Amdirlain’s PoV - Demi-Plane

  Theinas’ shadow fell across Sarah as she checked Amdirlain for lingering wounds.

  “I see your risk-taking hasn’t changed from the Maze,” noted Theinas. “How close to the edge did you cut things?”

  “There were other options I could have drawn on, but I pushed a few key abilities, perhaps harder than was wise,” replied Amdirlain. “Erwarth’s song was stable throughout, and I could get up, but I’m just letting my body rest.”

  Amdirlain stopped as Sarah stroked a finger down her nose. “You chummed the local air currents.”

  A single note cleaned the blood condensation from the surroundings, and Amdirlain offered an innocent smile. “Did you folks have fun beating up the poor playmates that turned up? They weren’t a danger to any of us.”

  Sarah shrugged. “It kept me slightly distracted from worrying about you, so I indulged.”

  “I might rest and spend some time meditating. Is it okay if I call you in a few days, Theinas? I should have an answer to your second request at that point.”

  “I’ll be listening for you, mother.” Theinas smiled politely and vanished.

  “You’re taking that request seriously?” asked Sarah.

  Amdirlain nodded. “I think I have some caveats, but I’m seriously considering it. I don’t want either of them to be in a bad place.”

  “Do I want to know what an Aspect requested?” asked Lerina.

  “My cooperation with a timeline and removing an emotional burden from Nicholaus,” Amdirlain explained as she considered Erwarth. “It’s nothing too world-shattering, but my paranoia says I should take my time. How are you doing, Erwarth? Why don’t you try walking over here and sitting down?”

  Erwarth leant on Lerina’s arm as she walked over with her knees wobbling like a newborn calf. “I can hear my heart beating in my ears and taste my mouth. Why can I taste my mouth? It’s vile.”

  “Your taste buds are awake and adjusting to the chemicals in the saliva. I assume you can still hear True Song since you’re not panicked?”

  “Yes. Sorry for doubting you, grandmother.”

  Amdirlain spluttered. “What?”

  “I shortened it, took out all the greats,” drawled Erwarth.

  “You troll,” grumbled Amdirlain.

  “Nope, wrong species, grandmother,” quipped Erwarth.

  Lerina smiled. “I see the effect of your wellspring remained within Erwarth’s personality.”

  “That would explain all the jokes and teasing.” Sarah caressed Amdirlain’s cheek and smiled. “You were thinking about your home and family when you created it; your family’s banter was always an amusing experience,” said Sarah.

  Amdirlain patted the grass beside her. “Will everyone sit down? You’re all looming.”

  “You didn’t care about my height when I visited with the Enyali?,” said Erwarth, but she didn’t object further as Lerina helped her sit beside Amdirlain. Sarah moved forward from the stone’s edge to sit on her other side and looped an arm around Amdirlain’s back.

  The turmoil between expectations and reality made Erwarth’s mind tumble, so Amdirlain lowered her voice and decided on a long answer.

  “It matters only because you’re adjusting to being flesh and blood again, on top of being weaker. It’s not like the first time you woke up where you had no expectations to colour your perspective of the world.”

  “That was a lot of words for ‘you’ll get used to it’,” said Erwarth.

  “I knew you’d focused on my voice and hoped it would let you find some balance.”

  Lerina sat down cross-legged in front of Amdirlain, watching Erwarth. “A short time can change much. A millennium ago, I was alone and expecting to stay alone for eternity. Farhad had vanished, my mother had betrayed my grandmother and my kin were the least reliable of companions outside battle.”

  “Then you got assigned a new irregular, and your chaotic life became very irregular,” said Sarah. She turned and kissed Amdirlain’s cheek. “Though, in a way it has its order: Amdirlain shows up and tosses everything she doesn’t like out the window.”

  “That’s not completely true,” grumbled Amdirlain. “I’ve mostly behaved around the courts.”

  “Klipyl was holding in screams of laughter when you created that new star to put them in their place,” said Lerina.

