V-29 Academia (III)

Good evening, Hero Ranger Clarissa.

Tonight I'd like to play a game. You spent your life stealthily making plagues and biophages, assassinating those that most deem untouchable, indestructible. I applaud you for that, and your moniker of the Crimson Mask Maiden was well-earned.

And wait, no, no, no, stop, stop trying to stop your blood flow. No, no, don't give yourself an aneurysm. Stop it! The entire point of this exercise is that I was going to infect you with your own poisons and find out if you could save yourself.

I've declared you my Vaketh-Bakal, it's a great honor. Stop attempting suicide, stop it—It's supposed to be the other way around, the other way around. THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE AN IRONIC THING WHERE I HIT YOU WITH YOUR OWN BIOMANCY AND YOU TRY TO STAY ALIVE BUT DIE PROVING ME—STOOPPPP!

STOP! YOU’RE TAKING THE MEANING AND POIGNANCY OUT OF THIS! I DEMAND THAT YOU STOP!

-Helix to Hero Ranger Glory Clarissa

V-29

Academia (III)

There was something disconcerting about watching a grotesque parody of yourself die time and time again. The homunculus was Shiv in size and general appearance, but fundamentally it held none of his attitude, none of his power. It was, effectively, as if an extremely simple animal was trapped in a body made to mirror his own. So simple of an animal was the homunculus that it barely responded to pain. It only shivered and let out faint rasps, as it suffered a variety of boils, bleeds, hemorrhages, strokes, heart attacks and cancers.

Time after time the homunculus died before Shiv, and time after time he was made to decipher why it had died, what was the cause, and how to potentially fix it. It took little more than a wave on the part of the orc Biomancer to revive the homunculus, and they practiced in a secluded corner of the coliseum’s maze.

Helix didn't give him any information for free. Instead, he instructed Shiv to look through his own materials, use the Odes as a compass, and come to his own conclusion.

The purpose behind this exercise was to get the Deathless used to using his Biomancy as more than a blunt weapon. Though he could absorb organic objects into his aegis of assimilation, it was meant to be something far more than that. It was meant to be a means for him to draw different biological organs and compositions together to become an alchemist of the flesh.

As he wrapped his mana hydra around his homunculus, Shiv watched as a complex array of microspells poked into existence before him. There were still far too many components to keep track of, but he was grasping the larger aspects easier than before. Biology was dynamic, it was a system in play, and every few seconds bits of the body would die and regenerate. Such was the interplay between living matter and entropy.

However, sections of the rendered homunculus were easy to track. Some organs and bits of architecture had consistent patterns. Bones were easily distinguished, so were the heart, the brain, and the stomach. Shiv still had a hard time sorting between the liver and the kidneys, but the lungs eventually became clear to him as well. And they weren't static, either. There were small spells gliding between the larger ones, and every time something catastrophic happened, it was like watching a symphony of destruction.

Aegis of Assimilation 116 > 118

A heart attack would result in a sudden calamity for the entire body. The small microspells that passed through the other major sections, blood, as Shiv deduced by now, simply stopped flowing in certain areas. And then, the rest of the body would collapse in tandem. The brain would start to die quickly when oxygen ceased. Without the brain, the other components of the body also began to fail. 

Shiv dove into the Odes, experiencing all manner of heart diseases, heart attacks, and strokes. Even so, he had a hard time figuring out what Helix specifically did to induce such deep trauma.

"So, there's no plaque," Shiv said, staring down at the unmoving body of the homunculus.

"Incorrect," Helix pointed at the corpse. A spiraling spell pattern manifested within its unmoving frame, and its dense forest of arteries came alight before Shiv's very eyes. "There is a great deal of soft plaque lining the homunculus's blood traffic, but you are right. It's not quite hard yet, or at least it shouldn't be hard enough to induce a sudden blockage or burst."

Psycho-Cartography: He's hinting at something. It probably is something to do with the arteries, then… 

The Deathless frowned and he focused on the circulatory system even harder. It took him a while to distinguish the congested arteries from the clearer pathways, but soon he managed, and it was there that he noticed a strange spell shape unlike any of the others. They were smaller than most microspells, seeming like bits of sediment, where everything else had a more unique shape. 

They resembled grains of sand lining the inside of blood vessels, but there were differences between the different grains as well. Some of them were faint, soft as Helix described, but others, as they passed through certain organs, they would grow brighter, turn thicker. 

The Deathless's eyes widened as the blood crossed through the left ventricle of the heart anterior.

