CHAPTER X: RENOVATE
Demiurge hardly notices my presence because of how focused he is on his current writings until I'm in front of the table he's working on. His response is muted as he slowly closes the book he's writing in, places his pen on the table, and says in an amused tone, "You have much freedom for a prisoner. How did you find a way to escape?"
I show him my right palm and note his devious smile as the shadows dance enthusiastically across my hand. I try to ignore the emotions the shadows try to force into my mind as Demiurge says with amusement, "So you've decided to cooperate with them and learned some of their abilities. This is an outcome that, I can honestly say, I did not expect."
"I wasn't expecting it either but after enough exposure, I'm used to it... but things are different now... and I need your help," I say gravely as I let my arm fall to my side. Demiurge isn't surprised by my request and remains at the same level of amused, placing his right hand against his face as he says in a singsong voice, "And what can I possibly offer you now? Shalltear can provide you with everything that I could provide. It must be something even she cannot give you."
"You have a higher mastery over the Rework ritual then she does. I need you to-" I say evenly but before I can finish, Demiurge's mood shifts dramatically. His smile drops from his face and he suddenly sits up straighter, putting his hands on the table tensely before saying in a firm tone, "That ritual is irreversible. I will not perform that ritual on you."
I reach to my right and pull an item from a crimson box that appears, dropping it on the table with a loud thud. Demiurge's attention is immediately drawn to the medium-sized crystal glowing with white light on the table and looks between me and the crystal in mute shock. He reaches forward gingerly with his left hand to take the item but as soon as he touches it, he pulls his hand back and exhales in exhilaration. There's a small amount of sweat on his brow as he whispers, "How do you have this? The New World can't create data crystals and this isn't from the vault."
"The Emerald Tablet, after ripping the fragments it needed out of me, gave me something in return for my... services. Think of it as payment for what I need you to do," I state evenly but as soon as I mention the intention for the stone, he pulls his hand back to his side of the table. He wipes his face of sweat with a handkerchief and exhales before saying firmly, "No. I won't be bribed to do this... as highly tempting as this offer is. Although much time has passed, I still uphold my mission to keep you alive and performing this ritual will put you at great risk of death. "
"What do you want in return?" I ask him bluntly while trying my best not to let my impatience show. Demiurge sighs angrily or as close to angry as I've heard him be, his left hand adjusting his glasses before taking them off. Staring into those cyan gems brings back old memories as he states neutrally, "Death never held any fear for you, did it... and you seem to be set on this path with your typical level of stubbornness... so let's start from the beginning. How did you learn of the Rework ritual?"
"Lord Ainz brought it up while I was in training with the Pleiades. Aureole Omega told me the details," I reply quickly, Demiurge groaning in frustration at the mention of his lord and the shrine maiden. He looks indecisive for a moment, tapping the fingers of his left hand from pinky to index finger against the desk until he states tensely, "Clever of you... but I doubt either of them mentioned the many risks... so what have you learned of the ritual itself?"
"I was told that it alters everything about a being at once from race to attributes and depending on the caster, can bring a being to their full potential. I wasn't told of any risks," I reply neutrally as Demiurge listens intently, his mood grim as he places a hand on his chin in contemplation. He says sternly as he thinks, "I've served Lord Ainz for years and I'm not surprised by the lack of details. No one I've known, even someone as knowledgable as him, has been completely accurate at all times... and Aureole Omega may have access to the library but her specialization is tactics and group warfare, not advanced rituals... let me fill you in on the rest."
He flicks both of his hands outwards, flinging everything off the table in front of him. His right-hand reaches out to a nearby shelf, summoning a parchment scroll into his hand that he places in front of me. When he unfurls it, the scroll is blank but as soon as he taps his left finger against it, the scroll fills with simple writing that has several gaps in the sentences. Demiurge sighs and states tensely, "First, I need to know exactly what you want to do in writing. All you have to do is place your hand on the scroll and concentrate on your demands. The scroll will fill in the missing information or as close to it as possible."