  “I was a touch miffed.” Amdirlain caught the edge of dizziness from Erwarth, so she wrapped an arm around her. “Lean on me and close your eyes. Do you have to start with Glinnel again?”

  Profile’s tone chimed a timelessness through Erwarth, and when it receded, her mind lost its sharp edge of turmoil. Four sturdy themes Amdirlain hadn’t heard before were now intertwined with her melody, all related to True Song.

  “And that’s a no, you didn’t.”

  Erwarth snorted. “Of course you can tell. Grand Master rank in True Song unlocked a few better starting options, and I noticed you included Protean. That’s not a normal Lóm? Power.”

  “Only as a base unlock, and I’ll do the same for Isa. You’ll need to improve it to replace your Celestial regeneration, especially with all your protections gone.”

  “I suppose you want the Class stats?” questioned Erwarth.

  “I can hear their songs. I’ll record them for my records later.”

  Lerina clicked her tongue curiously. “Do you still keep track of Class information?”

  “I’ve got a memory crystal with thousands listed, though many of the crafter ones are just variations in what fields they provide insight,” replied Amdirlain. “Erwarth, do you want me to power-level you now or wait until Isa is freed?”

  “I’ll wait for my cousin since I’m sure you’re hiding more strain than you’re letting on,” said Erwarth.

  Amdirlain shrugged. “The inertia from all your old memories made it a challenge. A word of caution: you might remember things you’d forgotten, especially from your first life, as they were the hardest to influence. I had to put more energy into the elements around aged memories than I expected. Those should only rise during reverie and not impact everyday life.”

  “Thank you for this chance, Amdirlain. I promise-”

  Amdirlain cut her off with a finger to her lips. “No promises between us, let’s just be good to each other. You’ve got thousands of my hyped-up kids to teach.”

  “They’re lovely, and that reminds me.” There was another chime, and Erwarth smiled. “Noltar is official.”

  The intonations resonated within Erwarth as an added name.

  “You’re going to have to update all your contacts,” Sarah noted drily. “Or did you leave Erwarth in your profile?”

  “It’s still there for now,” replied Erwarth. “But the majority who know me as Erwarth are celestials helping Lerina. I’ll remove it once I’ve told the exceptions and feel like a teacher and role model. I’ll hold off telling any of the Lóm? to give you time.”

  That’ll help avoid news getting back to Isa before I speak to her.

  Amdirlain laughed joyfully and sent out a flurry of songs.

  The overlapping music made it impossible for Erwarth to track. “What were those songs? My brain doesn’t work fast enough anymore.”

  “I adopted you. Your parents can fight me for custody. I dub you junior sister, just so Klipyl can spoil you.”

  Erwarth groaned and hid her face in her hands. “Amdirlain!”

  “Your protests will do you no good here since I’ve told the Enyali? you’re their auntie,” declared Amdirlain, and she patted her silvery locks. “I’ve sent them all the sound of your new name.”

  “That makes you my youngest sister. I’m sure the rules still allow spoiling you,” said Lerina.

  “What is it with both of you?” grumbled Erwarth softly.

  Lerina smiled. “I got linked to the wellspring when I finished the trial of the Maze.”

  “She just blamed me,” sniffed Amdirlain.

  “And?” asked Sarah.

  “I’m not saying Lerina’s wrong, but I feel like I got scolded,” noted Amdirlain.

  “That wasn’t a scolding, Amdirlain. It was a lovely feeling I’d never known before and very welcoming. It just contributed some quirks along with its warmth,” said Lerina. “It doesn’t matter if you can do it yourself. Let me take some of the weight occasionally.”

  Amdirlain smiled innocently. “How will I get stronger if I let others lift the weights I want to carry?”

  “She’s not looking to do everything herself now,” offered Sarah.

  “I’ll get Erwarth—sorry, Noltar—somewhere she can rest and have a meal.”

  They both disappeared, and the melody rang with Laurelin’s theme.

  “Do I get to pamper you some more?” asked Sarah.

