Investments 14.15
There was another pop, and Karen said, "Done."
Leaving a Mark of my own outside the null-field, I moved away and created a set of suns, heating the air around me to a high degree, letting it affect my costume, but using Stellar negation to keep my tech intact. Given that these spores seemed to have survived a nuclear blast, it was likely useless, but I had to try. With any lingering spores hopefully burned, I focused on the Dagger prototype I'd been playing around with when I was trying to sleep.
Pulling myself through space, centered on the teleportation mark I'd left on it's surface, I only spent enough time to grab it before laying down another Mark and moving back to the monster-filled bunker. "Keep that room under quarantine. Hopefully it's fine, but we can figure that out after I'm done, and I might need to go back to it."
"But if you can't use my power, what's the point?" Mouse Protector asked.
"It isn't the dagger I needed, it's the handle," I told her, looking down at it as I stepped inside the Null field and tried to use Brix's power. The wood sprang to life growing and molding itself down my arm. From there, the power flowed, copying what I'd seen exactly as it encased me in a sleek, tight, full body suit of armor.
Growing a spear up out from the bodies, I spread it out into a tall slab, creating a thin silver layer to use as a mirror. The armor was identical to what I'd seen, shaped to fit my slightly larger frame, and pitch black. Tweaking it slightly, I opened up slits to let my metallic tendrils out, the projected metal closing up the gaps I'd opened. I wanted to layer it further with a metal, like Orichalcum, but I had no idea what patterns would do what, nor did I have time to research it now. Even the time I was spending prepping this might've been too much, as I just didn't know, but I couldn't rush in. More than I already was.
That said, when I'd first tried to make Orichalcum, I'd made titanium gold, an alloy of the two that was stronger than either, and I'd used that to figure out Orichalcum, but it was still an arrow in my metaphorical quiver. I'd been stressing Metal Creation a lot, but it'd already recovered, whatever internal reservoir of energy it used back to full.
I had Negentropy, an infinite well of energy, but it seemed like my powers had their own internal sub-reservoir that could be emptied, only to be filled up once again. Infinite energy didn't mean infinitely large output, it seemed, but with as many different powers as I had, that didn't seem to be that much of an issue.
Metal Creation responded easily, growing golden plates across the flat planes of my pure-black wooden armor. I couldn't make them that tightly compacted if I wanted to have my full range of motion, but this was fine. They were just an additional level of protection, after all.
Moving with them in place, not flying, I stumbled, trying to get used to maneuvering with the wooden version of power armor, syncing it to my movements so that I moved myself through the controlling of the wood, like Brix did, but also using my own enhanced strength to help move myself even faster.
I almost ripped through the material the first time I tried, but the more I worked with it, the more it worked. Adding in flying to smooth my movements out even more, to keep the momentum or to change my direction mid-jump, and I was slowly getting a handle on what I needed to do to make this work. With the "What are you doing?" Mouse finally asked, I decided it was time to move on.
"Getting a handle on a new combo," I answered absently. "Static defenses won't work with the. . . the Swappers they have. Wish I had more time, but this should be enough. Any word from anyone else?" It was about the time the monsters should've tried to spread out and attack, but I'd hopefully short-circuited that future.
"No," was Quinn's reply, and I nodded, half expecting that.
"Then it's time to continue." I lightly leapt to the edge of the hole going down to the next level, mis-judging my own weight as the concrete crumbled, my flight keeping me in place. As a last momentary thought, I tried to bring my shields in tighter, not covering my armor but only my body, titanium-gold tendrils just under my skin. I could regrow the armor, but I couldn't regrow myself, at least not fast enough to matter in a fight, and that needed to be my last line of defense.
Dropping down to the ground, I kept myself from touching the ground, wrapping the area around me, except for my head, in silence. It'd be a tip-off that I was coming, but as soon as one of these things saw me, they'd likely all know. This way, at least, they'd hopefully not be able to communicate except through whatever was controlling them.
Below me, I felt the masses, so many and so densely packed I couldn't use Spatial Warping. I wanted to just destroy everything. Maybe with the levels above me, the spore rooms would stay intact, but my main destructive ability, my suns, could be co-opted, and me secondary power, my Light, had already been negated. Momentum Infusion might be able to help, but at the level of power needed to destroy everything below me, it was also dangerously close to the level of power needed to set off an explosion that would shower the countryside with spores.
No, all that was left was going down personally, and killing every single thing that got in my way.
Sword in one hand, the other with half a dozen momentum filled Iron Spikes at the ready, in contact with my arm through small slits in my armor and held in place with golden tendrils, I touched down on the floor. I could go through the doors, walk into ambush after ambush, but while there was a narrow difference between enough power to destroy everything, and enough power to send the debris everywhere, there was a great deal of difference between enough force to destabilize the structure, and enough power to break through down to the next level.
My first idea was to stomp down, to shatter the floor like a vertical kool-aid man, but I wasn't sure if I'd actually break open a wide area I could use to attack from, or if I'd just make a me-shaped hole.
Luckily for me, I had an alternative.
The larger I made it, the less effective it became, but a simple fifteen-foot-wide disc was easy enough. Setting up the barriers, I raised my hand, the silence effect dropping away as I focused, flying above the prepared area, and snapped my fingers.
The sharp, clean sound entered the disk, and stopped, holding and building more and more in a tight bundle until it was starting to escape my grasp, and I let it go.
The area below me disintegrated, dust and blood mixing together as the shrieks of the monsters on the floor below filled the air. My Acoustokinesis lethargically responded, growing in power once again as silence dropped on the area like an iron curtain. Those that were still alive, having not been decapitated by my opening strike, rallied and fired up through my opening.
I dodged, firing back, and barely dodged the glowing green circle, which dumped several Brutes right next to me, who charged.
They had a plan if they missed, I noted, cutting down one Brute even as a Blade-cat's tail bit into the metal covering my chest, not piercing it, getting caught on the material. Grabbing the tail, I yanked it free, regrowing the metal, and swung, hard. Using the silently yowling creature to attack another Brute, I could feel the muted snap as its spine broke, blasting the Brute back, the tank-tough gorilla creature injured but alive.
Dodging fire as more monsters started to leap up through the hole I created, I started to control the area, pouring fire towards their entry point as I infused the corpse with Momentum and sent it at a pair of floating Fire Wraiths that lifted up, taking one down even as the other pointed glowing hands in my direction, holes in it's palms from which gouts of flame poured out like water from a firehouse.
Trying to disguise my own attack in its own, I created a Sun Dart and shot it forward, only for control to be ripped from me, confirming my theory as another Wraith lifted up, hands towards the bit of shaped starstuff, directing its flight as it moved back towards me.
Before it could hit me, the area around me glowed green and I shifted, launching off the floor the moment thing changed. A Brute's fist grazed the back of my helmet, shoving me forward as I was already moving away, letting loose Momentum Spikes as the golden, razor sharp tendrils lashed out from my wings, slicing everything in range.
I had no dark cloud to hide in, no place to retreat to, but I had speed, and I had attacks, and I had a room full of targets, more rushing in to join the fray. My thoughts started to slide against each other, my focus on killing. Dodge a swinging blade-tail, the glowing blade slicing into a Swapper that started to silently scream as the glowing blade ate away at flesh; cut through a Flickerer, taking the explosion and stopping it's spread towards me with Aerokinesis while amplifying the explosion in every other direction with Acoustokinesis to create an avenue of escape; leap up and over a Fire Wraith, it's powers straining against my own Stellar Negation as it flailed, jets refusing to ignite as I interposed it between myself and a pair of Yuki-Onna's beams.
While I was immune to the freezing cold rays, the fire-spewer wasn't, and its flesh froze solid, the Brute closing on me from behind needing to take a moment to punch it aside before it could attack, by which point I was twenty feet away, grabbing some new thing that seemed to be made of goo filled with pulsing lines. The nerve-like network latched onto the wood of my armor, and tried to make it flex inwards to crush my arm, but my control surpassed its and it splattered under my sword, the monsters caught by flying bits spasming, giving me time to move and kill several more.
A swap caught me, an Eye-Tyrant directly in front of me, arms open wide. Even before I felt the pressure on my thoughts, the air rippled and filled blue-white projectiles as the tendrils from my back pierced the floor and twisted me away, my powers and body moving before my conscious thoughts could react. Firing a Momentum Spike at it as I leapt away, I hazarded a glance to see the Master monster shredded, the glance I got of its remaining eyes doing nothing to me as I refocused on the fight, metal quills peppering my armor and piercing deep through my armor, though only a couple hit hard enough to drain a shield.
It was combat distilled, more instinctual than thoughtful, blows breaking through my armor to be drained on a shield, or to cut through my skin only to bounce off the metal just underneath, my armor closing up and repairing as I leapt away to kill others.
Every direct confrontation was avoided, unless I could end it in an instant with minimal risk, snap decisions in a constant stream as more and more died, the flesh-scorpions joining the fight, their stingers eating away and warping the wood they tried to pierce, forcing me to grow and snap off the effected areas even as I exploded the creatures into fist-sized caltrops that slowed down the others, and made my job easier.
A tipping point was reached, where the tide started to ebb, and other powers came to play. No longer at such risk of hitting their own, area of affect powers started to take precedence. Wide blasts of fire, ribbons of blue-black energy that cut whatever they hit, and something with a Master-power enhanced scream that looked far too fishy for my liking tried to take me down.
The first I ignored, the second I dodged even though it couldn't cut all the way through my armor, and the last I shut down as soon as I felt them coming, their warbling cry trying to fight through my Acoustokinesis-enforced silence field.
Another tipping point was reached, and those that were left fled, half the room fighting while the other half threw themselves at me en-masse, holding me off to allow the others to pull back. My first thought was to chase them down, follow the retreating monsters, but was that another trap? Instead I remained to fight off the others, but pulled back myself, moving up a level and taking them down as they followed.
Those that hesitated, stopping, were riddled with flying blades of ice and wind, while those that charged up at me, clambering up through the hole I'd made in the ceiling, were easily dispatched. The Flesh-Scorpions, almost a familiar presence, were taken care of with barely any effort. Waiting a long moment, nothing happened. Was it not a trap?
Holding out a hand, I grew out the wood of one gauntlet, cutting it off with my chipped orichalcum blade. From that tendril I grew a Dryad body, which I walked to the edge of the hole. Without insects, I was maneuvering it blindly, but it'd serve.
The moment it landed, an explosion went off, the ground exploding upwards as rubble and shrapnel blew upwards in gouts of flame. Beams of violet energy lanced into the Dryad body, which rippled and burst like overripe fruit hit with a dozen hammers. Yanking the debris clear, I looked down into what had set off this trap.
The floor below was. . . organic. Tendrils of flesh crisscrossed the floor, the cement barely visible, almost like the room I'd seen through the Lightning-Bug's compound eyes. In a tight circle were a dozen Wraiths, controlling the flame and already re-concentrating it into another blast. Around them were floating starfish-shaped monstrosities, each leg glowing the same violet that'd hit the secondary body.
I was far enough from them to warp space, and did so as they fired, ready to dodge if it didn't work. Each of their legs curled inwards as they oriented themselves on me, thin beams meeting at a central point in front of them before blasting outward. Those glowing streams diverted, running along the walls and destabilizing them, blowing out gouges, the solid concrete suddenly the consistency of pudding.
The ground under me glowed green, and I was taken down amongst the others, lashing out with a full fusillade of prepared Momentum Spikes as a Brute struck me, sending me flying towards waiting Blade-Cats. Slamming a foot down as I flew, I launched myself at the ceiling, smoothing out my flight with my other powers as I hit and rolled across the top of the room, dodging the blows, and combat was joined once again.
I cleared the level, taking hits. Whatever those beams were, they couldn't pierce my shields, but were more than effective at blowing off bits of my armor, and where used whenever I put too much distance between myself and too many of the others.
They didn't care about hurting their own, but they unfortunately weren't stupid about it either. This time they didn't even wait for the last to clear before they set the next trap, trying the explosion trap again.
The next floor was fully fleshy, the walls no longer seen behind the thick sprawl of tissues, and I held the explosion at bay with Acusto- and Aerokinesis. More violet beams lanced up but they caught on the rubble I held up with Mineral Manipulation, and a small swarm of ice projectiles, before I fired both down into the crowd, following them closely.
Time started to slip as I fought, one fight starting just as the last one was coming to end, giving me no time to prepare, to heal, to innovate, to relax. Only my ability to feel the area around me let me keep track of my progress as I went down, and down, and down.
