II-106 The Grinding Camps (I)

What? No, the Drowned Sky Sect does not run cruel torture camps meant to butcher and harvest the lives of countless Sinners. In fact, we have not killed any innocents at all.

What about the people our patriarch was spotted murdering in the Base? Ah, I see the misconception—those aren’t people. They were participants in a most vile and predatory system. Slavers themselves! And because of their crimes against the proletariat and other lesser concerns, our patriarch enacted justice against the pig-dogs and cleansed the Claimed Hells of their taint.

Again, there is no need to thank us. We are simply doing what we should as vanguards of change in this sour, sad place. Now, as for all the other questions—well, we are not running “torture” camps per se. There is actually very little torture happening. For those we bring in, we try to educate on their mistakes and shape them into new and productive members of society.

For those we can’t…

Well, we cannot release them back into the public to continue perpetuating the sins of capital, can we?

It is all for the best. Trust in the process.

-Rafael De Montez’s response to accusations of mass kidnapping and cruel experiments

II-106

The Grinding Camps (I)

Finding the peace to focus on his own development was a welcome change for Wei. After all these months struggling and fighting, he didn’t expect to find a spot of calmness where war was raging all around him. Having backing from an offshoot of the Circle of Wrath helped, but the apprehension Wei inflicted on the Claimed Hells after butchering a few Duke-Tiers left everyone staggered.

So far, his lawyer had accumulated a few hundred different lawsuits deployed against him over the course of the past three days, but told Wei he could ignore every single one.

It turned out to be an accidental stroke of genius to kill the Collectress, Goldskull, and Lien without any witnesses. Hence, there was no proof of his direct action, just heavy suspicion. On top of this, the small investment Bishop gave to him early on allowed him to drag certain things out in court, tying up the Tribulators.

And on top of everything, the Claimed Hells were drowned in speculation and disbelief. Wei slaying Many-wed was a thing to behold; something as unlikely as it was masterful. Yet, it was unheard of to see a Marquis slay a Count in certain circumstances.

It was, however, nigh impossible to consider the odds of a Marquis killing a Count. The power discrepancy was simply too high. A Marquis strained themselves cracking through a mountain and battling across a distance of kilometers. A Count was something that could burn a continent given enough time, and their influence expanded outward for kingdoms. Few knew about Wei’s System, but even so, the odds were so against him that it was an absurd thing to consider.

It was telling that the Circle of Lust didn’t even send him a lawsuit. Instead, they were keeping things quiet and performing their own investigations. Pride was a mess—factions were warring internally. A few more of Lien and Goldskull’s surviving children had tried to reach Wei at the Unblossomed—but the young master just left their challenges unanswered.

They were of little importance, and it was best to keep his activity restrained after such high profile killings.

“You want to keep them guessing, and keep ‘em worried,” was what Bishop said. Wei was inclined to agree. The more they suspected but the less they truly knew, the better things were for Wei.

With these most pressing matters temporarily resolved, Wei was happy to move onto something he left neglected for too long: Concept Core ascensions.

Right now, all his Concept Cores were in the Minor-Tier. The Cores of Destruction, Creation, and Deconstruction were with his Class, while Harvest, Augmentation, and—though he didn’t have it unlocked yet—Boundaries were with his System. Though all his Cores were potent in one way or another, he knew it was best to focus on a few first and gain an edge rather than spreading himself thin.

He also invited several of his closer allies to participate in this Core Ascension process, for his mother was right: He was neglecting the power of his sect, and, disgustingly, the experience of his father.

So it was that the inner disciples of the Drowned Sky Sect were gathered in the Unblossomed’s private office again, watching Wei project each of the cores into the air before them.

“Five Concept Cores, Jesus,” William muttered as he took in each of Wei’s Concepts. “That gives us a lot of choices. A lot of nasty, fucked up choices at that. Fucking hell, Deconstruction too… John, I think that’s the one he should put his shards in. If he can get that up to Moderate, it might just blunt some of the suspicions around him.”

“Yeah,” Bishop said. “If he can get that to Moderate or something stupid, it could twist people’s perceptions of his capabilities—and avoid any speculation of him having a System.”

“Is there truly that high of a risk?” Wei asked. “I have been here for a while and bested a great many people. There must be others who have accomplished similar feats.”

“Yeah, but not consistently. And not to this extent,” William said, shaking his head. “It’s really not that far of a jump. You wouldn’t be the first Sinner to sneak under Mepheleon’s notice with a System. Probably not the last.”

“Was the last one Moonscar?” Wei asked. Bishop and William eyed each other. “That is a ‘yes,’ then?”

“We didn’t tell you shit,” Bishop replied, mostly confirming Wei’s suspicions.

“But why Deconstruction to start with?” Wei asked.

