160 (II) Avatar

160 (II)

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And Shiv's attempt worked. His provocation drew Stormhalt closer. "Why?" Stormhalt asked, his voice a low growl. "Why do you despise Roland Arrow? And why should I surrender his life to you?"

"Because he owes me my entire life," Shiv spat. "He owes me for everything he's taken from me."

"Taken from you?" Stormhalt replied. He regarded Shiv for a long moment, and then he gave a snort of disgust. "Why am I not surprised? Roland takes, takes, takes. All he does is take."

The City Lord hung in the air as he shook in quiet rage, and in an instant, he glided across the badly damaged chamber, looming over both Shiv and Bonk. The ceiling behind him was torn wide open, and Shiv could see the Tower of Lightning rising from his body expand. It was now more than a tower. It was becoming like a tree, branches unfurled, striking in all directions. Shiv caught sight of dozens of orcs being split in twain as those black threads ripped through them. Blood began to rain down, followed by pieces of gray-skinned bodies.

"Tell me, then," Stormhalt said through clenched teeth. “What exactly has he taken from you? A wife? A brother? A daughter? Your dignity?”

Psycho-Cartography: He has lost all these things. He strongly doubts you have lost more than him. Do not escalate and make it a competition. Despite everything, he cares—and cares too deeply. Exploit his sympathy. Be someone he can see himself in.

“Everyone I could have been,” Shiv replied. “Dignity? You’re someone, City Lord. It's in your title. He wanted to make sure I would never be anyone. He wouldn't even let me take a Path. How in the Broken Moon would you know what that’s like?”

Psycho-Cartography 52 > 53

Stormhalt froze in midair. “But I do,” he hissed. “I do. I have a Path. I am someone—but I was always someone beneath him.”

Shiv let out a scoff. “You too? What? Did he stop you from being a Vanguard or something?”

“He stopped me from being all I could be,” Stormhalt whispered. “He stopped me from being the best I could be. From leading. From sparing the Republic his hubris.”

The Deathless put on a show as he sighed. “No shit. He was always like this?”

Acting 15 > 16

“Always,” Stormhalt snarled. “He—”

Before Shiv could exploit the City Lord's hate, a loud sigh filled the room. It rustled through the world, making the air tumble and turn, but with it came a fragrance as well; the smell of pinecones and lilac, gradually fading into an earthy scent.

“Oh, Havel…”

The melodic voice from earlier returned, and then so did the ethereal woman. She materialized two meters away from Shiv, and he beheld her away from the giant for the first time.

What struck him first was the dress she wore. It was composed of pitch-black chainmail that was lined in flaps of gold. A large gem hung from her neck, and it glistened a blood-red. Merely staring at it awoke a feeling of ardor within Shiv. And every movement performed by the unknown Ascendant made the Deathless shiver and twitch. But the feeling she invoked in him wasn't one of lust, but adoration. He wanted her to acknowledge him, to tell him that he was a good boy, to accept him at her feet, and let him serve her—and once more his Psycho-Cartography broke her influence.

Psycho-Cartography: We are psychologically compromised to the extreme: even this pale projection of her is affecting us on a high level. Look away! Blind yourself, and then deafen yourself again!

But I can't, Shiv cried back internally. He couldn't, because the moment he did that, he would be at Stormhalt's mercy as well. And with the brambles of lightning holding him stiff, slowly burrowing into his open wounds, all Shiv had left was his Psycho-Cartography skill, and that wasn't helping him with the ethereal woman either.

"My Lady Kathereine," Stormholt breathed. He took a knee in the air, and the chain of lightning extending from him kept him aloft. It looked awkward, and she wasn't the only one to think so.

"Havel, Havel, stop that," the woman began. "You're swinging like a marionette, it's very gaudy."

Stormholt coughed. "I apologize." Before he could say anything else, she held up a placating finger.

"It's all right, I forgive you, but I do have to warn you," she said as she turned, swinging that finger to point it at Shiv, "that you are being fooled by a boy. You're being led along by a boy, a clever boy perhaps, a desperate boy, but a boy nonetheless."

Shiv's eyes fell on Bonk. And for the first time, he saw what it looked like when an orc was utterly transfixed with another person. Bonk's beady yellow eyes were locked on Kathereine, and she took steps towards him, skipping with every movement. She was at once a mature beauty, but also a carefree girl, dancing through the whims and miseries of the world untouched. "And what is your name, my gray-skinned friend?"