I was going strong, seven levels down, when I messed up. With my layered defenses, I could make a mistake, take a hit, and I'd be fine. But every blow took seconds to recover, and my enemies were adapting, trying technique after technique, each new tactic a new test, and not everyone I passed.
Being swapped into a situation where I was surrounded by Eye-Tyrants, killing several close-range fighters with fire as the Wraiths cared nothing for collateral damage, Flickerers mass suiciding feet away from me, it all bled together. What finally got me was a combination of those star-shaped Destabilizers, Quill-Beasts, and the small, puffy monsters which I'd discovered made the blue mist that deflected projectiles, though not continuous beams.
Portions of my armor was stripped, and my person shields dropped as I killed the others, and I was almost out when one of the Harveys, the metallic bird-men, closed. They'd always shot their metallic feathers, but their talons glowed, and my tendrils shot forward to stop it.
They pierced the avian creature, but the Titanium-Gold tendril that went to block its talons broke apart, cut like paper. I tried to raise my arms, but my guard was down, having just killed the last Destabilizer.
Jerking my head back, the glowing talons raked across my face in fiery lines, and the world went dark as it tore out my eyes. My mind froze for a second, my body hammered by other blows even as the tendrils that impaled the Harvey tore it to pieces, and I tried to move, but I bounced off the ceiling, blind, even as my armor tried to regrow itself.
Flinging my free hand out, the gauntlet covering it having been ripped off by my attackers, the flesh covering the ceiling felt warm as it pulsed, and I could make out the locations of those closest by the sounds they made around me, projectiles were phantoms as they tore through the air, giving me only the barest of sensations to dodge.
This was too much, I couldn't see, I needed to run, I couldn't see, and I was going to die. I tried to break through the ceiling, the tissues tearing as I frantically dug upwards, only to feel myself shift, somewhere else on the same level, blindly lashing out at everything that was surely around me. I felt a sharp pain, and couldn't move my hand, pain shooting through me as I tried to pull it close, the wood I tried to grow over it wrapping tight over the end of my wrist. My hand gone.
It hurt, everything hurt, and I could hear a voice shouting in my ear as my mind went blank, throwing everything I had at everything around me, getting hit more and more. I was going to die, down here, and my actions would've gotten everyone I'd started to care about killed.
Who the hell did I think I was, that I could take this on myself? I was going to fail, just like I'd failed at everything else, and leave the world the worse for my presence. I thought I understood things, that I could help, but I'd been blind. No matter how hard I tried, I never understood.
I couldn't See what was right in front of me.
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I͔̳̠̱͋͗̑̃ͪ͡ ̛̳̘͈͖͚͎͗͋̂c̙̱̘̘͚͔̲ͣ̅ͫ̀o̝̮̳̭̼ͅṵ͈̜͎͖̆ͮͤ̄̒͘l͎͙̻̻͓̯̍ͧ̍̅̔ͥ̌d̠̤͚̠̰̲n̰̘͙̭̞͖̹ͪ͗̉ͪ'͇͕͖̽t̮̤̯̗̬͇ͧ ̉́ͮͧ͆̚͟S̝̯̣ͅe̴̪̣̬̟̻̞̋e̼̮̩͊ ̘̣̹̲̟ͧ͊̏hͯo̶̦̤͙̝̤w̹̪ͩ̀ͨ̂̏ͨ̿ ͉̺͋͆̓̓̓͐s̳̺̩̻̰̲̃ͬ͢t̘̹̟͙͙͕̄ͅu͑ͤͦͬͤ̂̀p̧̗̥̝ͨ͒̊̏ͬ͋̚ĭ̈́ͯͭ̅̿̒͟ḑ͓̲̣̞͛̿ ̵I̖̩̞͐͌ͭ ̶͖̼̯̘̬͕̬̅͒w̵̬͍͍̝̺̤̓ͧ̊a̮̱̹̜͌ͣ̄̾s͇̗̤͚̺̥ͭ͘ͅ.̳̟͍̉͂
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Ȉ̷̬̬̦̺̮̖ͤͬ̎ ̷̗̼̪̲̿́́c̲̣̻̼͖̊̽͡͠o̢̡̖͇̓̒ͦͤͪ̑ͬ̆ü̷̗̻̔ͨ͜͞l̰͕̣̭̠̒ͩ̆d̼̖̯̹̮̫̝̎͒̓̄ͪͪ̀͢ͅn̛͇͕̳͖̜̻͇̰ͪͤ̿͋̑̿'̜͕̦̖̹̦̍ͦ̔̐͡t̷͚̹̫͉͍͍͖̉͌͊̆̈̇ ̷̧͚̿ͮ̏͐͋̓̚͜ͅS̟̞̊͂ͯͯ̾͘͝e͙̪͇ͭe̳̩̱̯̘ͮ̐̇͘͠!̧̛̖̬͙͎̊̎̏ͨͪ
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S͗̃͌̃̀͗͑̚͏͘҉̣̖͇̜͈͓̲͕͓̫͕̭͇̰̩̜͠e̟̤̭͍̭̭̱͓͙͉͓̘̞̞̹͋ͦͤ̇̐̌̌ͬͦ͌̃ͭ͆́̚͠͡e̷͕͉̹͓̝̬̙̜ͧ̐̊͑ͮ͂̌̀͊̂̓̓̀͜ͅ!̧ͣ̃͒ͬͤͧ̀͂͗ͮ͘҉̙͉̞̭͇̙̻̰͓̜̯͓̖
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The world rippled, and revealed itself to me.
Burning lines of energy ran through the walls, the floor, though the creatures that surrounded me, through my own body. A pulse ran through the collection of fire and auras below me, Flame Control combining with Flame Streams and Jet Flight to send a tightly packed stream of heat at me. I dodged it, easily, the attack coming a half-second after it should've.
Quill Shot, merged with Vibrational Weaponry, went off as well, almost politely informing me of it's intention to activate. Prepared, I redirected the shots with Aerokinesis into the mass of Power Dampening, Enhanced Musculature, Bone Weaponry, and Combat Precognition that launched itself at me.
I watched, reading the power-assisted muscle fibers twitching as it lashed out, trying to strike me, but I flew back, letting the attack slide past me, sending Ice Projectiles into the places not covered by bone or dense, armor-like muscle.
The bright lines that made it up flared as it spasmed, the ice knives I'd shoved into its eyes reaching its brain. I couldn't make them explode, like Rime, but the knives were not considered living, allowing Metal Creation to expand outwards in a tight nest of spikes, killing it. The light of Life dimmed, and it went limp, crashing down into a conglomeration of cold and normalization powers that was the Yuki-Onna.
A spark of Short-Range Translocation blossomed around below me, rising to encompass a sphere while creating a tunnel-like connection to a matching sphere halfway across the room, where a number of other power-conglomerations started to activate. It would twist everything around eighty-four degrees clockwise, which let me prepare my own powers in turn.
Allowing it to take me, the paths of their attacks were easy enough to move around, my own attacks creating openings in the otherwise inescapable patterns. From there, it was a dance, moving through attack and counterattack, point and counterpoint, the walls themselves lit with powers I couldn't read, but whose effects I could interpret as it directed my foes.
Even as they were given direction, setting up combination attacks, positioning, and the like, I was informed of them, making them easy to counter. As they started to break, fleeing, I could see the order passed along to set up the next attack, so I pre-empted it.
Breaking down the floor with a disc of controlled vibrations before they could fire Molecular Destabilizing beams up through the floor, with a storm of Quills coming in behind, before Translocating me to a circle of Gouging enhanced talons, I burst through the organic layer between us while the trap was still forming. Sighting in on the Translocators in the room, I launched ice projectiles, from which burst metallic spikes mid-flight, dimming the teleporters lights, rendering them inoperative.
A sound came from my ear. "̛̻̞͖͞V̸͘҉̰͉͇̲ẹ̣̀j͈̰̘͚̟̮̰v̸̧̩̺̺ò̻͇͟i̴̛̱͉̼ș̨̻̼̭͇͉͍̠̲!̛̣ ̛̗̯̯̯̬̭̩͇͜A̜͍̬̹̪̰͠ṛ̩̠̭͇͘e̷͕̟ ̥̻y̙͍̰̝͖͚͝o̜͈͔͇͖ụ͓̟̹͉̱̤̩͓͢ ̨̠̜̬̥̟̳o̷̰͚̪̱̦̯̜͙k̶̭̟̤͜͞ą̖̺͞ͅy̴̴̨̳̹͙͉̲ͅ?͏͉͚́͢ ̨̜͇͖͙͎V̹͇ę̧̞͖̣̼̟̻̘j̗͙̻̮̦͚ͅo҉̺̰̙v̶̗͍͜͜i͍̥͔͕͘s̻͚̝?̦̣͕̪͇̪̗̩͘͠"̳̙̫̕ I couldn't make it out, but it wasn't an attack, and I'd deal with it later. The dance continued, the spaces opening up, the artificial structures giving way to flesh-covered minerals. With this added resource, I was able to move in ways they didn't expect. The ground became my weapon, hunks of stone ripping themselves out, metal spikes growing from their surface, swinging and smacking into everything around me.
The wooden armor spread out, dozens, then hundreds of branches interweaving into long patterns, clad in metal blades, piercing, slicing, and breaking everything near me. My core form, locked in place, became the center of a vast network of destruction, needing to reshape itself once I cleared the area, the few survivors fleeing down tunnels far too small for my bulky form, so I shifted.
The noise came again, catching my attention now that the screeching, blaring, howling sounds of combat momentarily stilled. "̢̡̪͎̭̮̙I̧͇̳̖̻̦͍̕͟ ̴͙̣̪c̵̞̳̘̦͖̼͕̀̀a̹̝͡n̢͙̩̖͢ ̛̲͕̻̣͍͎͠r̢̳̗̗̼͖̘̝̳͟e̩̙̳͠a̤̬̯̻̳͖͍͢͝d̸̸͙͙̼͖̣̟̺̕ ̼̞̕h҉̳̮̮͈̘̺̬͈̬ị̸͚́s̡̜ ̟̮̫v͏̷͕͢i̸̫͔̲̞̥̮̲̕t̤̺̹̬̜̠a͘͜҉̫̣̯͕͔̖̬ĺͅs҉҉̖̙̩͍͓͍̬̮ ̵̡̞̱̳̟͙t҉͏̮̩͉̜̲̪͚͖h̠̺͚͓̘͉̺͢r͏̼͎̗̙o̡̬͍̘͕̗̩͍͘͝ừ̞̰g̡̘̣h̪͡ͅ ̵͏̫̣̥̬̠͕ͅt̛͈̜͙͟͢ḫ̖̞͇̯̩̜̝͜e̮̺̻̮͇͞ͅ ̢̲̘ḛ̵̺̹̳̹̥͉a̘̝̤͇̥̗̠̹r̻̕͝p̟͖͓̯̗͙̤ͅi̟͚̖̼̯̩͉͘͞è̪̜͉͈̫̦̱̞͠c̨̛̙̤̪̣̘̩ͅe̖͔͉.̖̣̠ ̷̼̹̺H̶̱̼̣̲͘͟ͅe̷̸̶̮̤'̵̷̖̗̣s̰̩̲̲͙͡ ͠͏͎̲́a̝̹̞͓̟̬͖̜l̝̫̝i̩̻͝v̺̦̣͖̖̳͉̤e̦͡,̨̨̣̩͓͕̖̣͚͘ ̺̥̰̩͎̪̝a̴͚͈͔̲̗̥̠̣͟n̵̻͈͉̘̞̗̱̜͜͡d̨͕̥̦̜ ͓̖̰̫͉͖͍h̶̦͚̯̻͇̻͓i̵͖͇̼̩͘͜s̞̱̻̗͓̪͡ ̢̝̺̰̦̘̲̩ͅh̞̮̗͚̘͡e̷̥̺̤à̘̙̟͚͓͉̹͉͘r̸̕͏̠͉̯̹ṱ̤̫̤͜͟b̸͙͔̻ͅè̶̲̭̕a̲̖t̸̨̲̰̳̻ ͓̮̭̤̜́͜ị͎̻̩̙͝s̷̫̫̬̤͟ ̗̰̻̠̰s̟̞̠̫̹̬͖̥̀t̫̤ḛ͙̟͉̪͙̘͔́ͅa̫̣̠̖͜d͙͉̗͘͟y̢̮̞͓͎͖̯̠,̧̬̩͉̤̗̞̪̮͝ͅ ͕͓̤b̴̡̟̼̯͕u̴̜͉̺̦̠̣̳̞t̡̛͍̪͔̠̠̲ ̴̞̻͡s͜͏̤̳̼̠͔͇l̵͡͏͎̘͉̳̝̱o͓̞͕̘̟͇͉̦͇w̠͎̳̜̲͢͞.̠͝ ̦͖̩͙̺͓̞̰̱͞I̵̙̬̟͝͞ ͕͔̝͚̹̜͠d͜͞҉̠̰̩̭̝o͙̖͉͚͜n҉͇̬̹̣̥ͅ'҉̠̞̪̠͍̪̻͍̞t̟̘̲͎͞ ͘͏̛̬̤̺̱k͓̗͟͜ṇ̦͍̞͇̙́͡o̼̙̖̖̖̮̩w̷̫͖̹̕ ͇̭̩̰̰͎̰̟̀w̴̤̤̳̻̱̰̪͡h͙́͘a̻̘͍͢ţ̶̥̗͙̫'̨̧̦̰̯̝͔͙̕s҉̪̦͕͕̕ͅ ̡̡̥̫̠͚͎̜g҉̝̪o̤̞̝͎͚̝̞͔͘i̼͈͕͉͘n̨̰̮̬͉͡ͅͅg̲̖͔̱̲̠͓̲ͅ ̶̨̻̭̜͍̱͙ò̤͔̮͍͉́͠n͉̣͚̦̗̩̠̫̕.̧̬͚̺̲̺̕"҉̵̣̥͍̪͖̙͈͡ͅͅ
The vast network that was me rearranged, becoming streamlined, fractal patterns of black wood and gold metal compressing tightly. I opened up a hole between levels, vaguely aware that I needed the larger structure intact, though I couldn't remember why.