  Amdirlain smiled blissfully.

  It was a few hours before Amdirlain felt up to diving into the Soulscape for the next life to meld. Sarah released a broad stone platform before the house, and Amdirlain parked herself in the middle, her hands resting on her thighs. The images came with a dull, exaggerated slowness, even compared to her watching mortals move around. Each figure seemed to have lost some of its lustre, as if floating in the watery depths where the sun couldn’t reach. Amdirlain kept well clear of them and looked out for the one that stood out.

  The form she found had a slick brown coat and was doing laps around the outside of the gathering. Her attention had been grabbed by the wave before it that hosted silvery leaping fish. As Amdirlain got close, the figure swam faster, a long tail adding to the momentum created by its swaying body. It picked a course around a gathering of elves, and Amdirlain swam between them to tap the tip of its tail on the far side.

  She found herself, snout to gills, against a shark in blood-filled waters. From behind, the outraged chirps of her mother thumped throughout the water. As the shark swung around to scoop up another of the bevy, she stuck a clawed hand into its gills. The shark thrashed and twisted, but its violent efforts only helped her curved claws lodge further into the flesh under its seventh-gill flap. It changed direction to arc away from her, taking it away from the closest survivor of her family.

  The tips of her claws found an anchor in cartilage as it thrashed, and her first attempt found her claws wouldn’t retract because of the painful pressure.

  Spire hunters swooped in along its wake, their packs sending them on a careless course that would batter the bevy they were aiming through; they sped along five times faster than the shark. The spearguns they levelled at the beast were another example of restricted gadgets that lay only in the hands of those the authorities favoured.

  Before the hunters could close the distance, her knapped stone knife found the shark’s eye, and she dug the blade deep. Muscles screamed as she ripped it backwards and opened the skull of her brother’s killer; those from the spire still seized its flesh to grace the captain’s table.

  More memories followed of a life dancing on the razor’s edge, yet full of energy from knowing any day could be the last. A fact that came to pass when she died in childbirth three years later.

  Amdirlain shuddered and groaned, shaking off the feeling of the contractions.

  “Are you okay?”

  She let out a high-pitched chirp and rose, stretching her arms wide. “It’s weird having normal arms again.”

  “Considering how much you can shift your form, that must have left an impression.”

  The remembered form she assumed was a metre-tall otter with a sash skirt made of a mesh-like material around her waist, and her broad tail swept across the stone behind her.

  “You’re adorable,” crooned Sarah.

  “Technology was in the hands of a select few scavenged from their crashed colony ship and failed habitats. Most people lived short, primitive lives among their bevy, hunting in massive bays. She didn’t even know what her species was called; they were the people of the bay to her.”

  “Another one I missed you on. I don’t remember a life looking like an otter. Want some fish?”

  “Chirp?” Amdirlain leapt forward, transforming into her elven form as she swept Sarah up and strode inside, with her laughing over her shoulder.

  Over the following days, Amdirlain continued meditating, sinking a steady drip of Ki into her Soul. On her fifth day of rest, Sarah assembled an array of satellites outside, the rough stone slab placed there for her life melding had become a convenient work platform.

  She knelt on the edge of the slab as another satellite began to form, and Amdirlain’s sigil lit up with Mana instead.

  Mana—the living energy of the realm—twisted around inside the conduits to her Soul but failed to reach it. After the third repeat, Amdirlain stopped and resumed feeding Ki to the Soul healing technique. The droplets eased along the heated conduits and anchored within the wounds, nourishing the cracks scoured into her Soul. An empty crystal received the contents of her Mana Pool, and Amdirlain blocked it from taking energy in from her surroundings. A tiny pulse of notes soon triumphantly sounded through the conduits from her Soul when a sip of Mana finally arose; its origin was deep beneath the raging inferno that covered the surface.

  Elements of Soul Lore and the music she’d learned creating souls pointed her to the area responsible, but didn’t provide guidance on how to get Mana to it.