My left-hand touches the scroll and in a few seconds, the parchment scroll is filled with the information he needs. I barely lift my hand off the scroll when Demiurge twirls it around and reads its contents with a focused gaze. The scroll flash burns, leaving a scorch mark on the table as I back away quickly. The table he's sitting at slides away fast enough to slam into a nearby bookshelf but the books that come loose return to their positions before they hit the ground. The data crystal I had offered him earlier is in his right hand and is quickly stashed away into a crimson box before his left-hand summons a magic circle beneath me, bathing me in crimson light. I make sure to remove my clothing before Demiurge explains over the growing noise, "The Rework ritual shows you every possible version of yourself. The one you choose to take within you will decide your future. You must choose carefully or you will become someone that you can't take back."
I nod my head as everything fades to familiar darkness.
The transition isn't like prior experiences because I'm fully conscious throughout. The blackness blots out Demiurge's study and my surroundings, the warmth of the room replaced with feelings of cold and numbness. I can't tell which direction is which anymore and can't tell if my eyes are open. I try to blink but can't feel if I'm blinking and I try to move my arms or legs but feel no feedback or resistance to tell me that they're moving. I can't tell if I'm standing up, lying down, or sitting down, my body numb and floating in a void.
"It's not too late to turn back. Come back to the light," my voice echoes in the darkness, my head turning towards the supposed direction of the sound but finding more blackness in reply. A mote of white light appears out of the murkiness, expanding rapidly into a humanoid form. My breath catches in my throat for a moment when I see the distorted reflection staring back at me, a warrior clad in pristine silver plate armour beckoning at me with their armoured hand. The figure tries to reach out to me but turns rapidly to the right as a crimson mote appears in the blackness, the mote expanding into a new figure that growls as soon as it arrives.
"We are a weapon. All we know is death and destruction. Give in to your nature," my voice hisses, the feral figures maw smiling at me with a maw that goes all the way to their ears. Rows of sharpened teeth coated in blood taunt me as they smile, the figure showing me that their arms end in grotesque, fleshy blades instead of hands. They wore nothing on their body and their flesh is so scarred and covered in blood and filth that it resembles pounded meat that leaked vital fluids with each movement they made. The figure couldn't stand still either, their body shifting positions as if unable to stay in place for long.
"We've done too much... far too much... we need to end it all... before we do worse," my voice intrudes, another mirror of myself crawling into view at my feet. This version looks similar to the man I once was and is covered in the sundered armour I wore in Irlo but the similarities end there. Several words and sentences are scrawled into their exposed flesh, each one either a prayer of protection or a prayer of penance. They look up at me with pained eyes flowing with tears but all I can feel for this figure is disgust at how pathetic they looked and acted.
"You have great power within you still. You can rule everything and everyone if you wanted to!" my voice intrudes from behind me, my vision rotating to a hooded figure in similar garb to Lord Ainz's. Around them hovers magical anomalies, motes of the many elements orbiting around them lazily. They tap the massive golden staff they have in their right hand against the blackness beneath them and in an instant, I recognize what this copy must have done to obtain the staff. The level of betrayal appalled me and I wanted nothing more then to tear this betrayer apart with my bare hands if needed.
More and more versions of myself keep appearing around me, each one showing a different path to take. They start to talk over each other in their desperate attempts to convince me that their path is the right one and that the others are flawed and wrong. The noise of their arguments becomes deafening, the crowd slowly surrounding me and reaching out to touch me. Where they touch, the scales become corrupted into their version of right and cause me immense physical and mental pain with each change they force on me. They start to grab at me, digging their fingers into my flesh as they shout at each other and me to choose a path.
I start to laugh despite the pain, the sound echoing in the darkness and cutting through the crowd's voices. They start to back away and I look among the many versions of myself, each one showing apprehension and slight unease. I state proudly as they form a circle around me, "I have something you all lack and that something is why none of you is the right path for me."