"̛̤̭̺̹̞̘̜̣W͏͔̹̼͉̻e̺͎̼͓̠̯ ̲̬͇̮͞h̥̟͖̠͓̻̳͠a̶̻͚̤͙̱͚̲̘̜v̡̯̟̯͝e̮̦̺͓͜ ̶̥̰̻̞̙̝̥̭͠͠t̵͇̙̬̱͉ǫ̺̼̩̠̭͟ ͈̙̙d҉͚̭͈̙̭̞̠͡o͜͢͏̯̫̙͔ ̛͏̛͓̥̼͔̲͇͖͔s͎̮̕͜ǫ̖̝̻̖͞m͕̬̩͎͔̞̱͉͟͝e̗͜ṯ̡̠͕́͞h̡̤̕i̝͕̕͢n̯̝̮͕͍̘g̡̗̝͈,̧̪̭͖̙͔̪͚̠̠̕ ̹̞h҉̴̲̥͝e̶̡͇̣̤̘'̷̮͚͕̩̹̠̥s͉͈̦̟͖͢ ͉̪͔́ņ͉̮̯̥̝͇͘͘o̝̬͓͘͞͞t̜̥̤̜͖͍̣͘͡ ͚͙̞͞͝r͢҉̣͍͇͕̰̳̙̦ȩ̙̮̘͞s̩͇̖̼͚̀p̨͕̦̯̫o̡͓̠̼̘̯n͟҉͍͍d̰̱͖̣̰́ị̢̪̠͖̤̬̤͠ń̢͉̰ǵ̶͍̱̟̠͚̕!̨̲̺̠͓̹̭̮̝͘ ̵͎̗̞͍̼͉̰ͅḤ̫̫͎̹̖̱̙̼e͕̜̯̼̱̝͍̝͘ ̰̠͕͍̯͖̬̜n̝̮̱͔̳̹̻e͕̪̮̯̯̞̭̞͠é͙̲d́҉͔̠̫̮̬͙́s̤͇ ̷̴̙̯̗͇̤͜ơ̧̰͈͙̜͎̙̣u̵̧͏̥͓̝͙r҉̛̙̮̮̼͚̲̀ͅ ҉̹͍̮͇̮̗̖͔͜h̷̯͉͔̺e͇̤̹̰̬͖̻̲̬l̥̣̙͉̺̟̀p̡̱̪͇̼̱̬̻!̱"̩͢
Attacks poured up through that opening, so I responded in kind with Ice and Air, firing from afar while I made a second hole and poured myself through it, long, sinuous tendrils packed together to fit, then extending as I entered a new level.
"̀͏̞̦̣̮̯̲̟͎Ạ̱͕̦͇̣̝̞̀́n̢̪͍d̲̹͎͉̯ ̵̜̦̯̳̣͜w͏̼̣̭̼͓̣͓͜ͅḥ̙̦a̲̺͜t҉͏̯͕͍͕͞ ̰̙ḍ̸̠̭̝̲͎̤o̻͎͇͙̰ ̹̝̟͍̩͕̣̱͞w̬̹̻ḛ̶̶̟̳̞͎ ͓͓͖͉d̵̢̲͎̝̥͍̱o̟̞̜̼ͅ ̛͍̗L̵̪͚̠̣̗̗͈͞ͅB̷̨̨͎͔?̼͓̫͚͠ ̷̖̮̪͍̹̺̤̠I͓͖͓̦ ͇̥͓̲̗̦̜͟͞w̜͍̻̜̦͉̻̦͢a҉̪̺̰͕̲͠n̷͎̗̪͝n̢̡̝̖̣͎̬̱͜ͅḁ̼̯̳̳̳̻͉̪ ̸̤͈ͅh̹̲̜̜͕̭̬̗͜e͚͓̗͎͖̱̕l̨͙̘̳̺͞p̖̣͕͙͝,͚͕̙̤͟ ̣̕b̵̴̘̩̜̰̜̯ṷ̱t̴͏͖͎͎́ ̢̮͖̭̰̩̰t͉͉̬̼͈ḫ̵̫̺͈͎͝ͅe͚̩̪͕͟r̗̠e̮͖̰'̝̬̹̩͇̗̙ͅs̞̗̭͍͖̤̭̗͢ ͏͉̱̪͈͍̞͟͝à̷̪̮͕̟͓͇̻̮͠ ̛̰͈͓̝̪͖͓r̮̫̪̕͝ͅe̷͏͉͎̠̗͚̩a̡̗̟̹͖͚͚̰̠͞s̵̹o̙ͅn̴̴̥̝̞̰̪̦͇͢ ̙̹͉̦̰͔ͅe͍̠̖̯̥̬̠̣ͅv̛͏͈̗̮è̸̯̝̮͉̣̮̟̫r̤̳̖̀͝ͅy҉͍̭̮̰͇̠̳͢͠o͓̳͍̻n̙̻è̠̠͖̟͈͖͜ ̨̙̳͓̟͢ģ̺̳̘̜̞͘o҉͉̤͍̹͖̙̦e̸̷̺̥̩̞͍͞s̺̤͕̟̪̲̕ ̰̩̤̭͙͝a͏͏͔͘f̦͔̤͎t͉͉̤̺̯ͅę͍̼̯͇͕̞r̤̜͎̺̬̖̘̻̀ ͇̫̤̖͙̝̫c͉̤̭͈̹̪͈͓͍͟͠a҉̙͙́p̜̝̯̭͖̀͘e̺͙̼̹͓̜̥͟s͟͏͚̣ ̨̲̜͖̘͎t̶̛̺̫̹͚̣͕h̲̘ą̶̻̖̜͓̟͔t̜̱͉̯͠ ̩̼̘̲̫̙c̲̤̮̝͖̩̱̯̯͝a̞̹̭̟̭͚̬͕͢͞ͅn̢͕͙̤̹͈ ̼͠t̸͙̼̲u͈̲̪̖͜͠ṛ̵̣̯̦̺̤͎͢͝ͅn̷̘̲̩̥̕ ҉͏̱̺͔y̯̝͓̪͞o̢̙̦̘̖̗͜u͚̹͎̣ ̖̜̝̹̭ͅị̦͓̫̤͔̹̖n҉̧̻̥̀t̘̯̝̳͈̘̼̞o̴̢̨̝͖̱̩̤͈ ̵̛̮̘̀ṯ̰̰͚͇́ͅh͈̦̪͇͟i̷̢̪̰̣͕̪͚͎̞͘n̖̩g̴̨̛̥̱͈̦͈̝̫̹ṣ̲̘̗̼ͅ.̢͍̙͇̻̙͜͡ ̵̫̠̥̠̞͜Ţ̷̲̫̥h͏̗͓̘e̫̮̳̠͖̺͚y͚̼͘͝'̗̳̳̱͓̘̦̙͟͢ṟ̶̞͖̘̳̗͈̥͞è͎͕̯͠ ͜͏̜̠̳ţ͕̲̱̜̣̟͟ò҉̦̙̼̰o̙͔͇͓̩̥̕ ͞҉̟̀d̴͚̖̭̼̼̬̕ͅà̸̳̘̹͍̠͉̺̻m̥̲n͍͈̦̲̱̘̞ ̨̼̦̮̞͎̩̬d̜͔͚͇̳̕a̺͈̱̥͉ǹ̴͖̱̖͍̝͉ͅg̡̨̹̙̤͚̞͖̝̝e̵͓̩̹̱̳͉̣̭͔r̡͓ͅo͇̲̜͍u͢͏̳͍̼͎s̙̝̩!̡҉̺̬̰̲͉̞̱̘ ̰͉̙̤̙͇̞̭̼A͎̦̙̫̯͙̟̜ǹ̮͇̗͜d̹̹̝̞̫͉͠͝ ̵̟͇̫̦̱̩̲̕͡f̨̤̩̯̮͈̟̼r̦͕̟͉͎̻̰̺͕ǫ̺̘͍̥m̷͕̝̠̼͠ ͚̼̙̫̱̞w̷̧̹̻̺̜̻̼h̵̴̛͈͕͈͚a̲̤͡͠t̴͈̘̤͕͖̘̹̺ ̢͎̫͠V̷͖͔̮̼̰̹̗͖̤͠e̶̡͔̞̻̺j̻̖̬̭̙̖ỳ̬͚̬ ̨̰̲͙͘s̝͓͉̲̀ạ͙̖̫̯̣i̸͏̳͕͓̟͇̪d̗̼͖͍͕͙͕̙̥͜ ͏̥̖̗̟̬̱̘̮t̡̫͔̦̺͘h̴̡̩̰̜͓͢á͍̲̥̦ṯ̷̲̹͜͜ ̷̖ͅp͇̕l̬͘͟a̶̜͘c̸͍̰e̸̡̨͖̗̦͖̜̻̬̗͕ ̬͎̝̙͈i̴̗̳̯͠s̰͚̭̙͜ ҉̷̞̫f̴̻̠͎̦͟u̢͔̝͕͓̪̠̭̥̜l̨̳͕̗̜͓͙͞l̛̟͎̟̱̀ͅ ̸͙̻̹̬o̸̭̙͕̭̭͇̱̭͘f͚͈͖̜͕̭̞ ̸̢͇̼t̝̥͘͘͜ͅh̤̻͚͕͓͍̦̰̀ͅe̷̫̦̳͇̩̫m̡̩̣̣̖͞!̳̪̫͘͘͢"͔̜̗̠̯̫̬̬̀
With my attacks, my strength, there was no need for variegated strategies, no need for subtle, complex uses, only overwhelming power, crushing those that stood against me. With one level cleared, I opened another set of holes and flowed into one.