  Amdirlain rolled the crystal between her palms before passing it over to Sarah. “Have some fuel for your toys. I got a partial answer about Mana Font.”

  “Are you planning to keep me in suspense?” Sarah asked as she stored the crystal.

  “Yes, until you pay me proper homage for my superior insights,” laughed Amdirlain.

  “Sweetie, you’re being a brat.”

  “This is true, so I shall reward you,” Amdirlain kept a straight face and repeatedly nodded until Sarah dropped to the stone beside her.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “Did your meditation session derail your brain, or has the memory of all that saltwater finally rusted something shut?”

  “Though that life was hard, they loved life so fiercely it was fun being an otter-ish humanoid, but I feel hyperactive and want to prank someone. Perhaps a prank involving fish—maybe speaking fish. To my answer: Mana Font relates to the element of a Soul that a Mortal’s Class powers draw on.” Amdirlain rolled her shoulders with a sigh. “However, I don’t know how to prime it in the fashion Jiutian Xuannü hinted at. I don’t know what I need to do differently while healing. It could be because of the energy, or because this spot is deep inside, not a collection of scars on the surface.”

  “Maybe you need to get to a lifetime that contains injuries within the interior of your Soul. Something like that might provide insights you can discuss with your teacher,” offered Sarah. “Can we talk about the problem that Theinas told you about? You’ve been avoiding the hints I’ve dropped the last few days.”

  “That my brain is too small?”

  Sarah huffed in protest and pretended to wring Amdirlain’s neck; she caught her hands and laughed.

  “He said you’ve done too much, and your current plans might do even more,” said Sarah.

  “To souls, not living mortals.” Amdirlain shifted about on the stone, fighting off the temptation to pace.

  “Sweetie, if the wound is going to expand, how many mortals lives will you save by fixing it? Is the plinth going to take you through all of them?”

  “No, it only counts out through two degrees of separation. It’s not a risk given Mortal life spans unless the scab would have dissolved within a few centuries of me fixing it. There will just be too many degrees of separation for it to be credited as saving anyone. I feel it’s not that close to rupturing, given that Theinas asked me to spend a century studying the conduit before even going into the Abyss. Also, Nexus’ image had those large canyons, but comparatively, they are thin flaws.”

  “Gideon wouldn’t answer your question about the plinth, but Theinas felt free to comment. You might ask his assessment of what will happen if you use the plinth? You’re worried about getting near the wound after the curse gets removed. He’d know the rules.”

  “He said I’d already done too much,” said Amdirlain. “That might be all he can say.”

  “Get stronger outside the deep planes, and then try it,” Sarah suggested.

  “I know a place I’m interested in searching that promises some fighting, but you won’t like it,” said Amdirlain.

  Sarah pointed down. “Lower planes, but there is a difference between most of them and the deep planes. You won’t attract primal attention, especially if you’re going to be using spells.”

  “Hades.”

  The name caused Sarah to stiffen. ‘I thought you would leave Moloch’s forces to trigger the traps?’

  “I know the common themes of all mechanisms to restrain souls. I could learn if m?tēr and the twins are there or not. Even if their nature is concealed, I might hear mechanisms used to restrain souls. Then, if there is shielding around the contents, it’s a place to search.”

  ‘Moloch has demons looking for them so he can trade them,’ projected Sarah.

  Amdirlain quickly checked the details with Analysis and was pleased when Gideon didn’t add a note.

  “I don’t want to give the arsehole anything, and with his demons spread throughout Hades’ former domain, they will expect losses. The Plane itself is infinite, but Hade’s Domain contained roughly the surface space of the orbit of Jupiter. I might get away with destroying millions of searching demons before they think it’s enemy action.”

  “It sounds like you’ve settled on trying the plinth before the realm’s wound.”

