II-54 Fall (III)

Elite does not mean invincible. Elite does not mean invincible. I will not repeat this a third time because you should understand it by now.

I don't care that you're already an Adept, Mr. Arrow. I don't care who your father is. I don't care how good you are with that bow. I don't care how fast you can fly with those wings. I don't care how tactically aware you are at all times. You lost this engagement because you flew into a nest of enemies. Enemies that you thought would be so awed and overwhelmed by your power that they would just kneel down and give up. 

That's not how war works, Arrow.

We are Pathbearers. We know our enemies could be of a higher tier. We know that some fights might be hopeless. We know all these things. And most people have some kind of mental preparation for them. More importantly, this was a training exercise so your fellow trainees knew you couldn't kill them. And that meant they could fight to the functional death. And on the battlefield, they would fight harder to the functional death because if they turned around, that's an arrow to the back. And if they turned around, that's leaving their friends to die. 

And let me tell you, death might just be nothing. But life after that kind of shame is hell.

But good job. You defeated most of them. They barely got you with that Psychomancy spell at the end. Lisa's still alive. Tennyson's still alive. That being said, they brought you down, and while you beat twenty people, the other two hundred of them smashed into your faction and won the FUCKING WAR!

Trading twenty or so Pathless or Initiates to bring down an Adept, that's pretty good. That's an incredible trade. If I could trade five hundred Adepts to bring down a Master, I would be laughing and crying at the same time because I'd love my Pathbearers. But I'd be laughing because the trade is so good.

You want to know how many people an Adept can beat if they're just Initiates? If it was just a series of duels? Well, in most circumstances, infinite. You want to know how many Adepts a Master technically could beat fighting one-on-one? Infinite. And a Hero and a Legend and whatever else that follows after once our world gets a little bit more mana.

You are not giving me infinite, Adam. In fact, you are not giving me anything near your maximum potential. Right now, you are embarrassing yourself. Right now, you flew ahead of your team and decided that you were going to show off.

You are not going to do this ever again. And more importantly, going to do a fun new exercise in class. Everyone, we are going to do something called 'Hunt Adam Arrow.' He is going to try to survive as long as he can. You are all going to try to pound him into submission. 

Biomancers, on standby.

Start running, Adam. You wanted to be a solo act. Here’s what it feels like.

-Captain Harry Irons, TacStrat 101, Phoenix Academy

II-54

Fall (III)

Deepest Edge > 63

Silhouette > 85

Momentum Core > 91

Striking Proficiency > 37

Dodge > 14

Whip Proficiency > 8

Shiv’s cancer flail crashed down into the Skinthief’s remains just as Adam shot him and Uva drove her shield into the vampire’s skull. By this point, the high vampire was truly dead. Beyond dead. More smear than alive. Brutalized beyond measure. Yet, the three keep bashing away just to be sure, and also to claim credit over the kill.

The surroundings around the Abyssal Gateway could only be described as apocalyptic as well. The heavy blood rain stopped after Adam bombarded all the vampire Biomancers formations with enough Pyro and Necromancy arrows that entire kilometers leading away from the entrance to Gate Theborn now resembled rows of steadily progressing craters. A good stretch of the ebony road leading to the archway also got ripped out from the ground by Shiv. He used it to impale a hundred-meter tall Teeth Giant, leaving the massive beast pinned to the ground while he focused on getting back into the fight.

It finally died after Shiv’s cancer flail got stuck inside its body, and he ended up using it as a hundred-meter large club to splatter two Master-Tier vampires and the small army of dimensionals they summoned.

Incoherent wailing sang forth from what few patches of the nearby woods weren’t currently ablaze. Most of the First Blood scouts and Enamel Snipers didn’t make it far before their minds were ground down to broken shells. The stronger ones staggered through the woods, sobbing, drooling. They gradually marched into the flames to end their own mental torment. The weaker ones just screamed and screamed.

With a final swing of the cancer flail, the Skinthief burst apart and redecorated Shiv’s weapon. And as the dirt and debris stopped falling, the only three Pathbearers still alive on the horrific battlefield worked to catch their breaths as they stared at each other.

“I think…” Shiv coughed, as he bit by a groan of pain. The left side of his body felt like hell. “I think I got him first.”

“Lying… bastard,” Adam wheezed.

Uva narrowed her eyes. “My shield clearly burst his heart first. I can show you two the memory.”

“It’s true!” her shield cried out. “I felt him. I felt his heart pop! It was… aw, I feel sick, but I don’t have a mouth.” Uva stared at the Mind-Shattered Sentinel. “AH! I mean, I love killing people. Nothing gets me more excited than killing people against my will. I love ramming my edges into hearts and popping them. It pleases me. Spiritually. S-sexually?”

And now the Umbral Psychomancer and the others all frowned at the shield.

“J-just spiritually, then,” the shield sighed. “I don’t know what you monsters want. I’m just trying to protect myself from more trauma for Great One’s sake, help me…”

“But as I have witness,” Uva began. “I think this is mine.”

“You know there is a course,” Adam spat, eyeing Uva with disdain. “A course I took back in the capital on Psychomancers and their deceitful ways. It was called Bullshit-101, and I’m calling it right now.”

“It’s your memories against mine,” Uva said. “And your memories are questionable. I am the only one with an enhanced mind here.”

“I have Psychomancy too,” Shiv muttered, slightly offended.