Farsight 81 > 82

"What the hell is this?" Shiv muttered to himself, and as he leaned in, he saw Helix grinning wide, his orcish teeth pointed and sharp, pleased that his disciple finally discovered his trick. 

The left ventricle seemed clean, but Shiv examined the structures nearby, and that's when he saw another strange pattern induced into the pulmonary artery. It was an odd ring shape, and it distorted every blood particle that passed through its expanse. It was subtle, seeding each microspell symbolizing blood with one of those grains, and every time full circulation was completed, the grains grew thicker.

"You put a plaque-building spell inside a heart?" Shiv asked, sounding surprised.

"Oh, yes." Helix snapped his fingers. "You finally see. Remarkable, isn't it? You don't really need that much to slay someone, Insul. You just need to find the most delicate part of them and fill it up, or manipulate it in some way. Think of how difficult it is for you to overcome some adversaries. Think of that Vultegyou fought earlier. We all were slamming into it over and over again, trying to crack it open like a can, and it just wouldn't break."

That was true. Urri was near indestructible with his toughness and magical resistance fused together. "Not sure how this would finish him off, though," Shiv said. "Couldn't get through the resistance at all, even with your Biomancy."

"Ah, but that's because you threw me directly into a combat situation. There are more subtle ways to induce heart failure. Not all spells need to be inflicted directly upon your enemies. In fact, I recommend that you don't use your spells so directly, that you don't use your mana like a lashing limb. The body is a complicated set of reactions. If you make someone ingest, say, a hypercaloric consumable, and the system cannot process it, the insulin will react most cataclysmically, and thus," Helix gestured at his homunculus once more. "Death. And there are many ways to reach a state of heart failure."

"Right, right," Shiv said. "How common is heart failure anyway?"

"For whom? Humans? Extremely high. Your bodies are inefficient, poorly designed. In fact, if you weren't path-bearers after you hit the age of, oh, let's say, 30 or so, there's really not that much point to you. Your resilience plunges, and your organs start decaying far too fast. It’s pitiful.”

And that took Shiv for a loop. "Not that much point to us. What the hell do you mean? Even if you're pathless, with a good Biomancer, you can..."

"Ah, you see there? With a good Biomancer," Helix said, smirking. "With a good Biomancer, you can guide the body's natural stupidity and reactivity to make sure that you live as much, live with as much health and dignity as you so desire. But without it... Well, have you ever been to a low mana threshold world?"

"Uh, well, I’ve been to several gates and briefly slipped across into Vulketh, but I kinda get your point. Low mana world people are fragile, is that it? So what? Lacking mana means the body deteriorates and fails to manage itself properly?"

"Only for creatures of evolution,” Helix grinned. “Some of us are sculpted for higher purposes.”

“Yeah,” Shiv snorted. “You orcs are so special, aren’t you.”

"Oh yes, we're far better at exporting our entropy. We don't age like you do, after all. Anyhow, there are still some leftover biological architecture problems. Even when humans become Pathbearers, you, for instance, are at higher risk of developing several types of cancer and heart disease due to your size alone. And then there is your diet."

"What about my diet?" Shiv said.

"Not yours specifically. Humanity’s. You're omnivorous, willing to eat anything, from vegetables to meat to even more exotic things," Helix chuckled. "And this is usually the folly of your species, death by diet. Certain vanguards have a propensity for highly caloric substances.”

And with that, Shiv finally understood what Helix was getting at. "So it probably would have been easier to assassinate Urri if you managed to modify something he could eat. Is that what you're saying?"

"Indeed. Most Pathbearers don't need to eat so often, but some still do, out of pleasure and taste. These are weaknesses, Insul, especially if you don't examine everything you put in your mouth. Right now, you should be perfectly aware of everything you decide to imbibe. What effects it might have on your body, how it binds itself to your most delicate cells, the proteins, they wish to dance, Insul, and you should be aware of how the waltz unfolds."

Practical Metabiology 44 > 46

And with that, Shiv felt another two levels descend upon his Practical Metabiology Skill. "Forty-six," Shiv said, "not that far from an evolution."

"Yes, but you are far from a well-studied Biomancer," Helix replied. "You need a great deal more practice, and you need constant and unceasing practice to make up for all the time you lost."

"You know, as much as I'd like to spend all day and night performing twisted experiments with you, I still have classes to get to, and other shit I need to get done. Sun’s almost up, and I think I should survey the terrain a bit so I have a general feeling of the campus’s layout.”