  “It’s still just me sharing my thoughts. Call me crazy and tell me what I’m missing, or just call me crazy if you think the risk is too high. His demons are a lesser threat than primals and primordials in the depths, but they will give me practice with spells. After resolving Isa’s situation, I’ll ask Theinas to speak to us. See if he can provide some post-plinth assessment. I’ll only change my plan if he confirms I can still get to the wound.”

  Sarah kissed her greedily, drawing a happy groan from Amdirlain.

  When they surfaced from their bedroom, Amdirlain let Theinas know she would contact Isa. Before getting outside, she heard his obfuscated melody on the stone slab. Amdirlain joined him and sent a Message. “Isa, I’m sure you’d be interested in playing a game with a wager.”

  Along with the words, she sent the song of their location.

  Isa appeared in her Anar form, platinum blond hair a stark white in the Demi-Plane’s radiant light. She fixed Amdirlain with a mischievous grin. “Truer words have never been spoken. What’s up?”

  “Pick a game first.”

  “Two decks. We each draw at the same time. High card wins, ace is low,” offered Isa. “What’s the stakes?”

  “If I win, you spend more time teaching the Anar children. If I lose, I will turn you into an Anar so you can have the children you want with Ilya, and teaching is optional.”

  Isa almost spilled both decks she retrieved to the ground.

  Amdirlain caused a grey mist to billow from the ground, and the ectoplasm solidified into a waist-high block between them; Amdirlain took the cards from her and set them down.

  “Do you know enough to do that?” Isa shifted her weight on the spot.

  Don’t seem too eager.

  “Yes, I pushed myself. If I keep winning, don’t get grumpy at me and accuse me of cheating once you have to keep office hours teaching kids.”

  Isa grimaced. “You want me teaching that many extra lessons?”

  “I figured you’d want to go double or nothing each time you lose. Then things would get out of hand until you’re up to ten-hour working days,” joked Amdirlain.

  “I made you that bet before. Why the offer?” asked Isa.

  “You staked it before, I figured I should keep it rolling,” advised Amdirlain. “I’m going to need to unwind your classes.”

  “Would I still have access to the Glinnel variations I unlocked?”

  I won’t tell her Erwarth has already confirmed it.

  “Those are based on having True Song and related abilities advanced to particular levels.”

  Isa reached for her deck, and her break was a queen.

  Amdirlain’s card was an ace. “I win.”

  “No, you lost,” protested Isa.

  “Did I? Do you want to discuss this with Ilya before I change you?”

  Isa twitched, and Amdirlain heard the sudden connection dissolve against Theinas’ will.

  “I won’t lose any memories?” asked Isa, shaking her head.

  “No, you’ll keep all of them, and you might gain more from your first life.”

  “Personal memories of the early training?”

  “I like how you went there,” said Amdirlain. “Why the interest?”

  “Gail needs some competition to spur her on,” said Isa. “She only took two True Song classes in her first set, if you include the one she got for electing herself Queen.”

  Isa stopped and gave a complete body shake. Her voice was suddenly a haggard whisper. “Is there something else you’re not telling me? I feel odd.”

  “It wasn’t a concept you were worshipping, Isa; rather, it was an Aspect, and Anar aren’t supposed to worship them. They took advantage of a loophole since your species was Erinyes. Your behaviour has gotten frequently odd. Occasionally, it felt like you were their puppet. The influence comes from all your Priest classes, and they’ll also be gone.”

  Another full-body shudder wracked Isa’s frame, and Theinas’ will deflected a barrage of attempts to touch her theme. Amdirlain only caught the fleeting edge of some, the clash of energies making their presence known. Theinas’ lips thinned as the efforts continued, and his gaze clouded in annoyance.

  Isa racked trembling hands along her ribs.

  She looks like she’s got an onset of delirium tremens, withdrawal from Kairos’s influence.

  “Okay,” rasped Isa. “I should tell Ilya.”

  Sarah’s gaze fixed on the growing annoyance in Theinas’ expression. “I’ll open a Gate for her.”