“Because most people don’t have a Concept Core of Deconstruction and won’t know what to expect. That’s something that usually just goes to the Empyreal Chorus—and they’re pretty close to decimated by the Unfallen. There are only a few places left that have any trace of them, and you’ll be goddamned to find them without going on an expedition into the deep Fathoms.”

“And why moderate? Why not higher?”

“Because we’re going for absurd and not unbelievable,” Bishop started. He eyed the rest of the inner court before continuing. “This goes for all of you: Concept Core development usually lags far behind even Class Tiers and Ascensions. It’s faster to improve your class than your cores. Shit, most people don’t even have Concept Cores, so that’s how weird you lucky shits already are.”

“How far behind?” Agnesia asked.

“Do they lag? Well, depending on how often you fiddle and use these cores to make new skills, most of the time, a Marquis might have a Lesser Concept Core at best. Most are still at minor—easier to buy a good Skill or Achievement rather than making one. Of course, that all changes when someone has a System that’s built on bullshit and magic. Lucky fucker.”

“I wouldn’t call myself that,” Wei replied blandly.

“What would you call yourself, then?”

“An unwilling orphan dealt a stroke of fate,” Wei said, eyeing his father slightly.

William met his gaze and wilted slightly. Bishop winced and muttered a curse under his breath. “Well, anyway—never mind that shit, put some of those shards into your core. Let’s see how this goes.”

Taking an unnecessary breath, Wei drew the Concept Cores out from his System, and they flowed out as interlinked fractals of light and shadow. Interestingly, they were all connected to each other, with streams of Essence keeping them conjoined as if a dichotomous construct of some kind. Wei called upon an Aspect Shard for comparison, and found it to resemble more of a solid piece—like a black and white plate meant as part of a greater structure.

“Would you look at that,” Bishop muttered, staring at Wei’s pieces.

From the corner of the room, a slight mewing sound intruded, and Wei glanced at Vendrian. The Scion of Death was looking frazzled, holding a tiny, swaddled infant in his massive hands. Mourning cooed at baby Justice, while the newborn reflexively grasped at the dancing shadows projected on the walls by Wei’s glowing System.

Slowly, Wei called his Core of Deconstruction to merge with a few of the Concept Shards. Each of his Class cores were still attached to his Eidolon, so it expanded along the length of his glaive like a widening pool of Essence. A few of the interconnected Concept Shards splashed into the inner reality of the core, and Wei felt it expand with a shudder.

He paused as he took in the feeling. It felt as if he was adding more room to places within his spirit, giving himself more space to flex and grow. The addition of a single shard didn’t change the core from Minor to Lesser, but the differences were tangible already.

“Bishop. Did you say that a core could be projected at some point? That you could externalize the inner reality contained within the Concept Core?”

The Trespasser frowned. “Yeah. But you’re better off building your own plane instead. You don’t want to expose your cores to any kinds of attack. They won’t break like a mechanism will if disrupted but… if someone fucks up the flow of your core for a while, you might not be able to use any Skill or Achievement connected to that Concept.”

Wei nodded. Best to avoid such foolishness. But still… a space within spaces was always useful. He injected three more Concept Shards, and felt the space expand even more. Every time, the Essence circulating through his Eidolon shuddered, and a weight began to build inside of him. “It’s growing… but no rating change yet.”

“Yeah, that won’t happen until you get past fifty or sixty shards is my guess.”

Wei froze. “Fifty?” It seemed ridiculous. “Fifty to go from Minor to Lesser? Or to Moderate?”

“Lesser. Moderate’s probably somewhere around… 150. Honestly, I don’t know. I’m going off what Sarah knew, and her Concept-Breaker and yours aren’t exactly the same in a lot of ways. We’re going to have to experiment a little.”

The young master didn’t like the sound of that.

Fifty shards was a considerable investment. It would take two hundred Aspect Shards away from him—hard-earned shards seized during a near-death struggle. He knew how much that mattered. “That’s a lot of advancements to sacrifice…”

“Yeah, but you need a smokescreen, and you’re gonna need better and stronger Skills soon. Titles too.” Bishop said. “That’s inevitable. Look—Wei, you got some time right now.”

The young master began shaking his head. “Wrong. There is no time. There is always someone trying to kill me—some unforeseen problem coming for me. I cannot play defensive anymore. Everything we do now must pivot into an attack against our enemies.”

“Right,” Rafael agreed, nodding. “But… eh, where does that range fall?”

“All the Claimed Hells. The Unfallen. The Dying Queen. The Inheritors…” Wei frowned. “I’m sure we’ll find more people who need to die in due time.”

“Wonderful… wonderful…” Rafael coughed. “And… you say you can get these shards relatively easily by hitting someone with your scythe, correct?”

Now, Wei was getting a bit suspicious. “Yes? What of it, Rafael. Speak. Do you have some special insight.”