At first, Helix seemed offended. Yet, the expression didn’t linger. Seconds passed, and the orc grew thoughtful. “This might be good as well. You can encounter other students and individuals—organic materials too. You can interface with them using your Aegis. Yes… I have homework for you. You are to tell me what latent health risks the people you encounter have, what existing ailments they suffer from, if any, and how you might best go about collapsing their biological architecture. Since I will be accompanying you within your cape, you must be prepared to respond to my questions most promptly."

Shiv snorted. "Alright. Can't I’ll do that well, but—”

"Oh no, it's going to go disastrously. You're going to be like a blind man trying to perform surgery on an animal you've never encountered before," Helix giggled. "But that's how it always begins. For you, anyway. If you were to perform surgery on anyone, I expect them to die screaming, unless you're performing throat surgery, in which case there's going to be a lot of wiggling followed by nothing at all."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Helix."

"Confidence is to be earned and taken from success. And you can start by fixing the homunculus."

Shiv stared down at the unmoving body of his lesser clone. "You know, I don't really know what you did before. You kind of just waved your hand. It got back up."

"It's Homunculus, Insul. Its body is far simpler than yours. Revive it."

"Wait." Shiv wrapped a mana hydra around his armor as well. And only then did he notice the special ingredient Helix infused within the Homunculus. There was a faint static that ran as an undercurrent between all the cells. Bioelectricity. "It can regenerate."

"Yes. As soon as you clear up the mess in the organs, it will get back up again. You'll have to probably fix part of the brain damage induced by the oxygen deficiency. But everything else should be resolvable through your capable hands."

"All right," Shiv said. He let his mana hydra sink even deeper into the body. And he focused mainly on the arteries. He pulled at the plaque, trying to remove it gently now. And—

His thoughts trailed off as everything inside the homunculus became untangled, burst free from inside the corpse. Blood sprayed out, hitting all the walls and floor as Shiv unlatched the arteries from the corpse. Organs were wrenched free as well, sliding out from expanding wounds like glistening balloons of mutilated tissue.

"Ah," Helix said, suppressing his disappointment. "Oh well, you'll get better at focusing on the blood instead of, well, the things that hold the blood.”

Shiv turned away from the twitching corpse and stared at the orc Biomancer. "Is it gonna be able to regenerate from that?"

"By itself? No. Its insides are on the outside, Deathless. You ripped some of the brain matter out as well. There's a limit to this. However, I can always regrow a new one. Assimilate the body. It'll be a good draft reference when you need to make your own homunculus down the line. For now, please try developing a softer touch. It will be most helpful for your art. Not everything needs to be torn and crushed. Sometimes, a poisoned seed is the most sublime—”

“The other orcs hit you a lot, don’t they,” Shiv asked, unable to keep his intrusive question contained.

Helix sputtered. “What? Why would you say—No. I am respected.”

The moment dragged. Helix’s outrage was a bit too much. Shiv laughed. “Yeah, they definitely bully the shit out of you. You’re enjoying this. I’m the only one who plays along with you, aren’t I? Even the other orc Biomancers don’t take you seriously.”

Psycho-Cartography: Don’t go too far, his feelings will actually get hurt. And he’s the kind to pout and withhold his knowledge in response.

“N-no!” Helix came just short of stomping his feet. “I’m respected.”

Psycho-Cartography: Anyone who needs to claim they are respected out loud is lying to themselves.

Shiv just kept laughing. “It’s okay, Helix. You’re a pretty good Biomancer. Not a great teacher, but your self-importance and outrage tickle me enough to make up for your personality.”

“And what’s wrong with my personality,” Helix all but whined.

“Nothing. Except for the fact that you like to hear yourself talk too much. And you constantly muttered behind people’s backs like a teenage girl. Anyway. Get in my cape and get your snide comments ready. Let’s go on a walk.”

“I—” Helix was about to refuse.

Shiv intercepted his refusal with a pre-prepared threat. “If you don’t go, I’ll grab Mortar and we’ll just shit talk you all the way.”

“Nyah!” Helix snarled.

Psycho-Cartography: I do think we have him by the metaphorical balls. But he might be enjoying this little game, too.

***

Shiv and Helix spent a little while longer reviewing their Biomancy, but after that, the Deathless decided that he wanted to survey the campus grounds. Though it displeased Helix that Shiv wasn't devoting every spare second he had toward the art of manipulating biology, he was assuaged enough that his whining was kept within acceptable parameters.