  The threshold appeared at the base of a rugged cliff face; Ilya sat beside a weathered and broken slab covered in runes that had long ago lost energy. An Isil elven form with silvery hair and swirls of blue in pale skin concealed her Celestial form; her colouration stood out against her layered grey garments.

  “Ilya,” called Isa.

  She spun as Isa called out and dashed through the Gate, hand dropping to the sword at her hip.

  “They’re not hurting me. I’m just cut off from outside influence,” gasped Isa, grabbing Ilya’s hand.

  Ilya enfolded Isa in her arms and looked at Amdirlain. “What’s going on?”

  “I can change Isa back to an Anar, but it takes a while and requires me to reverse all her classes. She’ll get her achievement pool of energy back, so she’ll regain her strength quickly. It will also stop the erratic behaviour when her Priest classes allow her to be a puppet. Isa hadn’t signed up with a concept as she’d believed.”

  “What do I need to do?”

  “I wanted you to know first, not find out after,” panted Isa, her bronze-gold skin becoming dull.

  Sarah closed the Gate and waved Ilya over.

  “It takes a while, but she won’t be conscious of the time.”

  Ilya hesitated. “You’re sure this won’t harm her?”

  “Yes, and Erwarth already went first,” said Amdirlain. “Please step back.”

  As soon as Ilya stepped away, Amdirlain started. Her aura flared to life, and the melody rang out against the backdrop of the clashing aspects.

  Despite the earlier practice with Erwarth, the conversion of Isa’s essence soon became a bloody, uphill battle. Erwarth’s service to Lerina had left a single light thread, representing her ability to share information. In comparison, the threads of Kairos’ influence had turned Isa into a cancer-riddled patient, with energy throughout her thoughts, muscles, and even bones. When Amdirlain dropped the first Spell to radiate life energy at her own feet, Sarah’s drones popped up; instead of weaponry, hundreds of them washed the stone slabs with constant healing aura effects. Despite enough energy to keep thousands of unprotected humans alive in the void of space, it barely dented the ongoing damage. Yet the flood of life energy slowly tipped the balance back in Amdirlain’s favour as she clawed and fought to keep the song under control.

  Taking her cue from Sarah, Ilya almost added the innate powers of her species to the fray—only for Sarah to grab her arm and project a sharp thought. ‘Fallen.’

  Ilya blanched at the near disaster she’d caused and grimaced at the golden lights that showed flickering images of Amdirlain bones shining through ruptured flesh. The pair waited and watched as the Primordial flames swirled around Amdirlain, the white fire venting litres of blood steam that Sarah’s gadgets shifted away. Five hours in, Amdirlain straightened, and the music flow shifted within her as her True Song evolution surged with fresh insights from the memories Lethe had shared. The strain eased, and the rents in her flesh fully closed and didn’t reappear, though the same golden glow showed in the back of her eyes. As if summoned by the shift, Muse suddenly sat on the edge of the stone platform and looked between Theinas and Amdirlain in disbelief. Her disbelief turned to outrage, and she vanished again. The conflict Theinas had fought persistently suddenly ended, and he settled his bowler in place.

  [Enduring Flame [G] (190->213)

  Muse’s Embrace [G] (37->82)

  Phoenix’s Symphony-Prince [G] (66->91)

  True Song Genesis-Lord [G] (120) -> True Song Genesis-Prince [G] (217)

  Universal Life [S] (142->170)

  Note: Muse kicked Kairos’ butt; otherwise, your powers might have grown more against that challenge.]

  When the song ended, Amdirlain kept herself ramrod straight, not wanting to let Isa know she’d almost screwed up.

  “You’d done that before?” questioned Ilya, her voice raspy with stress, having caught the slumping Isa.

  “The Aspect’s influence was extensive, but how extensive it was was only clear when the conversion began,” allowed Amdirlain.

  “Hey, beautiful. I think I had too much tequila; the world is spinning,” slurred Isa. “Can you pin me down and ravish me to hold me in place?”

  Ilya snorted. “I can hear your heart racing.”

  “Is it giving you Morse code for I love you?”