“I was just thinking… there are many Sinners in the Base. Many slavers and people who are helping uphold the dirty rotten system.”

“Ah, yes, the Class Traitors.” Wei nodded, though he was still confused about how someone could betray their own Class. It seemed like a hard thing to do. “The minions of the boargeses.”

“Close enough,” Rafael muttered. “But yes—you are worried about the cost, but I do not see such a problem. In fact, I see a great opportunity. We are not in a situation of scarcity anymore.”

Wei leaned in. “Continue.”

“You need to spend more shards to upgrade your Concept Core and Aspects, yes? Well, there are no shortages of demons and evil Sinners here. And most of them are… weaker than us. It would not be hard to, say, use them to test your new Concept Core progression.”

And part of Rafael’s vision took shape. “Yes…. yes, I can operate with greater impunity here. And Kalrus and the General will aid me in this. I can break many more people without drawing attention… And the outer disciples need live fire training opportunities as well.”

Bishop blinked. “Uh, Wei—listen, can we keep on the core for a bit, because I don’t like where this shit is going—”

The young master ignored him. “Right. Of course. We can start setting up camps for this. Facilities where I can test new skills—where I can break terrible foes, bring them down to sufficient weakness and taking shards from them, and where all of you might use them to sharpen your mettle.”

“Ah, shit, it went where I didn’t want it to go,” Bishop muttered under his breath. He shot William a dirty look. “The fuck, man. I knew I was gonna have to clean the Klan out of him, now you got him doing some Goebbels shit too?”

William, contrarily, shrugged. “I mean… it doesn’t sound that bad to me. He’s not going to genocide a bunch of people for their race.”

“And that makes this shit okay?”

“No. What makes it okay is that it’s going to happen to demons and Sinners.”

“What about the people who got press-ganged into slave contracts.”

William thought about that and shrugged. “Well, I guess we can recruit them or something.”

“Or sell them back,” Ellena nodded. “Ransoms do fetch hefty rewards sometimes.”

“Wait a minute—I thought you...” Bishop gave a suffering sigh. “Right. Dark Age Queen shit. Of course you’d be fine with this too. Fuck me, am I the moral center of this group?”

“No,” Wei said, as he put another few shards into his core. “I think that’s Rafael.”

The lich made this known by laughing creepily as he stared off into the distance. “The revolution comes, my friends. The ruling class will not know what is to come.”

As Bishop stared on in disbelief, Wei pushed through his discomfort and flooded his Concept Core of Deconstruction with fifty shards. It expanded substantially, tripling in size, but he still felt like he was on the edge of true power. Wincing, he devoted a few fragments more, and….

A surge of Essence imploded within his glaive. Wei jerked back from his Eidolon as it began to flare, the Concept of Deconstruction becoming nearly five times the size of the other cores.

Concept Core of Deconstruction is now (Lesser)

Concept Shards: [163]

Wei felt a new intensity settle within his flames, but there was something more than that. He felt the world around him grow more tangible. Fragile. Like he could pull pieces of existence apart on a deeper level compared to before.

Skill Evolution Achieved

Empyreal Wrath>Lesser Empyreal Maelstrom (Lesser): Expands the effect radius of Empyreal Wrath in pulsing tides of celestial fire and ash. Drastically increases the potency of celestial flames at an equal cost to Essence expended.

Wei breathed. Everyone else was staring at him. “I… one of my Skills just evolved.”

Bishop was about to say something else when he paused. “What? How? Did you have a Skill you were making?”

“I… no?”

“Then how did—” Bishop stared at Wei Concept Shards. “Hey, kid, you want to try an experiment? Put Another fifty of those shards into your Concept Core of Harvest. Let’s see if your System reacts the same way.”

No longer was Wei bothered by the costs. As he put another thirty shards into his Harvest Core, he felt a space inside of him expand and explode.

Concept Core of Harvest is now (Lesser)

Skill Evolution Achieved

Form of the Withering Harvester>Shape of the Withering Harvester (Lesser): Allows the user to reap Essence, Shards, and Aspect Charges. Deals Conceptual Damage to all Aspects at once. Allows the user to reap the effects of a harvested Skill temporarily. Applies [Source Withering] effect. Source Withering causes damaged Aspects to continuously decay for a set period of time contested by the target’s Constitution. 

“It happened again,” Wei muttered. And before anyone else could say anything, he summoned his scythe—and it flared across his hand at nearly twice the length it used to be. More importantly, its blade was like a wound unto itself—lined with purest white and leaking bone-chilling darkness.

“Alright,” Bishop said, smacking his lips. “I think… maybe the camps aren’t such a bad idea. We’re gonna need to test out some shit anyway.”

“So much for being the most moral man here, huh?” William snickered.

“Go fuck yourself, William.”