Uva reached out and patted his chest. “Yes. And Hydromancy too. You have many talents. But whose memory is better.” She then gave Shiv a side-eye and placed a hand on her hip and adjusted her posture. Shiv swallowed as he realized what she was doing and tried to ignore it. He couldn’t. “Shiv. Dear. You saw my shield fall first, right? I killed the Bloodspawn. The credit should go to me.”

And then she started sending him those memories from a few hours ago. Shiv struggled not to groan. He needed to focus—he had his own stake here, and he couldn’t just… Gods, were her eyes also so deep and blue and—

“Uva!” Adam snapped, outraged. “Release his mind! This—it’s dishonorable.”

“I’m not using Psychomancy to control him,” Uva said coolly. “He’s just having a natural reaction.”

The Deathless was beginning to sweat. “I, uh…”

Adam rolled his eyes so hard he nearly gave himself whiplash. “Godsdammit Shiv, control yourself. Have you no pride? At least say you killed the bastard. Just say it. Make this a stalemate. Do not betray me! Do not betray yourself.”

The words were right there, but Shiv couldn’t manage to spit them out. Between Adam’s glare and Uva’s smouldering expression and Shiv’s own wants and— “C-Can Hu,” Shiv groaned. “W-what did you see?”

The Penitent made a surprised chime and managed to fake a cough. “I was focused on… freeing the slaves. And I momentarily suffered an optical glitch. That is still ongoing.”

“But I can see out of your sensors just fine,” Shiv muttered.

“It’s on my end,” Can Hu said. “It is a localized point domain service failure. It is a very technical issue. I am sorry I cannot be of assistance.”

“Shiv…” Uva whispered across their link. She didn’t need to say anything else for him to realize this was a desperate, hopeless struggle. 

Comparatively, Adam resorted to the tried and true method of all men everywhere when they realized their brother-in-arms was about to betray them for a woman. “Shiv. Look at me. Look at me. Speak the truth. Say what is right. Do not be your parents right now.”

“Are you felling serious?” Shiv hissed. “You’re using that on me now?”

“Well, I’m not going to out-bloody-seduce Uva, am I?” Adam said.

“Pitiful,” Uva deadpanned. “To give up without even trying. Do seduce Shiv, Adam. Let me see how you might do it.”

“And you stop using underhanded methods, you—you mind witch!” Adam glared at Uva. “There is a way to these things. An honor to the act of confirming one’s kills and claiming loot. And that act is being violated right now. Just like you’re abusing your… your wiles against this poor, helpless man.” Adam gestured at Shiv.

Uva studied Adam for a moment and just smirked. It was the expression of someone who knew they had the advantage. “Poor helpless man?” She regarded Shiv again, and Can Hu warned Shiv that frequent body temperature spikes could be related to a hormonal issue, unaware of what was actually happening on the Psychomancy front.

Mercy finally came as Uva’s brooch suddenly sounded with a note of discordant strings. “Uva? Cherished Sister Uva, is that you?”

“Palbon?” Uva said. The post-battle banter broke at the voice of Palbon—Uva’s Pyromancer. “Sister Palbon! Yes, it’s—what is your situation?”

“We needed to extract,” Palbon said. “We couldn’t stay. The First Blood—they came in force and without warning. A few hours ago, a few caravans came in, but the cave biters—their insides were loaded with mana bombs. They went off and the attack followed. It was more coordinated and effective than any First Blood engagement I’ve ever seen. Their scouts almost discovered our location nearby, and we had to move. We tried to contact you, but we couldn’t get through. It was like they were interfering with our brooch resonances somehow.”

“Aviary,” Uva explained in a word. “They were being assisted by Aviary.”

A growl sounded from her booch. “Is there no limit to how many schemes and spies these light-cursed surfacers—oh, are Exalted Guests Adam and Shiv still with you?”

“We’re not exactly a fan of the bastards either,” Shiv said. “But we did manage to bag ourselves an owl if that makes you feel better.”

“And by we, Shiv captured the owl,” Adam said, leaning close to Uva. “And that, Sister Uva, is how a Pathbearer recognizes credit.”

Uva just stared flatly at him. “Ah. Yes. Indeed. Pathbearers are children who cannot let things go. Even after the moment has passed.”

“Exac—that’s not what I was doing!”

Palbon continued. “After the initial attack, the First Blood sent a few groups of infiltrators toward Weave. We were ordered by Still Water to aid in the interception and were drawn away. We returned as fast as we could, but the Bloodspawn had already set up a military installation… Or at least they did. Sister… Did… did just the three of you do all that?”

“Four,” Uva said. “Do not forget the Honored Penitent. I will not have its many great contributions to freeing the slaves and assisting Master Shiv ignored.”

“Of course, Cherished Sister. Offer my apologies.”

“It is well,” Can Hu said, though the machine did sound grateful.

“But still… only four,” Palbon sounded awed. “You were always driven and focused, Cherished Sister. I knew you would make Master someday. But I didn’t think you—-you honor our city and her Lady Archnae with your prowess.”

Uva tried to hide her pride, but Shiv read the pleasure in her eyes. “We also used the forces within the gate to break the bulk of the First Blood army first. We merely slaughtered their unprotected backline.”

“Still. A near thousand against four… You won’t believe the sounds Sister Ikki made while we monitored the battle.”