  “Don’t make me tug your earlobe.”

  “Meanie, I’m delicate,” panted Isa.

  Ilya carefully cradled Isa and nodded at the house. “Can I take her inside?”

  “Our couches are deep and comfy,” said Sarah. “Or you can use the first bedroom on the right once you’re upstairs.”

  “Couch. Must binge-watch something while I have chocolate and popcorn,” grumbled Isa. “Maybe enjoy multiple orgasms.”

  “Not on the couch,” ordered Sarah.

  “Why, because you’ve already used it for that?” asked Isa, managing a wane coy smile.

  Amdirlain kept her composure. “Taking some classes will ease the edge of the discomfort.”

  The three of them stood silently as Ilya walked up the slope. Isa’s form rang with the selection of classes before they got to the door.

  Amdirlain gave Theinas a nod of appreciation once Ilya was inside. “I heard how persistent they were. Thanks for the help.”

  “I had expected her to relinquish her claim,” admitted Theinas. “Chaotic individuals are the bane of my predictions.”

  “She’d made an extensive investment of energy in Isa. I’m sure you know we’d like to speak to you about other matters.”

  “I’m aware of your earlier exchange, including the discussion of Hades,” admitted Theinas. “Why don’t you try some questions? We’ll see if your phrasing runs into the rules or not.”

  “Can you tell us hypothetically what you believe the outcome would be if Amdirlain were to use the plinth successfully?” asked Sarah.

  Theinas played with the edge of his bowler. “It would remove the curse.”

  Sarah frowned. “Let me rephrase. Is she going to die by using it?”

  “As Gideon told Amdirlain before, there are limits to what I can tell you. Let me add you need to make your intent clear.”

  “I know the aspects can’t help me remove the curse, so I’m not after that help. What I need is information about what comes afterwards. It will need to wait if I’m going to transform into a being who can’t approach the wound. You said I’d done too much, so it’s clear there is a risk,” said Amdirlain. “Can you tell me if I’ll be able to get near the wound if I seek the plinth first?”

  “In your words, I quote: Creation; all things stem from it. Primordial energy is the manifestation of the raw, unstructured potential of creation. If you refine it properly, your chosen nature shouldn’t directly oppose any Plane of existence.” Theinas smiled warily. “Gideon told all of us. You blew up the betting pool, but Muse made a killing, as you’d put it. I lost that one—again. If you get that far, if you survive the transformation into an advancing Primordial, and if you refine it adequately, you can go anywhere. Notice all the ‘ifs’.”

  “You believe I’ll die using the plinth?”

  “If you gain enough mental strength and fortitude where you’re not aiding Mortal lives, you might lessen the impact. Worst case, you’ll die free of the curse.” Theinas removed his bowler and tapped it against his leg. “Not ideal, but no longer bound by the curse, your Soul would end up in the Spire. Your next reincarnation would keep your ability to hear the song, but they’d have to regain power. You might regain enough strength in that life to seal the conduit and wound.”

  “What are you betting on regarding the plinth?” asked Sarah, her gaze fixed on Theinas.

  Theinas eyed her warily. “Amdirlain will end up insanely wandering the Abyss and shattering whatever hordes stumble across her until she claws her way back to a semi-coherent state.”

  “Thanks,” drawled Amdirlain. “As far as the probability of that occurring, I’ll have to take comfort in the number of losses you’ve had related to me. What are Nexus or Muse betting on?”

  “That’s not for me to say; everyone only tells Gideon what outcomes they favour,” said Theinas. “Gideon takes delight in pointing out who didn’t win after the results are determined.”

  “Gideon is the official bookkeeper?” asked Amdirlain.

  “They know everything anyway.” Theinas patted Amdirlain’s shoulder. “I look forward to meeting your m?tēr. Your pat?r never stopped loving her or you.”

  “I’ll trust you with Torm. Please treat him kindly.”