With a feral roar, I let the change come over me violently, growing in size and strength in a painfully short amount of time. I smash my enlarged head into the crowd in front of me, hardened scales crushing them into a fleshy paste. I roar into the darkness as I spin my new body in a circle, leathery wings outstretched to slash and tear at everything nearby. Those not fast enough or unwilling to move are cut cleanly through by talons hardened by the earth and enchanted by the darkness. I have to blink rapidly to keep the ever-increasing amount of blood and viscera from blinding me even as I launch myself into a frenzy and charge at those left standing. Some of the copies try to resist me but the attacks that carve into my scales and flesh do little to slow me down. Even in my battle rage, I'm able to roar as I bludgeon and slash everything around me, "I have someone waiting for me! None of you understands that!"
Seeing that their attacks are ineffective or seeing their demise rapidly approaching, some of the copies try to reason with me and tell me that it isn't too late to turn back. All they do for themselves is give me easy targets to slice open or trample, one after another copy falling into the pile of dead flesh underfoot. The tide of imitations eventually bleeds dry and all that's left is the black void covered in blood and broken bodies. I look at the creatures wearing my face even as they start to fade away, the shadows around me hungrily claiming their fragmented essences for their own.
I feel myself drift forward against my will and turn without my control. A massive drake towers over me yet their gaze holds no anger or malice despite the deep wounds and blood on their scales. They have to turn their head to see me with their right eye and upon meeting their gaze, I can see that the drake is no beast at all. I slowly walk forward and place myself against them, feeling their powerful breathing and a sense of connection as soon as I touch them. They slowly lay down with a loud thud, saying with difficulty in my voice, "Will they... ever accept me?"
"No... but I'll accept you," I reply as I lower my mental defences and feel their terrible power break into my body and mind. Black sand and black stone fuse with my scales, the dark core within the drake filling my chest with pure, dangerous magic. The sound of a thunderous, ominous heartbeat fills my ears as my organs alter to contain such overwhelming darkness but I keep my breathing even as the magic does its work. I can't help but revel in the feeling of great strength filling my muscles to bursting, my third lung swelling and causing arcs of black lightning to dance across my arms and legs. The scales covering my skin retract, allowing me to see how pale I've become due to lack of sun exposure.
"We are one," I say with a growling voice as my body absorbs the darkness around me.
The darkness clears to reveal Demiurge's lab as he releases me from the spell, his sleeves rolled up to show his exposed skin covered in sweat. He breathes a sigh of deep exhaustion as says slowly between breaths, "It's... it's done... and I am not doing that again anytime soon... I haven't strained myself like that in a long time..."
"Blood healing," I reply evenly as my right hand extending towards him. Vital fluids leak out of my skin and flow through the air, splashing across his exposed skin to transfer some of my vitality. Demiurge looks at me with curiosity as he states, "That's a very niche, high tier support spell you just cast... I take it you found what you were looking for?"
"Yes, I did..." I state as I show him my right arm, the pale skin shifting so that the black scales can cover it. The scales are visible for a few seconds before shifting into black stone than a dark mist that slowly condenses back into pale flesh. Demiurge smiles widely and says enthusiastically, "So you refused the paths set for you and chose something new. I'm sure others won't approve but I'm proud that you're finally forging your path."
We both sense the gate opening nearby and with a knowing smile, Demiurge turns away from me and opens a gate of his own. I have enough time to summon my clothing and turn towards the new arrival before Shalltear stomps towards me and shouts, "Where have you been!? And a better question, how are you here!?"
"I needed something from Demiurge and just concluded our business. It won't happen again," I say as she takes my hand and pulls me towards the gate she entered through. Despite the disapproval on her face, her hand holds mine with a tender touch and her pace towards the gate is slow and thoughtful. She tells me with slowly diminishing frustration, "We're going home. Try not to escape again."
"Of course, dear," I reply as she pulls me through the gate.