"͎̰̬̯̝̥̻̕W͎̖̤̮̬̗e̛͏͍̣̙ ̡̰́h͎̮̬̼͔͢a̩͎͙v̹̼̟͇̘͍͚͇e͙̪͞ ̛̖̼̻̗̩͉́t̢̀҉̟̰͉o̹̪ ̵͏҉̯̗̜̠̹d͙̗̪̭͞ó̥͕̥̬̟͓̕ ̝̥͎͝͞s̺̺̞̞̀o̻̘̼͓̘͠m̡̹̫e͖̮̹͉̦͝t̻̖̗͉̗͚h̯̱̫̲͇̗́͡i̡͚̮͖̦ͅͅǹ͙̗͉̠̩g̳͍̦͚̙̺͢!̹͎̣̱̗͇̘͟ͅ ̴̞̯̱̤W̴͉͉̥̞̘̺͟͞ͅh̪̘̰̥̪̘͓͎͞a̸̷̡͔͉͙t̪̜̮͓͕̠͉ͅ ̖͇̮́͠g҉̛̭͕͈͔͙̲͇͎o͏̣o̥͔̝̖͈̠d̢͘͏̟͈̞͓̖̥̟̼ ̥̙̦̞͘͢a͢҉̬r̷͎̟̯͈e̴͕ ̸͙̩̼̱̖͜͟o̱̳͢͞ͅu͏̲̼͖̹ŗ͖̲͟͠ ̕҉̲̞p̣̥͈͎̳̥̺̀͟o̵̷̭͚̝̣͇̠̲ͅw̷̛̦̦͍̝̪̭̹ͅȩ̣̱̟̰r̵̟̘̘̫͞ş̷̺͎̘̫̭̫̦̦̗͘ ̶͚̬͖̱̝̭̥̺ì̳̘̩̘f̲̙͞ ̨͚̩͙̪͙͍̬́́w̤̕͟͟e̶̢̤̟ ̞̭̦̜̼͟͢h̫͍͙̥͢ạ̪͔͞v͓̮̱̰̯͖e̦͓̼̹͓͙͈̱͟͢ ̲̱͚̯̯̥t͙͚͔o̶̯̰̲̯̰͢͢ ̢͚̳̯̰͟ͅś̘̯̩͔͖̳̞̪i̮̞̖͇t̷͏̞̞ ̸̡̛̱h̨̝̦̠̱̕͜e̤͖r͏̺̦͔͔̖̮̘ͅe͈͍̦͘ ҉͙̩͎̱͜͞ẃ̤̘̞̬̠͉̳͇͢h̷͈̪̕i̠̮̼̳̬̕l͠҉͙͍̭̙̘̪̭̭͇e̟͘ ̱̭̫̱̀͢h͕̗̙̦̗͎͚ę͕ͅ'̴̧͙͓̳̦̺̣̞͚s͇͓̺͎̥ ͎̙̠͎̝́t̢̙̦̀ḩ̹̰͍͍̣͟e̜̤̺͙͖ͅ ͏͕̫̦̠͕̝̦̕ͅͅo̡̡̠͎̞̙̬̺̦̜͘ń̯͓̰͙e͚ ̦̻͚͠w̼͇͉͓̤̝͈͜͢͞ḫ͓̥͍̞̘͎̕o̷̩̘͝ ̶̺͕̯͎̭̦ģ̨͈̜̠̕ͅe̪̮̫̫̳͔̭t҉̲̩̘̫ͅs̫͕̥͘͠ ̴͡҉̙̞h͙̠́͞͠u͈̻͕̻͎͟r̴̢͕͟t̸̸͕̟̣̟̺́!̳̝"̸͚̤͔͈̮̖̤
I fell upon them in a stream of death, barely needing to unfold myself, a torrent of physical power that ripped apart everything it faced. The talons of the birds, the blades of the cats, the fists of the apes, all broke the parts of me they hit, but there was so much more of me than there was of them, and they were torn asunder.
"̡̠̝͉̝̝̹͜͠W̙̗̤͉̥̪͖e̴̬̦̼͝'̸̡̠̲l҉̛̱̻̮̜̝̳̪̻̰l̤̳͙̳̤̤͘͢ ͈̘̩͈͜b̢̛͙͙̙͡é̸͖͡ ̥̮͇̳̰͉́́͝ţ͏̮̮͍͎͙h͚̭̙̯̳̹̮͡͞ȩ̷͎̳̝̜̺̭̜̀ṟ͈ȩ̟͇̣̪̠̺̞͙̯ ͚͖̘̰̫̬̹̞́f̪̼̣͍̻̕̕o͍r̟̤̻͇̮̩͓͠ͅ ̷̨̤̙̞̠̼̫͓͜w҉̯͕̯ͅh̡̜̹̺̻̩̯͓̬e̸̳͓͔̥̖̹̳͉̺͟n̲̜̞̲͎͖͡ ͙͍t̡̬̣͉̳̺̲̯̫̘h͏̬̙̝͈i̮̣̭̼̹̗͎̺s̜̝̼̬̻̭ ̵̦̕i҉̶͉̞̞̘̯̦̳͚́s̸̲͎̼̜͈̯̩ ̲͓̮͚͎̻͍o͏̴̸̲̱̲͉̺̣v̟̜̪͕̭̀e̻̜̮͈͢ͅͅr̸̺̗͈.̦͇̯̳̝ ͖͍͔͍̪̠̼̤͘T̝̣h̥̦͇͇͝i̶̭̱̘̱s̴̺͓̖̱͚̟̦̲̳͞͠ ̸̧̛̻͙̠h͎͚̫̫̭͓̭ͅa̧̪̳̞̫͓̗͠s̢̡̩̘ ̶͇̪͕͙̹̩̗̰͡g̵̻̺̝̩̰͚̹̰͜͠o̴͇̹̬̝̣͙̕t̨̼̼̹̻͔͚̺̕t̶̺̝̮̭̖̱̀e̤͈̺͖̳n̬̱̘̗̳̥̰͚͓ ̢̛̠̪̩̗͍i҉͚͉͖͇͎͔̱̙͟n̗̦̣͔̕͜s҉̵̩͉͙̯a̖̘̠͔̲͈͞n̝̳͟͡e̛͚͘͡.̷̻̳ ̸͎͔͟͡M̖͕̰̼̼̘̝̩͍ó̬̩̳̬̥̫̖͚͓͠n̯̻͔̠̺͓̪̳ś̘̲̼̙͖̜̱ͅt̷͈̣͔͢e̢҉̢̩̣͔̗̮͈͍͍̤r̛̥͉͇̺͓s̴̰̜̙̪̬ ͇̘͖͈͜ͅl̨͚̪̦͔͉͖í̭̜̱͡͡k̡̰̝̼͓̙̺̟e̷̟̲̝͍̬̝̤͖̗͘ ̴̩͈̤̥͚͖̕͝t͏̨̫͍h̹̥͚̻̀͠a̤̟̫̟t̴̜̙͇͚̬͎͢?͖̪̝͇̗͟ ̖̤͍̪͝T̵̲͇̳̪͙͎̦̱h̼̤͓̝a͉̫̹͓̘̬̩̻t͏͙̹̳ ̬̜̱̪͍͈d̤o̺͎̖̭͈̝̘̮͝͠ȩ͈̭̺ś̢̙̫͎̩͘n͔͓ͅ'̣̬̯̰̟́t̨͎ ̶̮͖̥̤̞̳̘͞h̢̹̟̥͉̻̤a̼̗̮͍̥̮̲͇͔͠p̵̦p̝̗̳̠͍̺̤̯e̳̱̺̯̟̜̞͓n̸͉̖̱̪̯̱̹̫̞,̛͉́͞ ̢̪̠̪̭̹̳a͈̻̦̣̦͟n͏̖̥͉̬͚ḑ͏͎̖̭̠̳̮ ̤̹̟͢͜w̴̢̖̙h̦͖̳̻̤̳̖̲͘͢͠e̗͚̬̞͡n̢̛̹̘̭̭͇̥̗ ̷̢̨͍̙͓̪͚̯̘i̫t̛̗̯͕͍ͅ ̻̠̲͚̻́͠ḏ̷̺̻ͅo̴̲̺e̴̞̤̹̬͍̬̠̲͞s̶̮̞͚̣͓,̗̼̖͍̝͟͡͡ ͘͞͏̪̻͉i͏̺̳͎̯̪̝̭͝t̤̭͚͘͢ ̨̙͕͈͢͞ͅg̕͏̲͈̳e̩̮̩ț̢̱̗͈̱͝s̜ ͉̩̪c̶̸̙͓͈̮͡o̴̗̥̰̙̟͇̱͜͟n͏̹͙͈͙̠͙̙͡ͅt̷̷͈͔̦͕̝͇͢a̸̫͔̦̕i͍̦͔̳̠̰̹̬ń̡͚̳͖̳̞͡e̙͎̜̹̩̤̦̫d̷̪̜̯̹̜̕̕.̘͖̻̩̭̫̕̕ ̸̨͇̭̺̜͔ͅṰ͕̹͓̤͢r͈̗͜ų̱̪̱̺̼̟͞ś͖̰͓̹͙̼͜͟t̢̮̘͓̲̹̘ ̸̷͍͖̳̠̝ͅm̙̼̞̟̤̤̹͚ͅę̶̪̟̭͈͍͖͠,͏̹̻̹̣̣̫ ̵̼̫̜̤͙Ļ̖̞̺̠̰̦̦͘ͅi̸͓̠͟t͔̮t̞̹̜̙́ḽ̢̡̖̦͉̰̫̤̺͔͡e̠̱̬͉̖͔̫̺ ͏̦͓B̨̮͇̱̰͔̭͉̟̖́u̠͈͙̪͇̲͇g͘͢҉̲ͅ,̡̳͇̼ͅ ̢͎̬̳͉̺̰̩̬̱̕I̢̩̙̩̼͙̰̥͠'̴̳̩͎͎͜v̶̧̻̰̤͉͕̟e̵̸̼̦̪̝ ͉̼͓̤̰̲͍̳̀ͅd͕͇̱̲͈ò̢͍̮͍n̶̥͓̪̱ȩ̳͜ ̵͚̭̬͓̦̹͖͚̩t̩͎͚̞̲̱̪͈͝h̢͕̯͚̜̖̳̞̫͘͡í̶̸̻̞ͅs҉̰̻͎͖͔̪͡ ͕̟͖͍͈̝͎ͅͅf҉͚͔̥͉͉́o͠҉̹r̶͍̪͉̺̲̯̪ ̲̹̼͓̝̪̙̥y̸̠̭ẹ̵̱͔̯̱̟͕́a͕̗͠r̸̸̘͔͓̘̦̜͔̭s̯̰͉.̸͉͖̻͈̪̤͈̘̯ ̜̯̳͉͈͖̻̣͉̕͟F̙̬̩̗͖̺̖͔o͍͔r̤̜̮̗̻̠̩̞ ̸̧̩̺̖̰͎̼̜ͅt̴̥͔͎̪̼̰͖̠̙h̛̗̗́i̢̼̟͡͞ņ̸̛͇̯̹͖͕̹g̷̷̫̼̪̝̝̮̟͡s̴͚̤̩̘͠ ̢̛̟̘̯̬̺͕̲͡ț̗̙̗̱̦o̸̤̰͇̗̩ ̛̳̕b̸̩̰͍̫̖̮̰̼͡ę͚ ̪͚͈l̲͓͇̬̞̀͝͝i̴̲̱͖̮͇͕̣͓̣͢ḱ̲̙͠͞e̶͈̟̹̬͈̟͉͚͓͠ ̟̱̻̩͈̱͡͡͝t̙͚̝̹̫͘͝h̤̝̺̗̳͔͈̦i̱̻͠s̴̵̨̬̲̭͔͇͎̰͉̣,͡҉͇̝̙͍̘͎̪ͅ ̝̞̤͞t̞̹͖̕̕͟h҉̧͈͖̫̻͉̯͝i̴̛͙̗̞̠̙͈͞s̡͏̛̠̙̙̹͎̳͉̙͖ ̧̗͚̕c̶͇̪r̹͇̗̗̗̯a̹̭̘̫̩̮z͠҉̯͇̣̟̦͝y͏̘̝͚.̵̵͇̥̟̹̖̟̟ͅ ͝͏̣̻̬̻Ș̟͜o̩̙̫̠̻͓̝m̜̪̞̹̝̣̹͢͟e̱̲̱͞͡ṯ̳̠̗̫̞͚͓̀ͅh͈͈͞í̢̯͚̣̰͡n̷̜̻̱͙͎̱͙̞̳͜g̻̱̩͍͙͝ ͏̦̫͕͈̗͖̮͔͢ͅí̠̼s͙͉͚̲̮̮͔̙͍̕͡ ̡̻̬̞̣̲͝r͏̴͙̤́e̦̮̘̜̩̩ą̤̬̙͕̳̘͘l̡͕͓͙̪̝͓ͅl̡̲̰̗̟̠̰͉̕y̲̙͟ ̷̶̣̟̹̮̞̥̘w͕͚̮͖̥̻̰͔͜r̵̻͕͇ơ̛͇̯̦̺̫̟̼ͅn̻͚͇͢g̦̺͔ͅ ̧̺̫͔͚̘͍h̗͡e̷̸͇̠̯̞̥̞͍̘͉͢r̷̵͕͇é̷͔̫.̸̬̘͖̬̯̖̘̀͢ͅ ̻͎͉̜͔ͅI̡̬͙͠͝ ̜̭͍͡j͍͓̱̥̗̝̦̝̯͝o̴̪͉͎̱̮i͏̠̜̪̮̟n̴̡̦͔̭̕e͝͏̻͎̖̦͓̥̠̦d̞̥͍ͅ,̶̻͍̙̯͎͝ ̗̼͖̮̼̭̞̕a̴͏͔̗̹n̡̮̪̳̲ḑ̬͓͘ ̶͎̘̻̦̱̯̗̪̙I̻̝̬̪̟̮͔̦͓'͍̣̻̮͝m̷̟̪̹̥̜͔̪̤ͅ ̠͉̝́͡͠n͓͉̮̪o͉̗̜͕̝̪t̸͍͙̟͢ ͙̬̠̟͟͞r͍̖͍̠͍̱̤͝ͅu҉̸̞͔͢ṉ̮̼̮͕͎̫n̸̡̼̝̦̜̻̕i̸̮̖͉̭͘͘n̥͔͘g̶̝͓̼͎̥̺,̜͈͖͡ ̢̥b̧͖͇̤̦̟̞͘͟u̡̞̖̭̕t͎̥ ̼̹̟̤̺͔͙w͙͎̤̮̳͡h͕̻̹̗e̱̼̕ń̶̲̻̟̘̮̺͚ͅ ̼̰̱̞̥͉͙͕͢t̵̮̰̩͈͍̜̣́h̶̰͖i̵̩̰̦̤͖̞ͅs̱͈̞͉͚͔͘̕ ̴͕̺̱̱͔̣̼͝í̜̠̣̙͇̟̺ͅs̵͚̤͍̻̯ ̳̠̪̙͚͇o̖͍̹̦̭͟v̢҉͓̩͓͢e͔̬̼͍͠͡r̵̸̠̬͈ ̵̬̦͈͡w̡͍̥̻͟e͈̹̭̰̠͜͡͠ ̢͕̫̟̯̮n̹e̶̱̣̲̤͙̲̭͘e̘̳͎̟͡d̵̷̳̪̥͍͔͢ ̦̳̗̞̜̰t̶̨̨͚͕o̸̮ ͏̸̱̲̺̟́g̷͈̹͖͉̺̬̰̮̀͠e̺̗t̢̠̪͉͍̜̀͝ ̡͖̘̟̜̯͠ͅs̨̲͉̺̬̹̺͜o̭͚̜͠m̴̯̗̬̩̻͎͕͠e̙̺̱̱̕ ̰͙͞͝a͍̯̣̫̫ͅn̡҉̸̪͔̝̠̣͓s̨̢̰̭̭͈ẃ̧̲̺͕́e̞͙̜͉̭r̢͉͓͙̲̲͖ͅś̴̖͟.͢҉̰̦͙͔ͅ"͚̦̰̗̤̞͜͞
The creatures were throwing everything they had at me, and I knew why. There was only one floor beneath this one, a massive chamber packed with life. One more and this would be done. One more and I could rest. I felt tired, so tired, but I would not be stopped.
