.”

Esmerelda released Art. He limp-ran over to his sister, abandoning his staff beside Esmerelda and stumbling into the platform instead of stopping under his own legs. For once, he didn’t have anything smart to say. He flung his arms around Vix, pulling her into a tight hug and smearing blood across both of them.  

“It’s done, then?” Art asked when he released Vix, though he still kept his grip on her hand. “She’s healed?”

“It can’t be worse now than what I was dealing with before,” Vix said with a small laugh. She raised a hand to wipe her face. “I suppose I won’t really know how different things are until I actually try to use my magic.”

“Which you will not be doing yet,” Anna said firmly. “Give at least a day or two for things to settle down. As far as I know, this has never been done before. Don’t push too hard.”

“And the core will need some time to gather energy anyway,” Arwin said. “You’ll find you have an increased appetite. I would pig out a bit. Eat whatever you want to. Lillia’s food will do you well right now.”

Vix nodded slowly. “Some food sounds incredible, actually. I’m starving.”

She touched the spot where the core rested within her chest again, then glanced over her shoulder.

Koyu still stood behind her. The lich had gotten taller since the last time Arwin had seen him. Taller — and considerably more ghost-adjacent. His skin was a pale blue, and his frosty eyes almost seemed sharp enough to cut steel.

“Thank you,” Vix said. “I think you might have saved me.”

“I did not,” Koyu said. “I only smoothed the process along. You had several minutes left to finish bonding to the core. I could feel the progress of the song. My presence was not nessessary.”

“You still helped,” Vix said.

Arwin started to nod. Then his weary brain finally sputtered back into gear. His eyes widened.

“Wait. You bastard! Don’t just stand there acting nonchalant!” Arwin exclaimed. “When did you get back?”

The corner of Koyu’s lips twitched. “Just a short while ago. Did you really think you would practice creating a body part without me present? I wasn’t going to miss that.”

“You’ve certainly got some timing,” Wallace said.

“And you never told me you could control blood,” Koyu said. “When did that happen?”

“Not blood,” Wallace corrected. “The metal in it.”

Koyu scoffed. “That’s blood. You’re a blood mage. And not once did you ever think to mention that.”

“Don’t distract from the actual conversation,” Wallace said. The dwarf crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared at Koyu. “That isn’t the point. What happened to you? Why are you all gangly and ghostly? What did you do, Koyu?”

“I Sunset my class,” Koyu replied with a small shrug. “It took a little longer than expected. The Mesh is insufferable.”

“And?” Vix asked.

“And what?” Koyu asked.

“She’s asking if it worked, you drunkard,” Esmerelda said. “Are you free of your bindings?”

Koyu glanced over to Esmerelda. His head tilted slightly to the side. For several seconds, he said nothing at all. Then he let out a snort.

“There’s no such thing as freeing oneself from their bindings,” Koyu replied. “There are only new prisons.”

“That’s not much of an answer,” Wallace observed. He ran his hands through his frizzy beard in an attempt to tame it. The attempt was met with little success and he promptly gave up. “What changed, then?”

“I think you’re just trying to distract us all from the fact that you dumped a gallon of blood on Vix’s head,” Koyu said. “And that you’ve still yet to fix that.”

Wallace’s cheeks reddened. He coughed into his fist, then pointed at Vix and flicked his hand to the side. The blood covering her peeled away like a sheet to splatter across the ground. He repeated the move to Art.

“Thank you,” Vix said.

“Don’t mention it,” Wallace said. “Please. I do mean that. I don’t work with blood often. It’s… unsettling. I’m not used to all the other minerals in the mix.”

“This doesn’t absolve you of an answer, though,” Esmerelda said. She thrust a finger at Koyu. “You feel different, lich.”

“But a lich I remain,” Koyu said. A small smile pulled at the corners of his lips. “Perhaps more so than I used to be.”

“Your Sunsetting made your lich aspects even stronger?” Arwin asked.

“Yes,” Koyu said. “The Mesh… gave me options.”

“What do you mean?” Esmerelda tilted her head to the side. “What kind of options?”

“The kind that only had one good answer,” Koyu replied noncommittally. “It offered me power, and I took it. I was little more than a fading specter when I last stood before you. Now I am as whole as one such as I can ever be.”

“You don’t look particularly whole,” Arwin said. “Your body—”

“Ghostly. Yes,” Koyu said. He held a translucent blue hand up before himself and flexed his fingers. “The remains of a lich. That is what I am. I simply accepted my mantle in full. You still owe me a body, Smith. You are not released from that obligation.”

“Nor would I want to be,” Arwin said. “But… are you okay?”

“Yes,” Koyu replied. He let his hand drop. “I am better than I have been in a long time. My eyes are clear, now. I cannot remember when I last felt like this. I would wager to say it was before I was anything more than a mortal with a thirst for power far greater than his potential.”

“That’s a slightly worrying line,” Art said. He and Vix exchanged a glance. “You’re not feeling any, uh, lich-y urges right now, are you?”

“Just one.” Koyu let out a sharp bark of laughter. “I want a good beer. I’m thirsty. But I must unfortunately wait a little longer than I would like to claim that prize. Arwin, Wallace — do any tasks remain to ensure Vix’s safety?”

“Just observation,” Arwin said. He shook the cobwebs from his mind. Now that the song was gone and the Infernal Armory was no longer supporting him, it was taking everything he had to stay upright. Every single thought and emotion that remained within his mind was muted and distant. “We need to keep an eye on her to make sure that core sets itself in properly, but I’m not anticipating any more trouble. It merged with her already. She just needs to take things slow like Anna is suggesting. Why?”

“Because there is another, far more insignificant matter that would seek to demand your attention.” Koyu blew out an annoyed sigh. “And it is somewhat time sensitive. I would suggest handling it as soon as you feel you are in a position to act.”

Arwin’s brow furrowed. If he’d been a little more aware at the moment, he would have picked up on the insinuation in Koyu’s voice. His mind managed to register that something was definitely off. Unfortunately, that was just about the extent of his deductive capabilities in his current state.

“Just say it, would you?” Arwin asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose and forcing the darkness prickling at the edges of his vision away. “What’s going on?”

“A dwarf attempted to extort answers from Ida regarding our activities,” Koyu said casually. “He failed. I have turned him into an icicle. But, if we do not remove him from his prison in short order, he is going to die before we figure out who sent him.”