Shiv departed from the coliseum and returned to his dorm room alongside Helix. To the Deathless’s surprise, the other orcs, prisoners, and the Educator were nowhere to be seen when he departed, and that was just another shadow lining the wall. He would have gone looking if he had more time, but there was already too much on his plate. Right then he simply wanted a few seconds to know what Phoenix Academy actually looked like before everything went to shit again.

Shiv scoured his surroundings before leaving his dorm. He swept the rooms to his left and right using his various magical fields and confirmed most of the other students were sleeping. He also managed to find the ogre student's dorm room. It was, in fact, larger than Shiv's, and he shared the chamber with several other unique Pathbearers. Some of them were absolutely tiny, the size of mice. 

Probably because they are mice, Shiv thought to himself. 

He remembered seeing a rat Biomancer earlier. She tried to heal him after Andra put a javelin through his throat. There were also a few what Shiv felt to be humanoid-reptile Pathbearers as well. Their biologies were dramatically different from that of a human's or even an elf’s, and their blood ran cold. Shiv wasn't sure what kind of arrangement had so many different kinds of students living together in the same room, but the academy was clearly an accepting and accommodating place.

Wonder if they’d be willing to take an Umbral someday when the Light Curse gets resolved. Shiv paused at that thought. Yeah, more than the Light Curse needs to be put away for that to happen. Ascendants need to be put down too.

Slowly, the Deathless crept out. He peeked his head out of the room and looked to the left and the right. None of the old Brunswick boys were waiting to jump him, and there was no hint of campus security either. Even so, Shiv didn't feel entirely safe, so he retreated back into his room and pulled out his frying pan. "Alright, let's see what else you can do for me when we need to keep things subtle.”

He focused on the shadows nearby and carved a slice of it away. He kept doing that until his pan felt considerably heavier than before, and then he summoned the fire. But he cut the fire off as he decided that he wanted to test another ingredient first. "Alright, so you're all about cooking and cutting things that usually shouldn't be cooked or cut. What happens if I mix in water with darkness? Actually, what happens if I mix in Chronomancy?"

And Shiv did just that. He first peeled a bit of his Hydromancy away, filling the pan with the source of magical water. It didn't do anything to the darkness, and it was accepted as just another component it could fry. Then he added a hint of gold in that as well. Then the insides of the pan churned with new radiance. 

Shiv stared into that pitch black depth as splashes of time, water, and shadow began to mingle together. It was hard to tell what kind of an effect he would get when this was done, but he was looking forward to it. I wonder just how many things I could mix together. How weird stuff can get.

He channeled a steady stream of fire into the pan, and its lid manifested thereafter. It took three minutes for him to fully cook this new meal, and when it was done, he saw for the first time that he had made some kind of soup. A film of black oil drifted atop, and its fragrance was that of salty tang, but then came a hit of pungence that nearly made Shiv recoil. 

"What felling shit is that?" He pinched his nose. It didn't smell particularly bad, just too damned strong, and he traced the taste back to the dense threads of gold inside the substance. That was the Chronomancy. It almost seemed like noodles. It almost smelled like oil, but what it was something else entirely. 

The magic had been transformed, mingled within the darkness. And from it came a new flavor.

Maybe I should name it. Shivium? No, that’s for metal or something. Uh. Better spend a bit longer thinking about this.

Slowly, he found a cup in the room and poured the soup into the glass. For several seconds thereafter, Shiv examined his new meal. He thought back to what Helix had to say earlier and decided to scan it using his Biomancy. When he washed his mana hydra through its expanse, however, he detected nothing. It was, in fact, an absence within his field, and even his Pyromancy couldn't sense the heat radiating from its top. 

"I could still see the steam rising," Shiv said.

"And so, what are you mumbling about?" Helix popped his head out from the back of Shiv's cape. "While he's still in the dorm, I expected... what is that? What did you make? When did you make it?"

Shiv held up his frying pan in answer to the orc's question.

"Ah, yes, your legendary artifact. What an odd thing for the system to give you. Still, it's suitable. Never mind that. Are you actually planning on drinking it?"

"Probably," Shiv said.

"Are you mad?" Helix waved a hand, and a flare of red mana manifested. After a few seconds, the orc let out a groan of frustration. "And I can't tell what it is, either. Absolutely do not put that down, your—"

Shiv picked up the glass and drained it. Before Helix could say anything, Shiv used one of his spare mana hydras to nudge the orc back into his cape, just in case he found himself displaced after Shiv's transformation. Helix let out an indignant squawk, but didn't resist otherwise.