“Somehow, I think I can imagine,” Uva replied. “The local perimeter should be secure. We are going to claim Gate Theborn. The Gate Lord has been Desynchronized, and his replacement can be regarded as an ally.” She eyed Shiv, showing her uncertainty, but she pressed on. “"Soon, Gate Theborn will be under our control.”

"This is... this is tremendous news, sister," Palbon replied, his voice filled with awe. "To strike this deeply into Compact territory and capture one of the gates… The Lords of Law will not be pleased."

"Indeed," Uva agreed with a huff of amusement. "But the quest isn't done yet."

"Quest?" Palbon asked, surprised. "You got another one? A third? In the span of..."

"Yes," Uva said with a slight sigh.

“Then… you…” Palbon paused. “I must confess my envy, Cherished Sister Uva. To be system favored and prevail…”

"I fear that being System-favored comes with its own assortment of issues, Palbon."

Palbon laughed. "Well, I think I might like some of those issues."

Uva hesitated. "Perhaps," she said. "But death is a constant companion.”

"Isn’t it always?" the Pyromancer prompted.

Uva paused as she took in the massacre around. Truly took it in. She started at the bloody bits of tissue clinging to the bottom of her shield. “Not like this, Palbon. You drown in death when you are favored. And there is little air besides death.” Then, Uva broke free of the moment and continued. "Sister. Gather the others—-go back to Weave and tell the ranking members of the Order what is happening. Tell them to send a detachment. We will be able to station a garrison here soon. But make it subtle. We are still officially absent from this gate.”

“But Cherished Sister Uva, we can—”

“I know you are here and I know you are willing to fight with me. To the death if you all must.” And Uva’s expression turned almost fearful. She looked at the many dead around her again and she regarded Adam and Shiv. Finally, she gazed upon the Abyssal Gateway, and her expression hardened. "Beyond that gate is the final adversary, the former Gate Lord. I will not risk any of you until he is truly dead. You and the others are brave. I could not ask for better sisters," Uwe said, her voice slightly awkward. "But we fight a Hero, and I will not spend your lives in vain. This is no battlefield for just a small team. Go. Get aid. May her song spread.”

Palbon paused for a moment. "I understand, Uva. May her song spread. And… do not die.”

Uva scoffed. "I don't intend to be the one who dies."

"Affirmative," Palbon added. "Oh, and Sister Ikki wants me to ask you… Never mind.”

On the other side, Shiv could hear Ikki loudly moaning his name while pretending to be Uva. Both Shiv and Uva exchanged a look and shook their heads.

"That girl." Uva sighed. "Come on, let's get back in the gate and finish this. I’ll pull on her ears later when she gets here.”

Shiv watched her expression and tasted a melancholy inside her. She enjoyed taking the gate with Shiv and Adam. But it came at a trade. Being system favored wasn’t just a blessing—it almost meant those who fought alongside you were in danger. Always in danger. There were risks, being a Sister of the Arachnae Order. But those risks paled before the system actively trying to murder you—and rewarding you should you survive.

“Alright,” Adam said. His eyes flashed with mana one final time and clenched his jaw as he looked toward the archway. “No one left here. Aside from the poor bastards Uva mind-broke, that is.” His stellarite saber and rapier drifted alongside him, held by Hydrokinetic hands.Adam drew a steadying breath as he strode toward their final battle.

"Uva," Adam said, "how long do you estimate it will take for the Guardshead to fully synchronize with the mana core?"

"I cannot give you an exact time," Uva replied. "Perhaps an hour, perhaps more. A lot of people share that belief. It was a thorough conversion, and in times like these, people want someone to hope for. People want someone to believe in." A grimace crossed her features. "The mass casualties helped. There aren't nearly as many people in Gate Theborn who need to be convinced anymore."

"I'm surprised the quest is still going," Shiv said.

"That's because some of the Master-Tiers are still alive," Uva explained, her brow furrowing. Some of her mana strands remained within the gate.

"And Confriga?"

"Well, he doesn't look good," Uva grunted. "But right now, I'd give him even odds of killing the last one before he collapses."

"Adam, get ready to grab Valor," Shiv ordered. "He'll want in on this. There might not be many pieces of the Lesser Marshal left by the time we're done," 

"Right," Adam agreed. "But still, keep your distance and batter him down. His Magical Resistance should be on the verge of breaking. Don't risk yourself. You have two people with you right now."

"I am prepared," Can Hu said. "You cannot break what is already broken."

"Yes, but with enough strikes, he might just get to the rest of you," Adam remarked. "So, no risks. We win. We win cleanly, and we win completely. No trading blood for blood. Not now.”

"Fine," Shiv grunted. It didn't feel entirely satisfying, but sometimes the best way to win was to win without even really fighting. Overall, aside from the sudden and unexpected encounter with the Educator, their rampage through Gate Theborn was a major success in Shiv's book.

Adam watched Shiv a little while longer, then turned to Uva. "Uva, while I get Valor, keep an eye on him."

"Of course," Uva said.

"What?" Shiv muttered. "Are you two teaming up on me now?"

Uva briefly patted him on the back. "We're just looking out for you, dear. Both of us."

"I'm not stupidly reckless," Shiv insisted.

Adam and Uva shared a look. The young lord threw his head back and laughed. Uva simply snorted.

"I'm not," Shiv repeated.

"I fear you have been outvoted," Can Hu replied.

With a final note of lightness, they entered the gateway, preparing to bring the whole affair to an end.