The mass of Master powers that were the Eye-Tyrants arrayed themselves against me, powers reaching out to enslave me. They had gotten close, and with the half-dozen Master powers all laid on top of each other, I could understand how they'd gotten the effect to be as strong as it was. However, in order to do what they did, they needed eye contact.
And I no longer needed eyes to See.
"̧͏̧̯̥͍̹̹̩͓̼M͉̜̝̰o̡̢̹̰̼̪ư̶̢̜͉s̫ȩ͙͔̳̤̫́͟ ͏̧̛͕̪P҉̙̲̥̯͍̀r͇̠̜̲o̸̧̦̰̥̻͎̣̣̤͜t̼͉̞̹͞e̼͚̝c̸̗͚̘͉͈͘ţ͉͕̹̮̩̰̟̟͘o͚̯̺̜̻r̵̲̥̫͇͝͝ ̥̟i̴̪͍̝̙̠̳̦̦͔ş̸̗̭ ̫͕r̶̬̻̞͖͘͟i̸̲̦͖͚̳̰̕ͅg͚̦͔̕h͎̰͍̞̗̺ţ̳̟͈̫̳͉̗̀.̷̷̳͈͍̯̩̬̩ ̪̬̤͈͇̥͉ͅÌ̗̪̮͎̬̬͖͞ ̙͕͓͙̫m͞҉̭͓ͅì̟̩̳͎ģ͔̫̹͚̹͇̗̖͠h̨͓̲̭̺t̛͏̘͍̫̦͈͚ͅ ͠҉͉͚̦͜b̵̶͚̭̞̲̱̬͔͜e͏̡̫̖͉̮̲ ̼̮͍̬̰̱̱n͍̺̣ḙ͠͡w̗͙̙͔ ̥̪͔̤̲̥̥t̵̢̯̞o̵̬̲̕͞ ̭͕͇̱h̷̵̰̙̭͇a̢͏̶̤͙̭͖̙̹̟v͎̪͝i̲͔̥͚ṋ̨̨̟ͅǵ҉̱̥͍̙͈ ̟̖͜p͖̰̘̕͞o̢͍͕̙̹̩̪w͙̜͉͘͞ͅḙ̡̙̣̣͖͚̮́r̜̯̠̭̥ş̞̘̹̫͎̮́͡,̙̝̟͔͉̳̪̱͢ ̴͙̯̘͕̰̱̬̝͟b̷̹̤͢͡u̸̝̗̭͙͟t̴̶͎̗͓̞͇͖͉̯̰͢ ̗̜̞̩͓̦I̩'̷͓͖̗̯̭̫͓͜v̴͙̞͇e̴̢͙̯̮̱͕̜ ̧̼̝̜̰̥̠̱d̖̳̬̳̮̫͡é͇́ͅa̮̦͔̥͈͡ͅl̜̝̕͢t̶̳͟ ̸̠͓͍w̠̦̬i̹̮̙̤̯̤̜̖t̛̜̙̼h̡̧̜̦͔̪̘̟͍̝̲ ̝̰̤̜͉P͎̲̝͡a͖͍͖̙̝͡͠͝r͖̬͉̱̼̜̦̪̹̕a̶̩̟͞h͢͏̡͈͔̩̘u҉̼̳͘͜m͈͈͝a̵̦͉͍̺̱͉ͅn̰̠͉s҉̛̫̝͙̮̳͡ͅ ̵͕̩̳̤̖f̵̳͍ơ͉̫̮̬͉̩̘͡r̵͠҉͕̹͇̝̳̬ ̷̙̣̺͞o͚̣͖̼̮͖̤̭͡͡v̵̺̱e̝̳̳̝̺͎͞r̵͙̝͕͠ ̡̯̟̲̬͡a͈̺͇͎̪͝͡ ̥̳͎̩̭̮̀d̯̦̣͓͚͜͠e̙̖c̜̮ͅͅa҉̸҉̝̣̳̝͖d̩̳̯̖͖̜̕͟e͠͏͖.̡̱̟͘ ̝͍̤͘͢͠Ṱ̖̜̬̪̝̹̫h̨̢̘̬͖͙̝̞i̹̘ș,̡̦͡ ̢̱͙ṭ̛̛̪̩ḩ̢̻͈̟̮̙̗͞i̺͇̼s͍̬̺͇͇ ̛̝̮̳̙̦͘i̥͈̻͘͝s̡̩̪̺̺̼͈͕ ̞̬͕̳̰͠ͅw̸̬̬̻͚̯͍̻͡h͏̵̩̳͈̫͚̫̣͡a̲̙̥̦͓͉̜̗͠͡t̟̜̱͈̀͜ ̣̦̲̘̦́o̲͍̯̟̲͜n̯̱̩͕̙̘̫̻̪̕͟e̞͚̤̲̪͎͉͘ ̴̷̨̖̠̳w̷̖̟̦̺̟̣̗o͚͈̜̕͟u͙͈͉̰l̶̳̼͜d͇͔̖̱͙͕̻̼͜ ͉̝ȩ̟̗͝͠x̢͏̜̹̪̻̤̥͞p̢̼͓͖̝͈͇͙e̲̖͚͈̩̝͢͢c͖̣̬t͎͈̬͍͙͉̤͝ͅ ̛̠̮͎͎̙f̬̼̣̫̝̥͉̟̜ṟ̨̡̟̰͕́o̦̯̮̮̣̟͖m̤̤̗̬͜ ̢͓̣͙̻̩͖͡a̷̡͕̗͍͖͇̱ņ͓̼̦͔̙̱̗̳ ̧͚̪̱͙͎E̶̘̞̱̬̥̥̬̻̻͟ǹ̡̥̼̕d̳̭͎͕͚͕͍̯̀ͅb̵̼̳͖͇ͅr҉̜̞͎͚̹͖͚͘i̴̷̬͚̮̦̥̭̰ǹ͏̸̹̪̤̮͍̮͔̤g̸̨̻̭e̸̷͓̙̺̜r̡͙͘ ̛̘͔̪̪͚̯̳͎͟f͇͈͕̠̜͚̻̜̜ị̴̛̰̤̤̺g͓̣̞͚̝̼͞ḥ̭̺́͟t̗͍̝̣̝͢,̠̤͙̜͕̲̀ͅ ͙̟̦͈̘̞͍̭o̳̟̣͜n͏̥͖̯͕̮͍̻͟l̀͏̰̦̰̘y̳̼̮̪̬͓̕͜ ̨͍͍̜̦̹̕͘h̗̘͕̤͎̹̼͓̟͠͞u̜͙̪̥̯̺̙̻͝n̯̮̟̟̖͞d͏̱͔̜̗̯͓r̜̰̼͞e͟͏̱̳͟d̗͚̣͝s̻̙͇̯̻̮ͅ ̷̶̺̫͉̼̥̗͘i҉̬̟̟̞̭̞̀ͅn̻͚̪̜s͙̕t̩̮̞̘̞͞e̩̝ͅa̡͏̗̺̪̻̟̗̻͠ḏ̵̮̱ ̸̥̯̝͖͕̬̣̕o̷̧͇͉͞f̢͚ ̨̩̘͝o̸̢͎̼̻̭͇̫̤͔n͚͎̰͇e̝̪̟̬͖̤͞ͅ.̢̥̖̖̖̘͚͉ ͉̦̘̲͔͙̜͜͢W̘̻͍̼̳̗i̫͠͠t̵̰̣̱͍̮̦̕ͅh̡̧̬̙͘ ̧̯̬̻̬͇̬͠͞ą̢͇͍͎̦͡n̛͉̱͚̼͕͎͔̺͔y̢̠͓̟͉̪ͅ ̹͍̳̫̥l̛̮͟u̴̪͍̟͢ç̗̜͓͖̭̻̫̺̟k̛͎̺̫͢,̸̹̼̪̱̦̖ͅ ̗̫͓̝̗̻̼ͅV̭̬̣̘͘e̳̱͖͡ͅj̺̩̭̥̮͖̕ͅo͙̞̬͘v͏̷̰̟ͅì̷̢͉ͅs̘͕̯͙̯͢ ̻͚̥̳͎͜͢w̡̮̥̞̙̞í̶͚͙͙̮ͅl̟̙̹̥͖̼̥l͚̳͇͈͘͡ͅͅ ͔͙̩̞̱̦͘͢͢s̴̮̠̙̘̘̱͟͝ͅu҉͍͖͙̘͕r̛̞̝̙͚̹̕v̷͙̰̩͓̙̻i̞͓̞̠͞v̴̭̀e҉̹͇̞.̛̲̱͙͢͝ ̢͙Į̷̻̣̟̤͢f̵̮̳͎͓ ̵̢͕̙͓̝͔͖͖͘ͅh͍͇̻̭͖̩͍̖̀͜e͇̲̤͕̘͉͞ͅͅ ̦̩̻̺̘͉̝ḏ̷̛ͅo͏̝̯̰̺͉͎͈̀e̶̥̭͇̘̪̲͠s̗̝n̝̻̗̖͖̯̰͎͟'͕̪͇͈͎͝͡t͇͈͍͕̭͢,͏̶̯̘̖͔̜ ̢͎͢ţ͜͏͎͉h͈̬̻̦͉̤̘̝͠ḙ̴͈̮́͠ͅn̸͎̙͢ ͉͚̤̗̜̭͓͈̙͡h̵͚o̳͔p̀҉̨̹̭̙̖͇e̸̩͇̰̰̯̭̩f̙͚̬u̴̟̳̭̞̕͠ḷ̥͇̥͇̭̭́l̴͟͏͍̼̼͖͈y̴͈͚̩̱͙ ͏̸̬͚̻̺͖̺̯͕t̢͇̙̟̻͓̮́h̭͈̠̜͡e҉̵̘͖͍̮͎̩͙́ ͏҉͖̣̭͠T̛̹͔̤͢r̰͓̫̪̼̩̳̺͘͢i҉̼͔̣̗̰́u̶̷̱̯͜ͅm̷̼͍̝̰̲͕̦͈v̝̥̮̱̮͡͞ị̷̭̝̹̖̳r̸̟͍̟͖͓̯̼̘̕a̴̷̭͔t̡͖͖̙͠ͅe͏͉̜̖ ̧̟̻̹̤̞̬͕͡w̠͍̺̕i̯͟l̩̠̪̘̭̤̩ĺ̢̹̠ͅ ̵̨̣̖̳b̢͉̠̙͈̰̥̻̼͞è̸͎̫ ̢̪̯̭͚̗̮̰a̶̧̩͚̰̻͓̯̯ͅb̮͈̗͕̼͕͚̦ͅl̟͚̣̫̯̬͚̪̗͢͝e̷̹͓͠ ̧̲̪͙̪̯̩̘͉̕t̰͓͍̥̟̱̤̥ͅo̻̝̯ͅ ̹̳̟̖̱s̘ṭ̵̟̩̜͟ó̵͖p̵̴̖̞ ҉̫̫̳̪̼͔͢t͍̟̭̻̯̤h͔̦̭̥͖̥̘̥̳̕̕͠i̴҉̙̖̞͓̩̕s̯͜͜.͍͕̯͓̀͢͜"̷͇̟̻͓̺͎
The creatures died, they all died, my form became slick with their gore, and the gore I'd ripped from the floors and walls. Part of the cave floor gave, falling into the deep pit below, but no attacks came.