  He bowed respectfully. “I’m glad you're home, mother. You’ve been missed—especially by Gideon—but I’m sure they haven’t told you.”

  With that, he vanished.

  ? ? ? ? ? ?

  Nexus’ PoV - Material Plane - Near the conduit

  Nestled among the gravitational pressures of the black holes, a group of aspects hovered. With a splinter of her attention focused through the conduit, Nexus continually transitioned other threads of thought between random points. Dozens of retribution’s splinters lapped around it eagerly; their conceptual weapons spun in orbit, ready to render anything that twitched a thread of essence across the threshold.

  Theinas extended a node of attention to skip beside her; the invested energy in his mental construct was more than all the other splinters and shards combined. “What are you sensing?”

  “Lots of Eldritch forces, far more than our worst estimates,” advised Nexus. “There isn’t a trace of this realm’s energy, so the transition completely stripped the outbound succubi and Michaela of accumulated experience.”

  “That should prevent them from tracing the resonance with the conduit, but who can tell for sure where any Eldritch is concerned?”

  A faint projection of Muse joined the gathering. “Has the environment destroyed them yet?”

  “Translation ensured initial survival, but their arrival sent up a flare because of their concentrated presence. It lured all the things out of hiding in a hunt for food. Now it’s an army of succubi and Michaela in a fracturing reality versus Eldritch and mad primordials who couldn’t enter this realm. She’s in for an unpleasant end.”

  “Are the weakened sisterhood able to fight?” asked Theinas.

  “If you want to call what they do fighting,” snorted Wrath. His attention was on a trinket to pass the time, a ball formed from the conceptual blend of blood spilt in rage on trillions of worlds. The blending of chemicals in the blood of the assorted species caused an oil-slick effect to ripple through the surrounding void.

  “The local version was a simple sex demoness, and the magic system is different, so none of their spells are working,” explained Nexus. “She’s already lost most of them, but they are weak reeds. Do we let Amdirlain know when they’re destroyed?”

  “Unsure, certainly not before they perish; she’s occasionally a soft touch,” said Wrath.

  A projection of a fragmented world floating in a starless void appeared, the last remnants of legions huddled among its cooled core. Something had snuffed out and eaten its sun, leaving only a ragged gas cloud. Hollowed-eyed demonesses stared vacantly at the gaps in the rock, some of which bleed through the planar framework; among the survivors, Michaela silently fumed.

  Theinas’s node solidified beside Nexus, his mere presence reinforcing local laws as he absorbed the shared information.

  “Where did Castellan get to?” Muse asked, her projection shifting between the image of thousands of different Orc children holding battered toys.

  “Shindraithra’s daughter is still using her as a training dummy. She’s secured, and her oath link had already shattered before Gilorn gave the rest the option. Why?” asked Wrath.

  “I feel she’s bait,” said Muse. “It’s in Amdirlain’s personality to tie off loose ends, which the Kyton Great Mother could have gotten from Shindraithra’s mind. I don’t like that she still has a thread to pull at Amdirlain.”

  “A problem for another day.” Wrath rasped, and a spider’s nest of bladed arms extended from his toy ball; it started to spin, and the arms cut through dimensions. “Even without the energy from here, their arrival hit the hornets' nest. Another big Eldritch is incoming. Nexus, close off your scrying; it might have used that energy as a thread.”

  “There is no outbound energy. I’m showing what’s coming through the restricted conduit. Their concept of distance is dead, and physical laws are spiralling, so we can instantly see anywhere in that realm.”

  “Then it found the keyhole,” said Theinas. “How opportunistic of it.”

  “Please tell me mother isn’t going to the wound first,” said Nexus.

  “No, she sounds like she’ll go to Hades, then the plinth.”

  “As long as there is no detour into Hell,” grumbled Muse. “Kairos had her fingers in that pie through Isa.”

  The others spread their attention around the conduit's perimeter as the tip of an emerging tentacle forced its way through the compressed conduit. It completely ignored the sheering singularity pressures that reached through hundreds of dimensions.