Just as they crossed over, a shape zipped toward them. Shiv immediately shot in front of Adam and swatted the projectile aside, only for it to splatter against him. The gore-laden remnants of the high vampire splashed down from Shiv’s body and in the sky above, Shiv saw the lingering remnants of the First Blood army locked against Confriga in a bitter struggle.

The Lesser Marshal looked wretched. Blood poured from the edges of his onyx eye. His skin was partially flayed, his armor cracked in multiple places, and all of his wing petals were consumed by teratoma. More importantly, his Magical Resistance was on the verge of shattering. Once, he was iron in a world of wood, but even iron had a breaking point, and Confriga was near his.

But the Master-Tier vampires looked no better. There were only five of them left. Two were no longer in fighting condition, rendered down to sacks of blood and mangled tissue. They lay upon the ruins of the customs and processing building. Uva casually reached out and broke their minds.

In the same instant, Confriga swept his blade through one of the three final surviving vampires with a shout of effort, and the vampire dissolved into nothing but ambient mana.

Shiv did a double-take at that, and Uva hissed telepathically, "I told you, that sword is dangerous.”

"Bloody hell," Adam said. "Shiv, stay far away from that thing. When we get the quest rewards, select a ranged skill for your Master-Tier.”

Uva’s expression turned severe. “This is why the system gave us Master-Tier Evolutions so freely. It has to do with the sword.”

“I’m going to get Valor,” Adam declared. “This will only be a few seconds. Do not engage without me Shiv.”

“I won’t,” Shiv said, slightly annoyed. “Don’t worry. I’m not an idiot.”

“I know, but you are bloody reckless, and I don’t want you to end up dead for good because I wasn’t there to watch over you,” Adam spat out in a hurry as he finished his Dimensionality spell linking to their hidden anchor.

Adam snorted. "I'm going to teleport now. You two stay here and just wait."

Adam vanished into his spell. Uva and Shiv remained in place, and she wove herself into his mind to remain hidden using his Silhouette. Confriga hadn't noticed them yet, so consumed with battle lust against the vampires that they were all he knew, all he hated. His swings were rough and erratic, the messy speed of a super-sonic drunkard rather than a seasoned warrior. His first two cuts were easily parried. And when he tried to unleash some of his winged petals' radiant flame, all he managed was a brief flicker before one of the extending petals burst apart into sprays of viscera. Confriga howled as the wing distended and splattered onto the bridge, painted the four hundred thousand dead clustered far below.

The final two surviving vampires were the shapeshifter Shiv had seen earlier and one more, some kind of dedicated spellcaster that specialized in blood-related magics. It hammered Confriga, shaping attacks from its very being, creating blades, arrows, anvils, and more from blood. She struck the former Gate Lord over and over as he tried to attack her, but he was always intercepted by the shapeshifter.

The shapeshifter was the true challenge for Confriga. He adapted to everything Confriga did, flowing around the Lesser Marshal’s body, fast enough to keep up with Confriga’s strikes. The vampire’s form constantly shifted, becoming flat, hard, morphing unceasingly, forcing Confriga to always react, to always be burdened with some kind of defense. Paired with how exhausted Confriga was, this fight truly came down to the wire.

A flash of corrosive energy pulsed from the single remaining skull on Confriga's chest. He tried to channel it into a blast, but was interrupted once more by a pendulum of blood crashing into him. The solidified blood magic exploded, and the swell of crimson consumed the area. The Lesser Marshal was launched from his feet. He soared through the air and crashed into a distant plaza, sending smoke and debris high into the air.

Uva and Shiv followed immediately, but remained at a distance so they wouldn’t be spotted.

The moment was so enticing for Shiv. He could cut the vampires down from behind. And just obliterate Confriga with his flail or magic. Uva was there. Both of them—

“Shiv,” she said, her voice severe. “Adam is right. Do not risk it. We crush him.”

“It’s just godsdamned right there,” Shiv growled, frustrated.

“So is his sword.” A heavy feeling came over her. “I—my Eldritch Insight reacts inside me when I look upon that sword.”

Shiv heeded her words and stayed concealed. As he bobbed through the air, he stared down at the battlefield from above and grimaced. There was nothing but smoke and rubble where Confriga impacted. Both of the vampires limped toward his position, casting spells into the haze—

But with a ragged cry, the Confriga soared once more, his cancerous body? rupturing as he forced himself to soar toward his enemy. His one eye, an onyx orb of absolute hate, wept rivers of blood as he greeted battle once more with a roar. "I am Lesser Marshall Confriga! I am a campaigner of a thousand dimensions, butcher of ten thousand worlds! I will not fail here! I will regain my name! I will regain my honor! And I will regain Lord Scorn's favor!" 

The shapeshifter prepared to intercept, expecting Confriga to strike the spellcaster. Yet Confriga did something strange. He stabbed the space beside him with his sword, splitting open a gulf of space beside him. Through the gulf came a massive, lashing tentacle of oil-like shadow that sought to claim the shapeshifter. The shifter reacted, coiling around the tentacle, but rather than going after the spellcaster while she was open, Confriga cast his sword out at the shifter after ripping it out from his chest.

For the first time, Absence struck the shapeshifter's body dead on.

A cry sounded. The vampire returned to its original state, a man in fluid, blood-made armor. As he tumbled, the spellcaster cried out for her ally. But Confriga smashed into her with a final, desperate burst of speed and punched her. A hole exploded through her chest—but Confriga kept hitting her until there was nothing left. Meanwhile, the shapeshifter howled as he began to dissolve, and the massive oily tentacle gripped him, pulling his fading form into the gulf of nothingness it came from.