A few seconds passed. Shiv looked down at his hands, expecting to transform. But he didn't. He didn't become a splash of shadow. He didn't meld into the darkness. The Deathless remained himself. However, his personal shadow began to quiver like it was a pool of water. And it called out to him. It called out to his Hydromancy and his Chronomancy, resonated with a similar frequency.

Swallowing, Shiv sank a finger into his own shadow and felt it submerge. It was like a pond just beneath him. More importantly, it was a pond that left his hand encased in gold. A second later, the university's ward swept by and ripped his chronomantic protections free. But for a moment, he felt his Strider of the Unbending Path amplified.

Taking in a breath, Shiv dropped into the darkness, and it splashed around him. The moment it did, the world slowed. His Chronomancy was magnified and though he could see the waves cast by the academy, the wards ripped through his room without ever touching him. He could feel billowing waves of pressure displace the shadows above him. It splashed about as if a missile streaking across water. But other than that, Shiv remained untouched.

Dodge 33 > 34

Untouched, the Deathless kicked and swam with the thrust of his shapeless tides. He emerged, and as soon as he did, he felt his Strider of the Unbending Path begin to dissipate around him. It was evaporating as if water coming free from his body. And then the next wave cast by the counter-chronomantic wards fell upon him like a towel. It scrubbed him bare, and time resumed once more.

"All right, so a mixed effect between all three," Shiv commented. "The shadows become like water and there are additional Chronomantic benefits as well. Well, it's more a chronomantic pond that resides in every bit of darkness. Is it every bit of darkness?" Shiv looked down at his own shadow, and then he looked out at the surrounding shadows. They all seemed fluid and he tested it again. He dove into the darkness that lined the entrance hallway leading just beyond the door of his room. He plunged down once more. The world went still once more. The wards passed over him once more and spared him of any devastation.

Shiv swam outside, but he quickly discovered the limits of his newest boost. He wasn't in a moving shadow. Instead, he could simply traverse from dark patch to dark patch. The moment he got to the light, the world became as if a boundary, an edge. He could pull himself up, but he couldn't spread the blackness anymore. Then he took a chance. He triggered his Creeping Void and as sprawling miasma filled the hall, Shiv felt his boundary get blown open. Suddenly he was moving again and a rumble of laughter escaped from him.

He slipped out of his room that way, never bothering to open the door, never walking down the hall. Instead, he glided from darkness to darkness until he reached the outside. The fragments of the broken moon drifted high above, casting a pale glow upon the world below. It was like a smattering of dappled moonlight kissing the land, projected as if from a shattered spotlight. And because of it, there were places where the darkness was stronger, where the darkness was overwhelming. 

Shiv stuck to patches of shadow. He glided through the night and deep in the stygian waters made by the last morsel he had all the time in the world.

The Creeping Void 117 > 119

He swam up along the sides of a building, climbing eight stories before he got to the top. He emerged from a patch of darkness and surveyed his surroundings. There were still students racing even into this late hour. The sun would be coming up in a while, but that didn't seem to deter them. They painted two streaks in the air, one barely leading, the other trailing a ribbon of red behind them. The other was a slow bolt of lightning. It carved and twisted through the air, and with every attempt at acceleration, flashes followed, painting two silhouettes. The first was an automaton, large and decked with multiple thrusters. 

The second seemed an elven woman, riding upon a broomstick, sporting a large hat. Quite a stereotypical getup for a mage, he commented to himself. But there was a smile on his face. It was kind of charming to see people living their lives, practicing their talents. There was a sublime pleasure in beholding other Pathbearers, being who they are.

The two racing students crossed through another ringed tower, and they looped around, making another pass. In the distance, the large walls wrapping around the exterior of the academy shrouded much of the neighborhood nearby. Yet, the presence of the Yellowstone Supervolcano and Flamecrown Castle for that matter were undeniable, unavoidable. Flamecrown was a raging beacon, spearing deep into the guts of night. Its three spires casting thousands of magma threads burned ever brighter and seemed ominous, like an effigy manifested at the whim of a cruel god, casting condemnation upon the world below.

Shiv used his farsight and he zoomed in as much as he could. At the very top of Flamecrown Castle, he saw someone hovering there, the slight form of a woman dressed in long billowing black. 