"Bonk," he breathed. "That is how I refer to myself with humans."

"Oh, but that's not how you think of yourself, is it?" she asked, placing her hands upon her knees. Her smile grew sweeter. "You've died many times, haven't you, Bonk? Which reincarnation cycle of yours is this?"

But before Bonk could reply, a louder grumble sounded from inside him. "Turn away from my orc, Ascendant. He is not yours to compromise. You may kill him. You may torture him. You may even wound his pride. But your charm will not seep into his perfect memory skill." And the Challenger chuckled darkly. "Just as it won't be able to twist the mind of my Vaketh-Insul."

"Challenger," Katherine said, tilting her head and adopting a relaxed posture. "It's been too long. Tell me, did you like the song I sang for you those ten years back?"

Shiv's jaw fell open slightly as the Challenger fell silent for a beat. "It was a good tune, I suppose. Bewitching, but ultimately, just that; a song."

"Oh…" Katherine pouted, but her frustration didn't quite meet her eyes. In fact, her eyes reminded Shiv of a fish's, somewhat. There was an incongruity of emotion between the rest of her face and her gaze. "Don't you worry, then, Challenger, I'll endeavor to make my next melody properly piercing. Now, though, I wish to talk with your…" She licked her lips again. “What was that? The Insul? Oh, no, boy, you've accepted a bargain with the Challenger? You were that desperate to try and seize Blackedge before we got there?”

Shiv reached for his Psycho-Cartography, but rather than receiving anything useful about his skill, it shuddered inside him.

Psycho-Cartography: Everything you know about psychology, every natural instinct you have, is nothing before her. She knows more about the human psyche than you do by far, and your words will not be able to lead her on or provoke her. Say nothing, stay silent, cripple your own mind with Psychomancy if you have to. We are not facing a monster of force and destruction; we are facing a god atop the social hierarchy.

Shiv clenched his jaw and turned away from the Ascendant. She folded her arms and leaned in close, and when he didn't say anything, she didn't either, but he did inhale her flavors, and the taste of lilac was growing stronger and sweeter. Shiv choked as something inside him started to succumb.

"Hello," she sang, "let's begin again. Instead of Havel using my gifts as a blunt weapon, let's do this the way it was meant to be done, properly, politely, and joyfully. I am Kathereine the Songbringer, Ascendant, but also once a child and a Pathbearer like you. And what is your name?"

She wasn't ripping into his mind. He couldn't feel her crawling through his memories. And his Psycho-Cartography realized she wanted something else. She wanted him to offer himself to her, to surrender willingly, and to stop fighting her influence. He drew upon his Psychomancy, but his field was still broken. And as soon as he did, she gave him a whistle of appreciation.

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"Oh, you were going to mutilate yourself mentally. You're quite resolved and relatively clever. You know what I am, don't you? You know what I'm capable of, or perhaps you have a guess."

Her voice dropped low and husky, and for a moment, he heard Uva echoing under her words. "This flatters me. I like it when someone understands how dangerous I am. So many people are worried about the sword, the spell, but far too few fear the tongue, the words, the bodies, the heart. You want to know why I think this is?"

She didn't wait for Shiv to struggle to resist her; she just kept going. It was like she was whispering right beside his ears, and with every word she spoke, something inside him threatened to snap and break. She knew that if he offered himself to her utterly, completely, the misery building inside of him would end, but he didn't go over the edge. Instead, his Psycho-Cartography constantly screamed at him, frantically trying to come up with a way to guard his own mind and distract him.

"Hmm, I can feel you wriggling in there, twisting back and forth. Psycho-Cartography? You spent far too long with the orcs, boy. That's a skill for psychopaths. Psychopaths or investigators hunting them. It takes a particular kind of detachment to get that skill evolution."

She hissed, and suddenly he felt bolts of lightning dig through his eyelids, pulling his head back violently. Kathereine was standing over him, placing a hand on his face. Warmth swelled through his body. His skin felt like it was afire. Over Kathereine's shoulder, the storm-made giant that he assumed to be her husband loomed. A faint smirk lined his expression. "But all good things have to come to an end so that greater things may continue. You came here to take a prisoner, but I'm afraid you're going to stay as a slave. That’s the danger of life sometimes. But don’t worry. You’ll learn to love it.”