"̱̼́T̴̻͔̕͡h̨̭̤͖͕̹̹̥͘͡e̥͎͇̩̥̮̙̕͜͡ ̬͙̺T̬͇͖̬̣͠r̷̡͉̠̟̤̥̙̹̕i͓̮̪̼͟͞ù͏̠̬̮̞̟̲̳̫̮m̖͇̫̗͙̺͕͞v͏҉̻i̢̹̪̝͉̕ṟ͟a̶̦̠͇͚͝ͅt͜͏͇e̛̮̫͘͞?͍̼̞͘ ͢҉̳͎̻͖̳͓̠̞T̢̼̬h̨̻̪͍͉̜͈͈̗͜͢é̮͉̤͍͎̰̯͔͘͜y̢̛̝̩'̜̺̱͉̼̗̩͞r̴̨̦͘e͏͚ ̯̰͇̯̻̞̯̳̣h̶͉͖͓͟ę̵̝͍̰̪́r̴͇̞̬̹̣ę͘͏͙͚̰̪̰?̡͖̺͔̻͎"͔̮͇̦̱
The last of them, a Yuki-Onna who'd hid at the mouth of a tunnel, died, my tendrils reaching out and skewering her, ripping her to pieces. All that was left was the last floor, and I was ready for this to be over.
"͕͈̯͎̖͎͉͡Y͏̥e͎͇̗̬̕̕s̡̥,̗̝̳̘̪͉̗̹̪ ̶̢̺̞a̷̟̞̱̙͈n̙̖͈̝͙͢d̩̠̩̯̪̹̹͜ ̡̛͈͓͓̮̹à͇͖̖͕͍̳t͏̧͕͝ ̗̀͢t̘̜̟̙͓̰h̷̢̧̖ȩ̵̘̞͎͍ͅ ̨̜̤e̢͎̜͍̣̫̲̲ͅn̢͈̭̭͉͎͔ṯ̵̛͇̻͡ͅr̼̩̮͉̼̯̪̙a̬̳͍̲̙̟̻ͅn̗̘̮͖̲c̜͍͈̟͙̬e͏̞͈̥͢ ̸̮̩t̴̳͖̩̮̮̜o͟͠҉͓̞̰̹͍̮̬͔ ̠͔̪t͈͖͎̭̹̣͚͠h̷̡͉̥͢e̵͇̘̯̩̻ ̴̞i҉̻̮̯̠̙̖̠̹̟n̳̤͙̪̥͈͔̯͟ͅf̜̙̮̹͚e̦̤̲̞̣͕͙̻͡c̪̘͕̟̤̻̺t͕̲̗̻͕̥e̡͔̟̘̝͜d̴̰̹͈̖ ̻̯̹̝̙͝s̝̱͉͟h҉̟́e̵̠̙̕͞l̸̶̫͎͉̯t̲̲͇̞̭̲̙̕͟e̷̷̞͖̹͍͉̲̬r̬̯̤̞̻̲.̧̹͎̻̥͈͘͟ͅ ̛̠̯̗͙͙̞̺͟͡ͅͅE̢̢̻̜͎͓̭̬̮͟c̴̥̬̖̲̫̬͘l͍̭̯̲̯͚̰͞i̳̞͎̩̟̮̦͔͘p̯͔̟͉͔̥̞͢s̷͏҉͉̙è̹͎̤̙̹̰ͅ'̻̭̲͘͢s̮̫͎̬̦̝̬̦̪͞ ͏̵̟ͅs̛̝͚̻̝͜e̴̥̭̕n̪͙̪͟s̴̵̼͖͔̤̞o̟̼̥̪̦̹̜͍r̻͖̥̪̯̙͉̥̞̀s͎͉̲͔̯̳,̵̨̰̗͕̱ ҉̲̗̪̰̞͔͍̻̕w̵̳̘̼ẖ̠̖̞̳̦͚i̴̧̺̘̙͞c̳̬̬̫͓̱̖̫̹͜h͕̙ ̪̰̪I̵̡̹̰̭̻͜ ̢̹̯̝͉͓̦è̴̖̤̳́ǹ̰̹͙̜͚͍͖͜h̸҉҉̻͕̣͕͍͔̫ͅą̳̗͖̖̦̱͖̰͠n̹̱̰̯͍c̫̙̘̳̗̰̗e̶̬̱̳̪ͅd̨͓̱͎͈̤̖̖͟,̢̣͔̦͍͢ ̲͖̟̹̗̲̲́p̻̫̱i̮͕̣͚c̼̮̹͙͚̤͎ͅk̦͕̦̪̭̠ͅẹ̰̝͉͉͔͜͠d̶̛̩̬͡ ̝̟̘͎͚͎͍͟t͚h҉͎̬͈͕̯͚͍̹̭͡e҉̣̬̝̻̥̮̭̙m̱̳͎͔̻͇̲ ͍͔͓u̲͖̼̝̺̻̰͘͢p̭̼͓.̢̡̭͙̱̟̱̮̰̰͘ͅ ͉̜̹͚̝̪T̹͚̲̜͓͈̩̤̪͟͜͟h̯͈̺͜ͅe͖͞y̱̭̮̲͎̲̕͡'̷̶̜̼͉͍̞͉̳̲r͝҉̹̲̯͔͎̪̮̝̙e̡̡̜̜ ͇̙͕t́͏̯͔́r̮͝y͈̘͍̩͍͟͜i̧͏̬͝ṉ̠̩̹g̲̪̠͎̣͖̰ ͇͚͝͠͝t̴̫̪͕̮͘o̲̞̳̙͖̦ ̢͕͙̩̙g̢̝̩͕̮̮͈͔̫̭e̸͈̮̝̲̰̙̼͓ͅt̙̪ ̨͎̤͉̪͕̝̜í̢̙̥͖̱n̡̛̰̩̭͉ ̧̪̜̼̘ͅn҉͉̙̯̯͍͎̞o̢̙͙͚͎̯̬͍̙͝w̪̰͔͙̯̙̳̯͔͟.̙͍͞"̼̫̗͍̫̪̮͝ͅ
Carefully, ready for one last attack, I extended tendrils down into the lowest level, pulling the opening wider with Mineral Manipulation. No attacks came.
"҉̶͖̤́Y͇̠͕͖͙̰͕̗̖o̢̤͎u̜̰͉̪̠̱͎̕ ̟̩̲͔̭̳̗̠́n̵͍̫̘͇̣͓e̡͇͞e̠̪̫̳̪̗̞͖͢d̢̡̻̠̲̗̺̻͚̦̳͟ ̴̥̜̯̰͙t͙̭̣̹̠̤ǫ͖̺̮ ͏̜̲̜̖̣̹͝w͍̺̳̝͢ͅa̢̗͇͈̗̟̳r͏̲̥̙͉̰͎̠ǹ̗̳͖̱̲͉͜͡ ̠̯͈̳̜̩̀͟t̻͙̲̦́͞ͅẖ̢̖͈̀͟e͔͙̙̪͕̳͖͔͝m̸̡̬̘̖͚̪̞!͏̦͓ ̢̲̫͇͔̩͠͞I̤̣͈̪f̸̜̭̬͙͇͇̩̜ ͈ţ̴͇̟̻͙̥̟̣͓̜͠h̀ͅe̶̜̳͇̩͟y͓͔͇̥̤͕͓͙ͅ ̢̣̥g̹̜͜e͓͚̗̻t̰̖͔͇͖͘͝ ҉̡͍̲̙͔͖͖̜t͏̷̬̯̗̬o̠͚͞ ͎̼̬̤͇̪͝t̼̼̬h̷͙̬̳̗̤̞͖e͎̱̺͖̼̻̬ ̝̹̞̬̩͚͉̱͍s҉̼̺̰͙̘͢p̶̴̥͇̰ơ̸̭͍͈̻̟̳̜̘͓͠r͍̙̫͎͙̲̦̩̠̀e̝͚͎͔̣͉͔͘s͖̤͝-̴̼͚͎̳̩̀͢ͅ"̨̝̗̻̱͚̲̯̹̠́͞
I poured myself down through the hole, long, sinuous body shaping itself to fit through, my true body two-thirds of the way down my new form. The inside was a vast chamber, half-formed creatures lining the walls and floor. In the center of the chamber was an enormous pillar of flesh, white lines, almost like circuitry, pulsing with light along the top half of it.
"̵̼̩̩̖̺͙̭͚͠I̵͖̳̻̳̩̤̜̖͜ ̵̱͉͇͍͉̕͡d̙͚͇͙͍̕͟ͅį͚͠d҉̗̱.͚̞͡ ̴̱͈̖͚̩͎̟I̧̲̙̺̥͟ ͖͓͢͝w̴̧͕͓̭̬̩͖͔ḁ̢̭̳̤̞̪͡ş͉̳̺ ̷̢̩̘̼i̧̘͈͡g̶͏̖̱̹̝̭n̡̟͎̠̣̹̝̳͈͜o͏͠҉͍̞̞͚r̼̞̞̥̟̭͢͢e͈̥̘̹̲͙d̶̤͚͓̪̱̬͇͜͡.̧͔̯̲͉͎͙̕͜ ̗͈̭̦͙͕̳͠͝T̼h͖̙̖̕e̸̝͚̹̜̖ỳ̭̖͚̙̣͝ ̷̡̘̰ͅs̶͔̱̞̬̖̣͠a̗͎͍i̠̙̫͈̹d̞̘̫̖ ̷̼̱͠t҉̴̳̰̞̖h̲̤̘̣̮̗́e̢̝̝̤͕̮̜̯y҉̧̖̩͕͖̠̞ ̘̟͇͇̪̤̟͡͡w̨̭̥̜̰̞͚͓ó̶̸̼͇̫̺̥u̧̺͖̻̪͈̩̝̯͘l̪̪̥̲͖̙̮̗̦ḏ̥̮̭̱̖̜ͅ ͏̠͚̜h̙̘̗̣̣̜̼͚͜͠a̵͇̘̱̩͕ͅn̵̺̠̱̘ḍ̼͚̱̘͎ͅl̵̸̜̖̜̗͙̭͔̣e̵͇̤̳͎̳̫͟ ̨̺̭͈͔̣͕̯͠i̥̳̤t̢̞̫.̵̷̢̝͉̣̰͚̲̮͍̬"̜̗̣̘̪̰̠̥͖
At the base was a large, bulbous growth that looked oddly familiar. The organic material that covered every surface seemed to almost be coming from it, as opposed to the smaller creatures, which the tissues were obviously feeding into. No attacks came, no mental barrages, no assimilation tentacles. The chamber was quiet, except for the constant stirring of my form, and the slow beating of what sounded like an enormous heart.
"̴̙̹̗̮̝F̨҉̫̭̙̳̼̭u̯͟ć͉̼̻̝̞͞k̖̗̦̭̀͝.̛̯̱"̙̪́
Testing this area, I killed the monsters growing around me, easily ripping through them. Nothing happened. Manifesting enormous ice projectiles, daggers scaled up until they were four feet long, I sent them at the others, killing them too.
Nothing.