And with that, there were no more Master-Tier vampires remaining. No more invaders. No more anything but Confriga and the people who had sought him dead long before the First Blood did. The once-powerful Gate Lord, a True Hero among Pathbearers, groaned from his many wounds and could barely hold himself up. Absence was the only reason he was still standing. Slowly, he fought back to his feet, his legs shivering, his winged petals withered and ruined. "I proclaimed, and I manifest my destiny!” He glared at the mana core. “I AM GATE LORD CONFRIGA! AND THEBORN HAS NOT… not…”

But Confriga couldn't quite finish as he noticed Shiv, Uva, Adam, and Valor descended to finish him. A second before, a rift had opened, and from it came the Archer and the Legend. They came to a collective halt two hundred meters above and away from Confriga, and the Deathless deactivated his Silhouette.

"You," Confriga growled, rage surging through him, his one eye widening. Suddenly, he didn't seem so weak anymore. He planted his feet and grasped Absence with both hands. "Vile vermin! Was this your doing? Was this your plan? I am not beaten yet! I am not nearly finished! Come. Even broken, I am more than enough to claim your head. Face me. Alone or with your coward companions.”

Shiv scoffed. He pulled off his helmet and then lifted Can Hu’s half-skull. He regarded Confriga with a sneer—the kind that Adam would do every now and again. "Well, I can't take all the credit. Frankly, most of it goes to you."

"What?" Confriga replied, surprised.

"Yeah, you might be the biggest asshole I've ever met," Shiv continued. "Murdering all your own people, not bothering to listen to a second opinion, not solving any of the actual problems in the gate, taking slaves, running a weaver breeding operation. Frankly, we couldn’t have done half this shit without you. Except for the Bowel-Breaker. That was mostly me.”

"Silence!" Confriga shouted. "I will not let you insult me!" 

He staggered forward, but even with his incredible Physicality, he was beyond spent. A near hundred Master-Tiers fighting a single Hero, while supported by multiple magi formations, golems, and more, had driven Confriga to the brink. He tried launching himself at them but could barely manage a stagger, before struggling to stay upright.

Then a loud, long sigh came from Valor Thann. "Really, Adam? You brought me here to show me this thing?"

"You," Confriga growled and gasped. "Silence. You…" Then he recognized Valor. "T–your right arm… You… You are he…”

"Yes, yes," Valor said. "And you are a second-rate practitioner of a very esteemed art." He regarded the skull on Confriga's chest and made a noise of absolute disgust. "Come then. Show me your Necromancy." Valor looked at the others. "Do not intervene. I have been humiliated and stagnant long enough. I have felt unlike myself for too long. Let me indulge my curiosity. Even as a meager Adept, I can instruct our friend here on a lesson.”

Shiv wasn't sure, but Adam just shrugged. "I'll make sure to shoot Confriga in the head if he ever gets close to stabbing Valor," the Young Lord said telepathically.

"What happened to honor and decency and all that?" Shiv muttered.

"Honor and decency end at the point your friend is about to be killed by some bastard slaver," Adam said.

Valor drifted forward, and Confriga regarded him curiously. "What? What are you doing? You say you are a Necromancer, The Great Valor Thann. Where is your effigy?"

“You foolish child. The entire world has died so many times over. Why would I need a skull when all of existence is a tomb? Why would I need a skull now, when I am surrounded by death, you rank amateur?” 

Valor raised a hand, and Necromantic mana swirled around him, crackling, withering the world as if it were the burning page of a book. The corrosion of loss warped the space around the ancient.  For a moment, Shiv saw who he was again, the man he had once been, and a shiver ran through him, the same shiver countless vampires must have felt when they were fighting him—that he was an insect looking at something beyond even a man.

But then the moment was gone, and Valor was what he was again: a shattered Pathbearer slowly piecing himself back together with the help of his new disciples and allies.

Confriga clenched his teeth, his vertical jaw slamming together, and he drew forth green Necromantic energy from his sole remaining effigy. He launched it forward, a swelling tide of Corrosion that came at Valor, only for it to be seized by the Legendary Pathbearer with a simple gesture.

"What?" Confriga yelled. 

Then Valor shaped the Necromantic energy, swirling it about his hand and slowly condensing it into the shape of a short sword. All that loss, all the corrosion, tempered and mastered by someone bearing only Adept-Tier potential, by someone who was only a shadow of who they were.

Shiv let out a laugh. It was frightening in a sense. He was powerful, but there was a lot he didn't know, and Valor demonstrated that without power, knowledge and expertise could still take one a long, long way.

"You wield the art clumsily and painfully," Valor said, gesturing for Confriga to come at him.

Confriga stumbled forward on weak legs. He still slashed down so fast that Shiv could barely follow. 

Yet Adam didn't fire his arrow, for Valor dodged before Confriga ever struck by exploiting the fact he had no body and recomposing himself behind Confriga. Then, Valor jabbed Confriga in the back of his leg. The limb immediately began to burn and rot, and the Lesser Marshal went down with a ragged cry. "Your swordsmanship also needs work. You are quite good, I suspect, when you are hale. But when angry and spent, you fight like a Initiate, over-extending, over-exaggerating, pouring everything into your emotions. This is not a thing of feelings, boy. This is a thing of purpose and effectiveness. Get up. Strike me down. Do it again."