Despite the whirlwind of sensations tearing through Shiv, he managed to bare his teeth. "No," he growled out, and Kathereine lifted an eyebrow.

"Wow. That's some mental fortitude you have." She giggled, and she looked over her shoulder at Stormhalt for a moment. "We're keeping this one. In fact, he's coming with us. You hear that, boy? You’re going to get your wish of killing Roland Arrow after all."

And then she plunged a fist into his chest.

Shiv gasped. He tried to push away, but lightning hooked through his flesh, forcing his chest open. Blood poured forth from his wounds, and the Deathless let out a ragged cry of mental, spiritual, and emotional misery.

“Now,” Kathereine said as she pressed her presence against his very soul. “Where is your… Wait, why is… Your vitality… Blended… Huh… How… odd.”

Psycho-Cartography: I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do. I don't know what to do. There's nothing I can—

Then, the insides of the cathedral ship rattled violently, as brutal turbulence set in. The ethereal giant was the first to turn, frowning as he gazed through the walls at something unseen.

"What?" Stormhalt asked, worry evident in his tone. "What is it, Mike?"

"It comes," the Ethereal Giant said. His voice was deep as thunder, with a resonating bass that put Stormhalt to shame. "Ready yourself, champion."

And Stormhalt turned. A loud gasp escaped him. The tree of black lightning extending upward from his body began to rumble violently. Branches of lightning erupted from above, spearing at an enemy Shiv couldn't see. But then, there came a roar, a roar that rattled Shiv's bones, one he knew well by now. Kathereine took a step away from him, and as her influence subsided slightly, the Deathless let out a chuckle.

"Thanks, Can Hu," he breathed out.

Something slammed into the cathedral ship and tore through it in a devastating instant. The air grew impossibly hot. Shiv felt his body burn, but he kept his eyes open even as the pain became overwhelming. A colossal shape flattened the already damaged insides of the cathedral ship.

Then came what looked to be enormous blades falling from the sky. It crashed down against the storm tree emerging from the City Lord's body, and black blood rained down thereafter. Black blood and large chunks. Shiv's mind skipped a beat as one of the chunks brushed his Biomancy field. That was enamel. Enamel mixed in with a great many other compounds. And through his addled mind, he realized what was happening. The Tarrasque was trying to eat the cathedral ship.

Stormhalt shouted something, but then the Tarrasque bit down again. It looked like a mountain range was punching through the outer hull. And this time, the Tarrasque managed to close its mouth entirely, ignoring the fact that the lightning tree was ripping and slicing through the roof of its skull. An immense force impacted Shiv from below.

He was sent flying upward through the air. And in the havoc, he saw shrapnel and bouncing cylinders sailing around him. Walls and walkways crashed and broke against his body. He briefly caught sight of Bonk, and then the orc vanished between two building-sized teeth slamming together.

The Deathless shook off his Ascendant-induced haze and spiked his field. But he was still drained of vitality, and he felt more deflated than ever as he pushed on. It was like he was flying within a hurricane choked with shrapnel. Dense pieces of hull hammered into him with every moment. Jagged veins of chaotic lightning peeled pieces of his flesh free from his body.

Pillar of Orichalcum 214 > 215

Shiv cried out in frustration as he began draining vitality from the world itself. Ruptures formed, and membrane-lined mana storms began to pour out from those existential wounds like magical jelly. But if that affected the Tarrasque, the beast didn't show it. Instead, it just made things worse for Shiv, as normal bolts of Aeromancy joined the black lightning possessed by the Ascendant.

Something clipped Shiv's leg and sent him tumbling head over ass. He tried to activate his Pillar of Orichalcum, but a heavy object impacted the back of his head before he could get his bearings. The world briefly went white, but Shiv recovered, only to find his surroundings seemed familiar.

The Tarrasque had snatched him up in its mouth. Everything was quivering, things turning into twos and threes in his vision as things continued slamming into him over and over.