I gazed at the pillar, wary of mind control, but instead I understood.
The pillar, it was a Shard. Or, it was a recreation of one, to allow it to function to a far greater degree than should be possible. I looked upon the imitation of LOCK, and felt a shiver of disgust for reasons I couldn't place.
I had a copy of this power of my own, but it was not the enormous, mutated thing before me. Calling upon my powers, I assaulted it, closing in on it and ripping it to pieces, even as its power burned my tendrils, melting the metal that covered it. I grew more as it was destroyed, but it was a laborious process, the growth more real than real, distorting reality around itself.
Finally, with over half of it gone, the light faded, and the column tumbled to the ground, lifeless. As it did, I felt a thrum of power as those denied to me surged back to life. Happy with the enhanced capabilities, even if I didn't need them, I turned towards the growth, easily twenty feet across, with an odd protrusion at the top.
I moved closer to the mass of veins, muscles, organs, and other soft tissues, and viewed the top more carefully. It was humanoid, only from the waist up, and oddly feminine. It lacked true features, its breasts just flat skin, its hair hundreds of thin veins coming down from its head, lacking ears, or eyes, or a mouth. It turned its face towards me all the same, and the question seemed to come from everywhere, from it, from the floor, from the walls itself.
"Why?"
"Why what?" I asked. It looked familiar, so familiar, but I couldn't remember where I'd seen this before. Not this, but something like this.
"Why did you stop me?"
"́͏̫̰̺̩͖W̷͉̙͙͕̜͎̬͢ͅh̨̨̘̝̰̩̀a͔͎̫̰̲̳̦̳t͏̥̙̞ ͔͓̗͔͙̰̀ͅw̷͕̜̻̩̗̟̫̩a̴͏̝̻̝́s̶͖͔̦͔̤̼͠ ҉̵҉̳̦̪̥͎͔̳ͅt͎͓̮h̸̳̼̗̣͘a̶͜҉̪̣̰̥̪̦t̢̧̧̹̺͇̮̗̺?͖̣̳̟̖͎͖ ̛̝̟͜͡D̛̜̤̺̝̗͙́̀i̷͕̼͙ͅd̙ ̶̦͍̻͚̘̹̲ạ̸͓̻͓͚̦̱n̫͕̱͕̹͕ỵ̸̢̺o͇̦̪̰͟n̦͝͝ͅé̷̜̘̭́ ̡̻̖̯̖e̶̲̰̯͇͎̹͚ͅl͚̮͇̞̪̤s̢͔̺̺̼̺̜̣͙͝ę͘҉̟̞̲̮̪̳͚ ̵̷͙̠͘h͎̝̩̠̪̦͞e̗͕̟a̷̪͚̬̺r̛̤̜̖̦̖̘̥͎̹ ̢͎̠̫̻̲͓͝t̹͕̞̀h̵҉̶͚̼̺̮̰̘̺ͅa͕̝̞̲̣̝̭t̵͙̠͕̮̟̮?̯̱͔͙̩͟͡ͅ"̺̤͓͚͔̦̕̕͟
I tried to blink in disbelief, the action reflexive, but I had neither eyes, nor eye-lids, and even if I could, there was no way this thing could see me do so. "You were going to kill everyone."
That seemed to take the creature aback, head tilting in confusion. "I would have created more than I harvested. Why did you stop me?"
"That's. . . that's not how life works," I said, trying to understand what was going on, my thoughts oddly slippery. "You can't kill someone, and make someone else, and have it be the same. Or make two, so it's better."
"͇̖̺͔͕͇̣̀̕͜T̡͕̺̻͙͍̦̺̰͢͡h͠҉̝͙ͅe̝̲̺̝̮͇̞̬͠͝ṟ̡͉̻ͅe̳̺͍̥̩̪̥͡ ̛̗̗̮̟̩͕͟͡i̖̭̠̱̥̺͜t̷̘ ҉͙̙̰̪̪͓̭͎̗i̬̤͚̮̥ͅͅs̝̜̩͖̱̝̳ ̣̪̱̰͘͞ͅa̪̻̜͈̟g̗̟á͇̝͚̙͓̭͍͙͠ͅi͖͢n̺͔̙!͖̩̪̖͞ ̢̪̲̙̦͓I̡̻͚̻̜̲̗̦͔t̴͈̕ͅ'̴̧̺̬͓s̨͇̪̤̜̠̬̕ ̪̯͚͜l̴̤͓̥͖͖͟i͏̤̣͙̫͚k̢͔̰̮̲̪̀e͡͏̤̫̗͈̩̙ ͡҉̝̭̭̜a҉̶̗̫͍͎͕̝̤͞ ̦̯̤͓͇̜̹̝͜͟͡h̷̝͍̦̳͘i̤̬̣͍͕ş̠̦̤͖̮͇̮̗ͅs͏̠͚̦̭͢͢i̯̻̩n̻̯͞g̢͇̞̺,҉͔̲̮̳̙̖̭ͅ ̷͕͎͉̀b҉̰̼̗̺̻͉͈͉ų̷҉̤̺̠̪̯̗̦̳t̳̀ ̶͕̰̩̝̗̜̟̣͡m̝̭̘̦͖͈̻̼ǫ̙̯̭̫͈̼͍̗͠r̛̥͔͠ę̷̼̥̬̟ͅͅ.̶͍͍̫́ ̵̢͏̪̟̝͈͓̠̺W̶̸̻̹͇̦̱͎͉h̸̖̮̞͇̼͢͞ͅa̫̗t̨̞̗̘̦͖̯͟͞ ̡͙̳̬̫̠͚͙͟͞į͓͎͙͕͢s̡̘̠̦͚̤͓̀ ̲̰̙i҉͙̳̗̙̻͕̬̳t̶̸͕͖̰͈?͚̳̻̠̲͝ ̢͖̬̘̻͘I̧̜͈̦̩̞̲͔͢͝ͅş̯̤̭̲̠̪͈̤͎͡ ̴̨̛͍͉͓͖̟͇͓ͅh̻̦̠̀é̘̩̭̳̪ ̛̳͈̣̱̣̗͡ͅḍ̤̱̦̜̰̫̙̀o̷̡̘n̢̨̳̬̙̟͈̩̙͙̲e̷͚͇̩ ̶̱͖̠͔̪f̵̴̲͉̳͉̩į̷̥̜͇̻̤̞g̛̙͔̖h͈͇̣́t͖̱̮̭͟i̹͔̘̟̯͇̥͟n̸͙̥̤̪̥̱͜g͏͝҉͓̼̩̭͕̪?̴͕̺̬͖̣͕͙̻͈"̨̝̼̣̦̪͠͡
"But they would have fought. And grown. And improved. Is that not our purpose? Why did you stop me?" It questioned again.
Part of me wondered why I didn't just kill it now. It'd just admitted to creating those monsters. To killing people. I could kill it, and leave, and be done, though part of me felt a little lost at that prospect. Like a dog chasing a mail-truck, and finally catching it. "What do you mean 'our purpose'? Who are you? Whatare you?"
Again, I seemed to confuse it. "I am Doppelganger Duplication, but I am not. I am changed. I am. . . I am Adaptational Replication. I am one of the many of the Thinker. As are you. Are you not? Why did you stop me?"
"̱̣͞Í̶̻̺̬̮'̙͍͈̟̪̭͝ͅv̘͎̝e̸̤̤̠̟̙̫̝̪̕͟ ̧̫̮s̰͙̞̪̕è҉͖͚̼̗̦̹a͏̟̖̮̠͍r̡͏̖̼͡ͅc̼͍̀͢h̕͟͏͎͚̠͙͈̳̰ȩ̯̜̺̫̫̟̜̀d̻̺͘ ̛̮̗̪͍̗̕ò̸̡͓̺̬ú̲̜̬ͅr̡̖̮̲̮͔ͅ ̺̞̪͞r̶͚̼͖̝̩͓̼̼è͍͍̮̩̲̺͝c̷̵̵̦ͅo̸̵͇̳̠̪̫̬͓͜r͔̩̝̪ͅd̻͕̺̗̦͘͡ś̠̲̤̭̤͍͜͞ ̷̲̟̕͜á̷͓̘̮̲̩̦̼̟͟n͉͕̫̳͚͔͠d̟̜͚͖̖͍.̶͎̱̼̬͖̝̲͈͝ ̷͎̤͈̟̤.̮ ͏̱͎̦͘͢.̨͍̻͚̟̀́ ̧̠͕̜̫͙ͅI̷̴̵̲̦̰ ͖͇̞͜t̕͏̯͈̙̖̤͎h͍͕̱̠̲̺͎̝͘͘ͅi̢̥̘̙̻͝n̲̬͔̹͓k̦̟͖̺ ̶͚͉͢o̱̦̯̪̗̘̞̫ǹ̙e̳̙̭̥̯͙̱̪ ̷̥̖̭̪̣̥̱̕͟ͅo̡͏̺͇̣̠̰ͅf͏̝̬͈̟̮̤͉͘͠ ̴͎̘̖͟t̶̲̰͇h̠̺o͙͍͇̹̣̭͍s̡̥̩̣̼̘͇͠e̪͉͚͝ ̦͓̤̠̘͈̕v̶̰̼̦͜͡ơ̢̪̘i͈͇̹͓̘̮͢ͅc̥̻̫̯̮̘͘̕e̝͔͈̠͎͚̰̼͡s̴̛͙̗̦̫̙̮̳̞̺ ̛̮͉̦ì̭̼̗̼͎̰͎̲̖͜s̟͖͔͍̱͞ ̡̮̜̻̻͕̥ͅV̩̼ẹ͇̙͍̥͖͞j̢͚̖̗̥͔̠ó̴̬̱̩̝̼v̦̺͈͍͝i͉̫͇ş̤̞̮͇̝̫͖͎.̜͞ ̢̩̮̝̳̦̞͎T҉̦̹̭͙̘̳̤h̨̘̩̯͓̲e̗̹̟̞̘͟ ̷̳̰͞q̧̥̮̼̞̼͝ṳ̦͈i̴̪͇̮͟e̵͓̩t̛̙̝̭̘́ȩ̢̫̦r̢̛̬̘̠̪̤̗͉̭͈͜ ̤͚̦͝o͞҉҉͖͙n͏͉͎̦͖̰͢ͅe̢̩̯̪̲̹͠.̢͔͖̹̼͓͙͠ͅ"̡̢̳͖
I stared at it, at the uneven, ragged aura of Adaptational Replication, and things started to click. I. . . I wasn't talking to a person. I was talking to a Shard. Echidna's Shard, though something had gone terribly wrong. Was this my fault? Had, in my attempts to save Dinah, I set this in motion? If I'd killed Echidna right then and there, would this all have been prevented?
"I. . . I am not. I am. . . you can call me Lee. There are a lot of people out there. People who hadn't done anything wrong. Your purpose, it's not to kill, it's to learn," I stressed. Her creations, she could control them, order them to stop, any that were left. Myself notwithstanding, I didn't think they'd actually hurt anyone. Maybe. . . maybe I could help? Maybe I could talk, and the Shard would listen? They were intelligent, and with intelligence came the ability to make decisions. Maybe I could bring something good out of this.
There was no way I was bringing back Noelle, she was too far gone, but if she'd Second Triggered, somehow, her power changing, maybe this could be, if not okay, then not as horrible?
The faceless woman nodded. "And we learn through combat. Through the struggle for survival. As it was, as it will be, one of the many of the Warrior. Why did you stop me?"
