Chapter 54 Never Enough

I attempted to collect Death’s body to see if there was anything I could do, but it had disintegrated into ash that now swirled in the gentle breeze of the peaceful tree-lined hilltop he’d fallen on.

I thought I was just enraged beyond belief, but a tickle on my face alerted me to the fact that I was crying. Some part of me I was blocking out had found a way to make itself known whether I was ready to face what had just happened or not.

I sent out Spirit Sight again to see if I could find any of the trio I needed to obliterate into ashes that I would then piss on. There was still no sign of them, which meant I’d lost Life as well.

As emotions and the recollections of what had happened poured through my head to be quickly sorted by my high Intelligence, I now had a chance to parse the whole ordeal.

Something was very wrong, and while I had a horrible suspicion what it was, the suspicion also couldn’t be true if Aly was to be believed. I needed to speak with her and the other two gods now.

Once in the Admin Hub, I opened my void storage and stepped in quickly.

“Both of you better come out now,” I said, trying not to look at Devotion’s crumpled body, illuminated by the harsh orb of Light Everlasting I’d set up in there. The time to look after her body would come, but today wasn’t looking good.

I noticed as both goddesses came forward, neither of them looked at her either, and I felt another pang of hurt surge up.

“What is going on?” Destruction hissed as she passed me, stepping out of the storage and into the Admin Hub eagerly.

“I’d kinda like to know the same thing myself,” I replied, trying to keep the strain and terseness from my voice and failing.

“Is Death dead, too?” Peace asked, though from the lost expression on her face, I could see she already knew the answer.

Still, I nodded. “He’s dead, and soon Life will be too.” I clenched my fists, taking a breath before I spoke again. “I tried to get her back. I can beat them one-on-one…, but I’m just not strong enough to fight all three at once. Yet.”

“And with their new powers, they’re too powerful for us,” Peace added, finishing my thought. “I know, I couldn’t do anything against War.”

“Nor me against Darkness,” Destruction spat. “But how did they get those powers?”

“That is a question for our resident AI.” I paused briefly, but there was no response. “Aly?”

I am here, Clive.

“And have you looked into it? Do you have any ideas how this could have happened?”

I do not. The data is very confusing, and I am left in a similar position to you all.

“Is that it?” I asked, gobsmacked.

I can deliver my own summation of the situation if you wish. Though I must warn you, there are gaping holes which I cannot fill without more information.

I rubbed my face in stress. “Gah! Sounds a lot like my own theories then. Let’s hear it.”

Very well. The powers they display are very clearly Alo-im powers, as no other race in the universe has developed the ability to manipulate Neuma in such a way.

This means either the gods of Darkness, Light, and War have developed into Alo-im, which they have not, or they have somehow accessed the power through another source. Coupled with the Hakanilaris’ return in the charted universe, and his subsequent, sudden disappearance, there is a reasonable probability that the two situations are linked.

“You’re telling me,” I grumbled. “But how can you not track him? How is that even possible?”

He must know of a way to hide himself from my scanners, Clive. Until you are able to unlock the full depth and breadth of the Administration systems, there is no way for me to know.

Be aware that there is also the very high risk that Hakanilaris knows of ways to enter these protected spaces, despite my efforts to block him.

I winced at her words. “You really think that’s a possibility?”

I do not. Similarly, I did not think there was a possibility that he could disappear from my sensors.

The security systems that I have to control the movement of criminals were created by Alo-im. The access I have to them shows that they have not been altered for hundreds of thousands of years. Which could mean that Hakanilaris never had access to them.

“Okay. So if we risk working on that, we know the bastard can’t get into the Secondary plane. Which means he’s lurking somewhere in the Tertiary plane still, and he has somehow communicated with these three gods to gift them powers against me.”

That’s certainly how it looks.

I groaned in frustration, but nodded. “That’s roughly what I suspected as well. My only issue with the theory is that Light and War seem to be subservient to Darkness, which doesn’t make any sense.”

Affirmative, came the simple response, and apart from adding useless conjecture, what else was there to say.

I looked back to Destruction and Peace. “I want to save Life, I do, but I imagine it’s already too late. Darkness seems intent on killing you too before fighting me. I’m guessing it’s to gain more power, but for what, I don’t know. It’s another thing that doesn’t make any sense. Beyond that, he knows he’s not strong enough to fight me.”

“So what’s the plan?” Peace asked. “We need to rescue what followers we have remaining on Onnekus. Right now, they are completely helpless to any kind of attack if our enemies decide to go down that route.”

I was only too aware of the people displaced on Onnekus from the attack. An attack I fully expected to be visited on Falritas next, and I was itching to get back. I said as much. Which brought defeated looks from the pair.

“You are right,” Peace said first. “It’s highly likely they will attack your Sphere at Far Reach. Destruction and I are also not strong enough to face any of their number alone.”

“Nor do we have anywhere safe to take them,” Destruction added.

“Yet I must go to gather them, come what may.” Peace finished. “These are my people. My family for thousands of years.”

“I can’t desert my people in such dire circumstances, either. What kind of god would I be if I did?” Destruction agreed.

“And I won’t stop you, but I’m going to Falritas. As for safe places to hide, this is it,” I said, gesturing to the Admin Hub. “But the only way you can get them here is if you can get them in your void storage, and then I’ll come and get you two. A void storage in a void storage kind of deal.”