Confriga exploded into action. He roared, swinging his sword as hard as he could, from as many angles as he could, but time and time again, he was sent back to his knees as Valor casually struck the same point over and over. In seconds, Confriga's right leg was little more than a mangled, withered stump. The Lesser Marshal whimpered but managed to turn it into a growl of absolute hate. "You... you dare toy with me?"

"Is there anything stopping me?" Valor asked, with more than a little condescension. "You played slaver, master, brute, and tyrant. And now, at your moment of final weakness, when you are spent, you are here, still spitting your spittle like a child. You embarrass me. You embarrass everyone who has ever practiced Necromancy. You embarrass anyone who has ever held a sword. And you embarrass your god in everything that you have ever stood for."

As if the System was waiting to make Confriga's humiliation complete, two notifications appeared in everyone's vision.

Gate Mana Synchronization in Progress: Guardshead Leu recognized as new Gate Lord Candidate…

Quest Complete: Repel the vampiric invasion and eliminate all infiltrating Aviary assets in Gate Theborn before they overcome the defenses and slay Gate Lord Confriga first.

Select a Skill to Evolve to Master-Tier.

"Leu," Confriga breathed, his eyes widening. "Leu." He roared to the heavens. "HELP ME! HELP ME! AND I WILL SEE YOU REWARDED!”

“I will do no such thing, Confriga," Leu said through the mana core. Suddenly, there was a pressure, a clench in the air as Guardshead Leu appeared, just a few steps away from the downed Gate Lord. The mana core came alive again, and with it followed a sudden drop in temperature. "Do you remember, Confriga? Do you remember some centuries ago when you killed a juvenile Volteg? When you butchered him in front of his only remaining sibling?"

Confriga paused, thinking. "You... I… What?”

"You cannot," Leu said, a note of disappointment but also acceptance in her voice. "I know you cannot. Cruelty is in your nature. He is likely not the only juvenile you slew. But he was my clutch-brother. Mine. The only reason I made it to adolescence. The only reason!" 

For the first time, she truly snarled, and it sounded like something was trying to claw its way out of her. But impossibly, Guardshead Leu wrestled herself back under control. "I... I have dreamed of this moment for so long. For so long, I have plotted and schemed and prayed. And I have done everything I could, everything to prepare myself. But there was no preparing myself," Leu began to laugh, "for how sweet this is. For how miserable you seem. For how broken you are."

Gate Lord Confriga stared at Leu as he slowly understood. "How long? All this for revenge? Centuries of your life dedicated... your service, your exemplary behavior... all to take revenge on me?" He sounded like he couldn't understand the concept, couldn't understand giving so much of oneself just to hurt him.

"Yes," Leu said, a hint of madness entering her voice. "And it was worth it. Every second. Every moment dedicated to hating you, it was worth it. Now, scream." The mana core flared, bringing down a concentrated beam of cold upon Confriga. As he tried to stop the surging mana, Valor cut his other leg, severing the limb with a single blow, and cracking parts of the Lesser Marshal’s soul. Confriga roared in absolute agony. He crashed down, landing in a puddle of his own blood. Shiv felt his Magical Resistance come asunder, and several other things broke inside him as well.

But just then, a feeling clenched inside Shiv. O-Outside context problem! Rose screamed in his mind. She began to shudder and whisper. No, no, no, no, no! Desperation! A point of desperation! It's desperation! The bindings are coming undone! The bargain comes due! He sees me! He sees us! Get away! Get away! Get away! IT COMESITCOMESITCOMESITCOMES!

"Rose? Rose, what's wrong?" Shiv said aloud.

Adam looked at him. "What do you mean? Rose? What's happening to my mother?"

"I don't know," Shiv replied, tension spiking inside him.

Through it all, the beam of pure frost continued to build, continued to torture Confriga. Valor looked down with disdain as Leu screamed her laughter loud. 

The Gate Lord is broken! The Gate Lord is broken! He's given himself... Confriga is broken! He's passed that final despair! He's passed it! He's passed it! He's going to make that offer! The offering the offering the self-slaving final offering! Rose's words remained as incomprehensible as ever.

Outside Context Problem: The Lesser Marshal’s end draws near. And the shackles on Absence break at last.

Today will be a feast to remember. Today, living history and animated legends will wet the Recollector’s eyes…

Shiv made his decision immediately. Whatever Rose was terrified about, it had to do with Confriga and the sword. No more risks, just like Adam said. He fired multiple bone drills into Confriga, punching through his skull, hammering length after length into the Lesser Marshal’s open wounds. Even so, Confriga tried to perform a final act. 

He seized his blade in both hands and let out a cry that turned into a shriek of pain as Shiv reached out with his Biomancy and liquefied Confriga. The Volteg turned to blood—but the gore that sprayed free from Confriga froze in place.

And then Absence rose into the air.

Shiv felt something coming. Uva felt it too. She saw something in the sword, something that made her gasp. "Shiv, the sword! Destroy the sword!"

Shiv did. He swung his corpse flail out, launching it against the edge of Absence as hard as he could. He impacted the blade, and—

And the mirage that shrouded the blade this entire time faded. Its edge glowed, and it became a crescent-shaped iris, as the true shape hidden by the blade and Confriga’s existence emerged.