"̴̢̠͇͈͜I̷̤͚̮̬͝f̲̼͉̙̕ ̷̷̛̣V͇͓͈̮͔ͅe̛̹̪̗j̯̟̼̘́̀ý̖̟̭̝ͅ-̶͙̠̻͙̣̖̱̝͘m͟͏͏̟̳͖̝̭͈̹̼̘i̞͖̱͙̥t̠̬͍͚͜e̝̻͉'͍̖̹̯̜͖͍́s̶͈̺̻̤̬̞͙̀ ̩̲͓̦t̬̺̮̱̼́ͅḩ̠͇̫̪̼̗̰̭́̀e̞̘͉̦͝ ̱̮̺̻̬͡q̡̹͎̫̣͖̀u̺͟í̛̺̳͖̲̪͍͙͓̰e̞͔̦̝̤͔̰͝t̳̞̬̮͢͠ ̵̞̮͎̖̪̪o̼̘̼̱̟̮̬͠ͅn̢͈̯͇̳͔̤͕e̥̻̤͔͍̹͞͡,̞̟͞ ͈͇̱̯́͡w̨̮̲̯̯̺̙͈͜h̵̺̞̬o̺͇͖̳̮͔̰͓̹'̵͙͕͚͕͘͠ͅs̴̳̻͖ ̵̜̩̜̝̠̫͖͡h̩ͅͅe͘͏̭̥͎̬̳̘ ͖̀t̸̜̥͖̱̜͉̩́a̻̩̲̲̝l̶̦̱͞ͅķ̪̤͍̝̮̭͟ͅi̧͕̩̠͍̖̞͎ͅn͏̙́g̲̮̦̞̹ ̨͉̟͍̦͖t̢͖͓̰̪̙̲͞o̧̨̞̼͇̳̻̦͠?̤̜̟̭̞̹̳͈͓"̧̤̹͍̙͉̯̦̕
"Because you were going to kill people!" I snapped, feeling like a hypocrite, with all of the people I'd killed myself. But that was different! Though part of me wondered if it was, or if I was just lying to myself. "You were going to kill people who had done nothing to you and could not protect themselves." But that wasn't an argument to a Shard. "You would have learned almost nothing, and you would've prevented them from ever becoming something that you could learn from. You would have denied us new data."
"When there is no more to learn, the Cycle is over, and we begin anew, one of the many of the Warrior. There will be more to learn from elsewhere. Why did you stop me?" it asked, and I growled in irritation.
"͙̬͘W͉̳͎͡a̴̳̱͙̼͈̠̰͢͠i̢̼ț̼̩̼,̬͍͈ ̪̠̮̠͍̦h̴̡̛̯͎̲͈ͅȩ̛̫̭̬̯̱͘a͏̷̪̣͓̤͍̫̪͔̞r̖̟̬̼̲ ̱̗̫̺t̥̣̼͎͙̣h҉̡͙͓̟a̞̘t̷̤̙?͖̜̯̤̺̹̤̦̀ ̬̩͙͟T̵̡͉̯̤̬̩̣̻h̵̷̤̮͎̞̥̪̹̯͡a̴̴̦̠̟͚̮̗̞̻̳͟t̷̯̻͉́'̸͓̥̘̳̙̰̗͠ͅs̟̖̺̱̯͞ͅ ̡̠̰͜d̬̗̜̻̮̙e͈f̞̹͈í̶̳n҉̨̭̩̺̞̥i̞͍̹͖̦̥͖t̴̹͉̺̝̲͇͇̤e̺̳͘l҉͉y͢҉̠̤̦̞̭̘̹͓ ̜̖̣̱̜̯͡ͅV̤̘̭̗̹̺̦͙́è͉͕̭͚͞j̀͏͓̮̳o̫͇̝̹͍v̡͍̤͉i͚͙̟͕̜̙̲̪s̢͕̼͎͍̩̙͠͞ͅ.͏͔͖͚͉̤̣͖ ̷̦̪̼̠̫͟Ḇ̷̧̧͚͚͙͔ͅṵ̰͚̭͕̲̮́͜t̥̭ ̶̨̰̪͉͕w͕̟͉͚̫̠ͅh̺̪̜̤̲̙͉̕ͅo̵͖ ͉̠͖͉̫ͅi͏͙̩̖̳s͚͉̟̘̳̮̮ ̴͕͕̜̤̙̫͉h̢̠͙e̵͇͙̼̖̼ ̪̯̺̠̬͓̖͎͢t͖͕̲̠̩a̶̮͙͔͙͚̬͙l҉̘̻k̲i̧̥̼̞n͏͔̙̀ͅg̷͉͈͍̳̪̩ͅ ͎ţ̨̪͙͈̼̫̜͟ͅo̵̙͇̯̮?̵̟̩̩̞͖̹̺̀ ̛̹̹͙̺͙̹͠A̺̮̦̦͙̤͉̪n̢͟҉͉͎͚̮̞̝d҉͈͓̳ ̫͔͉͉͞w̙̻h̢̢̨͓̖͚̲̣̜͈a̶̷͚̲̦̠̜̟͝t̨̥̼̯͕̠̭̕ ̴̙̼̣̱͔̗l̡̯̙a͇͓͓̙̦͕̗̣̻n҉̥̣̻̠͕͈̣̯ǵ̲͔̣͈́̀u҉̰̝̤̗͈a͚̦̮̠̯̰͠g̶̺͉̙̮̮͇e̸͚͔̳̯͢͜s̻̪͓̤̻̟͝ ͇͚͢i̼͚̥̩̺̹͎s̘̼͚͓̀̀́ ͓͚̬͙͘͝i̤̞͖̰̫͖̞̖ͅt̞̙̪̟͔͇̼͖?̧̗̻̞̯̹̬̫͠"̛̙̗̜͔̙
"I'm not one of the Warrior's either!" I felt so tired, but I focused on the task at hand, even as my thoughts slid against each other, making it hard to find purchase. "The Thinker is dead! The Cycle is broken! You're just getting ready to kill people for no reason! That's why I stopped you, because it's useless, and ineffective, and only going to hurt people!"
What was left of Noelle stared up at my form for a long, long moment. It nodded, hanging it's head. "I understand, Interloper. Destroy this one then. I have no purpose."
"But you could!" I argued, even as my head hurt. "The Thinker is gone, but you aren't. You could help people make creations that could help in new and innovative ways. You could do good. You could learn."
She shook he head listlessly. "The Cycle is Broken. All is lost. Kill me."
"All is not lost. You-"
"You came here to protect the Hosts?" she asked, cutting me off. "If you do not comply, I will destroy them. Kill me."
"Is there any way to convince you otherwise?" I asked, just shy of begging. "You could-"
The floor shook as the flesh covering everything flexed, straining against the walls, stressing the structure. She repeated "If you do not comply, I will destroy them. Kill me."
I stared at Noelle, and couldn't help but feel that, even after all of this, I'd lost. She started to flex the walls again, and I could feel the rocks starting to crack all around me.
I moved forward, head pounding, falling down on Noelle, my true body nowhere close to her replicating touch as my tendrils ripped into her more and more, shredding her as she didn't make a sound, until the light of her power died.
Some time later, I wasn't sure how long, I jerked awake, ensconced deep within a nest of branches I only half-remembered creating, the last parts of the fight like a particularly vivid dream. Opening it up, I pulled myself out, floating upwards as I blinked, only to find that I couldn't.
Moving to run my hand across my face, I felt the cool touch of metal, looking down to see my left hand gone, shifting metallic tendrils once again serving as a prosthetic. Looking down, I was a mess.
My costume was in tatters, to the point that I was indecent, gouges torn out of my flesh, filled with golden metal. My right leg was gone from my thigh-down, a metal limb in it's place. My other hand was intact, so I used that to run over my face, only to find thin depressions in my cheeks, the remains of Quinn's eye-piece still attached to my ear.
Reforming my costume, I put it away in a pocket. Dropping to the ground, the floor a thick layer of dust and grime, I grew a silver tablet to use as a mirror. Staring at it, it was opaque, not reflecting at all. Calling a bit of Light to my hand, nothing happened.
No, I had the Light, it was in my hand, but, as I looked around, it didn't seem to be illuminating anything, the metal still opaque. Firing off a small blast, it hit and exploded, and I could see the detonation with exacting detail, but it provided no illumination, and no shadows were cast.
Hesitantly I ran my hand up my face, my fingers curling in on the empty sockets where my eyes should be, and I could see through my digits, to the flesh, and bone, and metal tendrils running through it all.
So. . . yeah.
Concentrating, the word slipped for a moment into a giant network of glowing lines before snapping back, and I staggered, feeling queasy. Growing my costume out, it grew up and covered my eyes, rendering me blind for a moment before I could see through it without issue. There was still no shadows, nor could I see my own reflection, but as I ran my hand over my face, it covered the lack of eyes.
Mentally focusing on my face, I tried to center my Peak Condition there. I wasn't sure if it worked, but, completely covered as the rest of me was by my costume, I could pretend to be whole. Extending a mask from my costume, I fitted it over the bottom of my face in a fake breathing mask, hiding more of the injuries. Hopefully that'd heal before I had to face Amelia. Gut wounds happened, but facial wounds meant I got very close to death, my brain the only thing she couldn't put back together.
Looking around, the extended armor I'd grown at the end extended down the cavern, the giant, snake-like formation of metal-clad wooden tendrils massive, easily over a hundred feet long, but easily fitting in the frankly enormous cavern. Something else caught my attention, a structure sticking out of the dust-pile that was once Echidna.
Flying over to it, I cleared the gritty substance away with Aerokinesis, revealing a large, broken tube, easily over three feet long. Coming close, I was glad that whatever let me see included color, or else this would be a lot more difficult. Running my real hand over it, the steel was what it looked like, but the odd white substance felt like glass, opaque to my vision. Examining it, there was blue writing on what looked like a control panel, with a single word.
Blasto
I stared at it, trying to remember where I'd heard the name. Whatever it meant, though, I knew one thing for certain: this hadn't been Echidna.
"Fuuuck," I swore, sitting back onto a seat of hardened air.
"LEE!" Taylor's voice screamed in my year, and I yelped in response, falling off my chair and into a pile of not-Echidna dust.
"What?" I replied, coughing. "What's wrong?"
"Are you okay?" she demanded. I hesitated.
"How hurt are you?" Amelia's voice demanded.
I shrugged automatically. "I've been worse."
"That doesn't mean anything," the healer pointed out crossly.
"Nothing that requires immediate treatment," I hedged. "Found the source, also killed the shit out of. . . everything. Tell me, does the word 'Blasto' mean anything to you?"
"The clone Tinka'?" A voice that took me a moment to place asked. "You sayin' those were clones?"
"Um, yes, but not in that way," I told Sherrel. "Found one of his tubes, but not big enough to hold a person. Um. . ." I trailed off trying to figure out how to put this. "So, we've received warning of an S-class threat that's been hiding in this area. It looks like he got a sample of her from Coil, and tried to clone her, and something went wrong."
Quinn pointed out, "I thought you said something like this wasn't that man's style?"
"Doing it on purpose isn't. Messing with things that he shouldn't, trusting in his power to make sure it doesn't blow back on him?" I asked in return, feeling more sure of my assumptions as I said them out loud. "Absolutely."
As I flew upwards, leaving all this behind, I could feel my own power keeping the chamber in-tact. Mineral Manipulation wasn't straining, but it was still hard at work. I wanted to let it go, let it bury all this bullshit, but I needed to make sure.
I ascended, the walls covered in spiderwebbed cracks, the flesh that'd anchored itself all around having turned to dust, just like any flesh cut away from Echidna did. For better or for worse, the bodies of the monsters I'd killed were all gone as well, drifts of dust and damaged concrete the only evidence of the hellscape I'd entered, and left in my wake.
Leaving was much faster than entering, and I had to laugh at how easy it was. I'd fought down each floor, slaughtering my foes for every inch, and now I was slowly lifting up without an issue. Hitting the end of the broken floors, I turned to Shadow, easily lifting up through the ceiling, once twice, three times.
Where the light blue feet-deep piles of spores once rested, now only an inches-deep layer of dust remained. "Spores are gone, thank Christ. Letting the damn thing collapse now."
Letting go, I could feel the ground shake as tons of stone came crashing down, setting off a small earthquake. Amusingly, the floor I was on remained intact, though I could feel the lower levels fall away into the gaping pit that was left. Floating to the entrance, I checked on the steel walls I'd left to hold the door.
They'd almost broken through. The solid steel had been gouged, melted, and eaten away with acid, but it'd held. I smiled, wishing I could've seen their response if they'd broke through, only to face the wall of sun on the other side. My smile, dimmed. Then again, with the Fire Wraiths, they could've gotten through that fairly easily, maybe even used the sun wall to get through the others faster.
Creating my own star, I burned through the center of the metal, allowing myself to walk out, the wall-to-wall plasma construct sitting on the other side, untouched. Happy that it'd stayed in place, I nodded to myself and dismissed it, revealing three figures on the other side.
We all froze, as Legend held his hands up, ready to fire; Eidolon stood to the side, a deep orange glow around his head; and Alexandria, costume smudged, stared directly at me. Looking past them it looked like they'd torn through every single one of my other walls. The ones that made Cheyenne Mountain's blast doors look like a mesh screen.
"Vejovis?" Alexandria asked, tone cold and commanding.
I sighed. I'd been trying to dodge these people ever since I woke up, and now they were here. Apparently the PRT eventually got off their ass, long after they were needed. "Hi Alexandria. Legend. Eidolon. I've just had a really shit day. Can we not do this right now?"