“Are you forgetting that we can’t put living things in our void storages?” Destruction asked, frowning, almost irritated.

I cursed under my breath. “I knew they weren’t common on Falritas, but I didn’t know you guys couldn’t do it.”

“Now you do,” Peace said bitterly, the frustration rising as was my desire to get back to Far Reach.

“Then gather them. Organize them, and when you’re ready, let me know and I’ll come so that you can herd them inside my storage quickly. But… and I’m sorry to say this, I can’t afford to lose you guys. If Light, War, or Darkness show their faces, you need to bolt like you’ve got a fucking rocket up your arse and get in touch with me. I’ll come and protect you, and together we can protect your people.”

A grim smile that held absolutely no humor crept over Destruction’s face at my words. “I never thought I’d hear the day that I’d be running from an enemy and begging you to come and protect me. How things have changed.”

“None of that matters. We just need to survive, and kill each and every one of these fuckers. I’m long past showing any of them any more mercy.”

“I can definitely agree to that,” Destruction replied.

Peace nodded. “I am all for compassion where possible. These three deserve none.”

“Glad we’re all on the same page. Now, this might not work, but open up your void storages for me. Both of you.”

Destruction cocked a brow at me, but did as asked as did Peace. I studied them both carefully, watching how the waves of Neuma worked. Then I reopened my own alongside them to compare.

“What are you doing?” Destruction asked.

“Trying to work something out,” I replied with more sharpness than intended. “This might not work, but give me a minute.”

After a short while, I suspected I’d found the problem. The void storages for both of them lacked a Neutral element which allowed for life inside. Initially, I was going to add the Neutral Neuma myself to alter their portals functions, then have them dismiss the shields and reopen them to see if the change remained. As soon as I considered that method, I knew that it wouldn’t work. What I needed was to draw the Neutral element from their cores and entwine it with the power.

Next I studied their cores, searching for the Neutral elements I was convinced I’d sensed rather than seen in the past. I had to narrow my focus incredibly small before I found the miniscule cracks in which the gold of Neutral seeped out. That was enough for me.

“Okay, you two, I’m going to try something with your cores. It shouldn’t hurt. I hope you won’t even feel it, but it might be a game changer. Give me a second.”

Choosing Destruction’s first, I relocated one of the hairline fractures of power and I teased it out. While it didn’t resist, it came so slow and thin that I feared I’d snap it. If I didn’t snap it, then it was so weak that I feared it wouldn’t work. I pondered the problem for a moment, then tried to widen the gap with my Neuma manipulation, as the core was itself a Neuma construct.

It didn’t budge. Accepting that I’d probably just have to risk it as it was, I took the thread of Neutral and began to pull again. After teasing out enough to bring the power from her meridian and into the void storage construct, I had an idea. I pushed my Neutral Neuma into the thread. Slowly at first, I doubled its thickness, the power running back along the thread to her core where it stopped. I applied a little extra force, and to my amazement, the crack in the core opened.

Elated with the small success, I quickly pushed more through, doubling the thread in size each time until it became a worthy tendril with a fracture point similar in thickness to her Dark Neuma. With that done, I wove it the power into the storage construct, and I locked it in place.

Without a word I switched over to Peace, repeating the same process much faster. Once the work was completed, I took a step back to take in my handiwork. Both looked similar to my own, and I had a good feeling about them.

“Okay, could you both please dismiss and recall your void storages for me?”

The moment they did, I received a notification:

< Congratulations >

You have developed a Mythic Skill: Skill Smith.

(Divine Tier Skill: Special Requirements Met.

Special Requirements met:

Reach Level 4 in Neuma Forge Skill

Reach Level 2 in Construct Smith.

Possess 1000 in Ethereal Awareness

Attain 1000 in Internal Connection.

Reach a minimum of Five Hundred in Singularity.)

Not content with the manipulation of pre-formed Neuma Constructs, you have pushed the bounds of your abilities and created a very special skill.

The ability to adapt, upgrade and permanently alter the preset skill of another.

Bonus 500,000 XP

< Congratulations >

You have leveled.

You have now reached Level 929.

You have 90 Stat Points to Assign.

My emotions were a mess after reading the notification. It was an amazing achievement, but it was such a dark time that I couldn’t rejoice. With grim acceptance, I assigned the points into Constitution, bringing it up to 664.

My recent battle showed me that Immortal Shell wasn’t going to be nearly enough when going toe to toe with the toughest gods in the universe. My left lung provided a potent reminder as it still tingled from where Darkness had ran me through.

I eyed Peace and Destruction as I assigned the points. Both of their eyes were reading their own notifications, both of them in a state of shock.

“You actually did it,” Peace said first. “What else can you do with that? Can you alter our other powers to more powerful versions?”

I shook my head. “Not unless I know a more powerful version. I’d love for you to have portals for a start.”

She nodded. “Can you teach me?”

“That skill is to alter a power, so I don’t honestly know. I’ll try when I have a minute, but right now I need to move. I’m cut off from everything in here, and I’m panicking that they’re already at Far Reach.

She nodded solemnly. “Thank you for this boon all the same. I’ll go and collect my followers, and once I have them all safely stored, I will call for you.”

“Good luck. And I really can’t emphasize this enough.” I met both of their eyes. “Be careful, stay alive at all costs. I need you both.”