Suddenly, a tide of gold smashed into everyone. Chronomancy. Shiv parried the spell with his Magebreaker, and with an extreme effort  forced the spell aside. Adam, thanks to his rapier's Temporal Warding enchantment, endured as well. But Uva found herself frozen in place? as did everyone else—everything else within sight. The ones affected were coated in motes of gold, falling like grains of sand from their body.

Then, there was a colossal figure looming over the splatter where Confriga was. It just appeared. No movement. No magic. One second it wasn’t. And then it was. It dwarfed the Jealousy by perhaps five times over, and looking at it hurt Shiv’s eyes. It had so many limbs, lined with so many eyes. The best  he could describe its general form was a carpet of black, oily limbs and tentacles clustered together. But where its head was supposed to be was a massive, ten-fingered hand lined with blinking eyes that twisted in a spiral. The eyes kept going across the entire hand until they finally vanished into a maw that descended into the depths of the palm—and the eyes were constantly moving… like they were small buoys on an ocean.

Shiv's mind recoiled as he struggled to process the true shape of what he was viewing. Nausea swept through him and a deep ache gripped his mind, but with a snarl of rage, he fought through the discomfort.

Adam failed to.

The Young Lord bent over and emptied the contents of his stomach. His eyes rolled, and he clutched his head. Shiv caught Adam. He called out the Young Lord's name, but Adam was unresponsive, babbling incoherently, just like Rose.

Once more, Shiv looked across and stared at the great creature. It was now staring down at him with all its eyes. Shiv launched his cancer flail immediately. It impacted the large palm the creature had for a head, and—

Shiv’s cancer flail faded to nothing.

One second it was there. The next it was gone. Shiv couldn’t remember—it did something but—

"Confriga, you have finally died… I weep. I sing. I come to collect your legends… The stories that make you… you…" the creature said. Its voice was beautiful, mesmerizing. Shiv barely resisted it. Adam began to weep violently beside him, and Rose did the same within. Shiv felt sick, and it felt like… something terrible was constantly happening—something was constantly being done to him and the others, and he couldn’t remember what.

Shiv let out a cry as he shifted out of context.

Uva fell out of him. The world went gray. He charged the monster and drove his kukri into one of its eyes. He emerged with a blast and—

Shiv’s senses returned to him as he vomited blood all over himself. It… it was like he suddenly lost track of time. There was something that just happened, but he couldn’t remember what. He just—there were pieces missing from his experience. It was then that he noticed Uva, Adam, and Valor were leaning over him, trying to drag him away. Every last one of his ribs were broken. He was bleeding internally. Shiv growled and used a Woundeater on himself. His wounds filled the wyrm, and he let Uva and Adam pull him up.

Before him, the nightmarish entity cupped the gore-splatter that had been Confriga. It cupped the gore splatter and formed a Chronomancy spell around it. Slowly, it turned the spell in place, and a small shroud appeared. Within, time turned backward and Confriga reformed to the state just before his death.

“What—” Adam gasped. “What in the Broken Moons… Shiv. I can’t—I can’t remember what just happened.”

“Yeah,” Shiv breathed as he clenched his kukri tight and prepared to fight. “Me neither. But this thing needs to die.”

Just as he prepared to charge the monster again, it extended a limb at him, a wave of Chronomancy crashed into him and all the others. This time, Shiv froze in place—just like when he was falling from Blackedge and encountered Sullain. He tried to move, did everything he could to resist, but he was pinned.

Adam’s rapier flared white-hot as it tried to resist the spell with hits Temporal Warding. It was too much. The weapon shattered in half as the monster’s magic overcame it. Adam froze, too, just as he manifested an Arrow.

"How odd," the creature blinked right in front of Shiv. One of its many limbs pointed at him, and he felt something inside his body quiver, but he retained control. "This one managed to hit me in my other past. How resilient. Still... not quite human, not quite System, not quite full Pathbearer. Not the same. No end, no point. Where... where is the point of death? Where... can't find… Strange. Will need to investigate more. Drink your time deep." 

The creature was suddenly beside Confriga again. "See? See why you're in this position now, Confriga? The Stranger blessed you with me for a reason. To save both of us. To give both of us new meaning. The Necromancy we bestowed you was never going to be enough. Despite your fears. The certitude of your death… I promised this would happen. Inevitably. So many histories where this happens. You didn't believe me when you accepted my bargain. I told you this would happen. Now. It is time for the final and full bargain. Give me your time. Give me your legend. Give me your history. Bear me as your child. And birth yourself again through me. Or die. Or die. Or DIE!"

Confriga pulled from the verge of death, moaned. "I... I will give you... everything I have left. I will you this body. I will you my life. I will you..." Confriga drew in a harsh breath and sobbed before he made his final offer. "I will you my history. All that I have been, all that I could be. Just... kill them. Avenge... me. Avenge me, and you will have your true existence in the material world, beyond the periphery. A real body in this place that will not dissolve with the passage of time. Is that what you wanted? Is that...?"

All of a sudden, the massive creature shot forward. It didn't travel through space; it simply existed in one place, and then it started existing in another, its original form fading. It seized Confriga, and poured its immense bulk into him.

Suddenly, the time spell broke. Everyone could move again. They all responded immediately, launching spells of Necromancy, Biomancy, Psychomancy, arrows, bone drills, icicles. But every attack simply vanished just as it got close to hitting Confriga. Like there were never any attacks to begin with.