Is that—

The watching form of Veronica Chandler vanished in a burst of darkness, and felt a cold seasoning lining the top of his stomach. She was watching. She knew. She was probably one of the few reasons why he and the rest of his no so merry band were still hidden. But she wasn’t even the worst of his problems—somewhere further out in the deeper darkness was Udraal and the Tarrasque, and Shiv couldn’t have but have visions of fighting the colossal monstrosity on campus.

Shaking his dark mood off, Shiv moved away from the Carrot dorm and made a run for one of the floating towers instead. When no one was watching, he launched himself up along its side and glided and swam up its dark edge. He felt like one of those fish pawing their way up a waterfall, and he managed to get to the very top in a few short seconds.

Upon arriving there, he took a seat upon the open ring at its apex, and he surveyed the entirety of the campus for the first time. Phoenix Academy was constructed in layers. The outer walls stretched wide, going past the horizon. Damn is this place felling big. 

Little wonder why some people called it a small city unto itself. The dorms were stretched far and connected through trenches. They were like long-running barracks, and a good portion of the infrastructure was underground as well. But then there were the other facilities. Massive, cathedral-sized classrooms, what looked like something of a zoo or a forest to the southwest, and a mess of maze-like trenches, past a glistening perimeter dense with dimensional mana.

As Shiv looked past that perimeter, his eyes narrowed. He saw writhing forms rush through the darkness. 

Distantly, he heard animalistic shrieks as well, and they were cut off as someone yelled, "Shut up!" The crackle of lightning sounded, and a few of those forms were smote from existence, bursting into smoke. Shiv looked past that glistening mana perimeter once more, and realized the buildings there were even more fortified and the students there wore armor or had active spells flowing across their bodies.

What is that? Shiv wondered. Why is there a portion of the academy under attack? Is that normal? As he continued using his Farsight to observe the scene, he realized there was another threshold past the first one, and this one was even denser. He could barely see through it, and there were no buildings there either. There were just a collection of trenches, wards, and layer after layer of fortress wall. There, however, upon those walls were students, and they were constantly firing at something, unleashing skill and silent artillery upon an unseen enemy. Past them was the gate at the heart of campus, and Shiv blinked.

He guessed that there were dimensionals slipping out from the gateway, that students were fighting some manner of primal elemental or something. No alarms were going off, and there was a distinct absence of any prismatic guard or militia activity in the area, so he guessed that this was just normal. Sections of the campus were designated combat zones, and the place he occupied right now was calm and peaceful. Maybe I'm just where all the first years are supposed to be, Shiv thought to himself, first years or the non-martials.

Turning away from the gate, he swept the west and east some more. There were several gardens between neighboring dorms, and there he saw a collection of statues. Even with his Farsight, it was a little bit hard to read the plaques lining their base, but a flicker of light came from the left, and Shiv found himself staring at one of the dorms. 

A ball of flame erupted out of it, followed by a thunderous blast. For a beat, Shiv blinked, wondering if this, too, was a normal part of campus life and along the second threshold. Then, as the alarm sounded, Shiv realized it probably wasn't. His pin blinked twice and a pitched alarm sounded.

Warning! An alchemical explosion has taken place at the Dragon Dorm. Students within the dorm, please shelter in place. Head to your bathroom and stay near a hydro dispenser. Other students, please do not approach the endangered area. Rescue personnel are on the way.

Shiv looked on for a moment as the flames quickly crawled up the sides of the curving building. It was eating through it at an alarming rate, and soon the entire west end of the building was utterly consumed by a flickering conflagration. If no one did anything, the entire structure might catch fire, and who knows how many students would die, then. 

But if I get involved, I might just expose myself. There are a lot of risks that... And then Shiv realized he was already moving without thinking. He launched himself off the top of the tower, and he was making a swan dive for the darkness below.

"Gods fucking damn it. I just can’t let shit go. Helix, we're going to go fight a fire. You want to give me a primer on how to properly treat burn victims without using my Woundeater?”

"Burn victims, you say?" Helix said with special delight. "Tell me more. Is it an alchemical fire?"

"Seems to be."

"Oh, then this will be absolutely nightmarish. You’re going to need to regrow some skin and lungs. Far more delicate work than just removing some plaque.”

“Ah, shit,” Shiv muttered. “Well, looks like I’m sticking to crystallizing injuries for now.”

And as he splashed into the blackness, time drew to a near-stand still as the flames froze and Shiv tore off across the darkness, wary of compromising his cover, unable to leave his fellow students to their fate.