Snarled curses escaped the Deathless. He stopped time, and the Tarrasque responded by detonating its Magical Resistance. Shiv wasn't sure if it was trying to ward off someone else's spell, or just torture him in particular, but as his temporal shell shattered and pain from his mana fields being flensed anew flooded his being, Shiv cursed the great beast all the same. "Give me a godsdamn tucking second to—"

And then something caught Shiv. He found himself clutched tight—but not crushed—between massive, clawed digits. Shiv blinked as he lay against cracked lengths of obsidian, and as he turned his head, he realized the shrapnel wasn't impacting him anymore. Through the chaotic haze, despite the mana storm building in the backdrop, Shiv let out a cough of disbelief.

"M—marikos?" he stammered.

"Shiv! My little friend!" The Dragon-Knight guffawed. He sounded absolutely jubilant despite being inside the Tarrasque’s body. Lightning flashed, and brief glimpses of the sky could be seen as the tree of black lightning continued carving its way upward out of the monster’s skull. The tree flowed down to a central point, and Shiv could see Stormhalt hammering his mace against the insides of the Tarrasque's mouth with thunderous impacts. Pieces of massive teeth broke free, and the Tarrasque tore at itself with Biomancy once more, ripping its body asunder to eject the inedible things hiding within it.

Just then, an entire section of cathedral ship came swinging through the air, coming right for Shiv and Marikos.

"Marikos!" Shiv cried out, pointing at the incoming danger.

The dragon barely offered the five-hundred-meter-long piece of wreckage a second look. He swung his shield high, and he knocked the debris aside as if it weighed nothing. The ringing of bells could be heard as the ruined cathedral impacted the top of the Tarrasque's mouth, and a shockwave followed, one that Marikos promptly parried as well.

Shiv's eyes widened as he realized no force could pass through Marikos's shield, and more importantly, the shield also seemed to displace energy back toward the direction it was facing. As such, Marikos was rebounding burst after burst of kinetic energy inside the Tarrasque, and the wounds lining the creature’s insides got worse with each passing second.

"I'm glad to encounter you here, my friend!" Marikos shouted. For a creature almost half a kilometer tall from head to tail-tip, he moved impossibly quickly. He was only slow compared to Hawgrave and the Tarrasque, but to Shiv, he might as well have been lightning itself. Nothing came close to touching them, not with Marikos's skill in wielding a shield. "I grew weary of being ambushed from behind by this oversized curr," Marikos explained. "And so, when Legend Hawgrave left a gap between the beast's teeth, I dove in along with a Lance of my bravest knights."

A screaming automaton came at them at that moment. Marikos parried it as well, and the poor mechanical Pathbearer burst into sparking pieces. "I will remember my fallen brethren. They were most heroic, and their dying screams as they were melted in the Tarrasque's stomach acid were most noble."

Shiv was momentarily speechless, and then an uncomfortable thought wriggled upward inside of him. Is this what it feels like for other people when they talk to me sometimes? Did Marikos just Adam me?

"Alas, the insides of the beast's stomach are as hard as its outside, and I broke my axe-head off against its skin. A pity, a shame. I will have to dig it out of the Tarrasque's corpse after our victory to see it reforged. It was such a good axe. The story of how I acquired it is a grand one, friend Shiv. You see, when my—”

And as Shiv instinctively tried to come up with something to prevent Marikos from going on a tirade, he got an idea. And with that idea, he reaffirmed that he could never be an Adam in his own mind. "Oh, Marikos, you lost the axe?" Shiv called out as loud as he could. The red-black-scaled dragon trailed off, and Shiv didn't waste his moment. "Well, how good are you at using an unbreaking stick?"

"An unbreaking stick?" Marikos repeated, sounding confused. "But where would I find such a thing?"

And just then, Shiv grinned. "You already did." And in the Dragon-Knight's hand, a Pillar of Orichalcum manifested, resembling a stick between the massive dragon's claws.

Marikos let out a gasp of joy and surprise. "Oh!"

For the second time, a Pillar of Orichalcum rose, pushing through the Tarraque’s skull and dropping through the underside of its jaw. A loud cry of glee came from the dragon. "It is fate we found each other, friend Shiv. Fate!"

And then Marikos wrapped both hands around Shiv's pillar of Oracalcum as a wide grin lined his lizard-like features. "And it is fate that we deliver this creature unto its death."

He swung, and even with Shiv’s Toughness climbing fast, in Marikos’s hands, he was lighter than a feather.