Then, Confriga burst apart into gore again, but in his place was a golden egg that slowly filled with oily shadows.

Runrunrunrunr! Rose howled inside Shiv.

He didn’t. He shifted out of context and shot toward the egg with his kukri. Shiv drove his weapon into the egg as he emerged, and—

Confriga caught Shiv’s kukri by the edge. But it wasn’t Confriga anymore. Those black-crescent eyes lined every inch of his body. Black oil seeped out from his very being like an aura, and reaching hands and festering tentacles replaced the wings he lost. And where his onyx eye once was now the hand of the strange monster that emerged from Absence.

“Ah,” the transformed Confriga sighed. “This is… so tight… time flowing over me and not dissolving. Not taking away. I can feel it now. Progression of time. Progression. Strange.”

And then Shiv noticed his companions were frozen behind him. As was he.

Again, it was like he was missing an entire section of—

Confriga made a gesture. Guardshead Leu suddenly blinked into his twisted hand. Suddenly, fractals of gold burst around her as she drew breath. “Master Shiv, I—”

Confriga closed his hand. Her head came apart.

Gate Mana Desynchronized: Guardshead Leu no longer recognized as new Gate Lord

Shiv tried to scream—tried to rage.

And just couldn’t. He tried to shift out of context. He couldn’t.

“Strange entity. Strange. Struck me twice. Forced me to sever two pasts from myself. Not sure how. No matter. No need for separate pasts anymore. Have future. Have past. Have present. And you… have none.”

And with a casual twist, the monster that wore Confriga broke Shiv’s Remember of Wounds.

Equipment Lost: [Rememberer of Wounds]

Tier: Master

Condition: Destroyed

Composition: Bone Adamantine; Stellarite

Enchantments > Speed-Amplification; Self-Mending; Conduit of Dawn; Chrono-Anchored Strike; Binding

Shiv’s heart plunged, and frozen in time without any chance to resist, Confriga tuned him around, forced him to face his companions as it wrapped its fingers around his face. Chronomancy fractals broke off Uva, Valor, and Adam’s heads. Can Hu’s half-skull dangled behind Shiv, removed before this whole nightmare began.

“Shiv!” Uva cried, sounding more terrified than he ever heard her. Her eyes were locked on the thing that Confriga became as it laughed.

“Let him go, you godsdamn bastard!” Adam struggled. But he was pinned by time. And there was no hope of escape.

Shiv tried to use his magic. It didn’t work. So tried Outside Context Problem again. Didn’t work. He couldn’t do anything while frozen in time.

“I taste your past,” the thing whispered to him. “I don’t like you. You are strange. You have no end. Not like all the others. Even your soul is deviant. History is wrong around you. Part of you is dislocated from time—from everything. Will not suffer this. I take you away from history. But the mind-dancer.” It looked at Uva and Shiv’s heart flared with fear and anger. “She can see more. She has moved through one of mine and emerged unchanged. This offends me. She will not be unchanged when I finish with her.”

Shiv tried shift again and again. He tried everything. He tried—

The thing that was Confriga slowly drove its fingers into his eyes. It released the magic holding his head still as it blinded him. Shiv guessed it wanted to hear him scream as his sight was taken. He just spat on its hands instead, even as he felt its fingers sink deep into his sockets.

“No screams?” It asked.

“Not a godsdamned one, you piece of shit,” Shiv snarled, gritting his teeth. He tried shifting—and still nothing. He needed his entire body or being free to—

It twisted his neck violently, and there was more strength in this creature than anything Shiv faced before. His head snapped backward. And it twisted him again for good measure. Uva spat curses of such hate and venom at the monster as it took Shiv apart. Adam gagged and called out to Shiv. Through it all, Valor was silent. As was Shiv.

This thing… it was… he thought about what it could do as his life slipped from him—about all the missing moments he experienced just now. What happened was far too jarring for mere amnesia. This was Chronomancy like he never experienced before. But how as he going to—

The creature pulled back and tore his head clean off.

A moment later, Shiv respawned as a Revenant beside his body. An emptiness filled his right hand as his Remember lay in pieces on the ground. Shit!

The entity slowly advanced on Uva, Adam, and Valor. 

“Come, then!” Uva called out to it first. Taunting it. “Come. Let me show you how a daughter of the order dies.”

“No, ignore her!” Adam cried. “I’m Roland Arrow’s son. I planned all this! She—she was just a mercenary hired. Leave her alone!”

“Adam,” Valor said. “It does not care. It is not from here.”

“What?” Adam said.

“It is a creature from the far periphery,” Valor continued. “Aren’t you.”

The thing wearing Confriga laughed. “And you are Valor Thann. The Stranger remembers you. And the scar you left on them.” It looked between Uva and Adam. “Hm. Don’t need the boy. She will be a good vessel for another.”

No! Shiv charged the creature. But every time he got closer to the creature—he would suddenly jolt back to where he started a few seconds ago. Damned time magic! How the hells am I—

Then, his death notifications loaded.

Adamantine Adaption > 127

Gravitic Wreslter > 125

Skill Gained: Chronomancy (Adept)

Chronomancy > 1

Quest Complete: Repel the vampiric invasion and eliminate all infiltrating Aviary assets in Gate Theborn before they overcome the defenses and slay Gate Lord Confriga first.

Select a Skill to Evolve to Master-Tier

And suddenly, Shiv’s near desperate terror hardened into a burning anger. System… You motherfucker!