Heh. She attempts to keep this a secret from you, even now. Despite telling you so much already, Histoire... does not seem to want you to know this. Listen, child, and let me tell you what it is she guards.

-A§"o!§e


IF ran after the Metal Dogoo with considerable speed, gaining on her target without trouble. Then it suddenly rounded another corner she had not even noticed; the young woman followed immediately.

Had her sense of orientation been better than average, or her attention not been focussed on a monster to kill, she might have realised that she never saw this particular path before. That every single agent had missed it on the way through this layer of the castle.

She continued her pursuit through the nightly corridors, barely able to make out the scared Dogoo but still keeping up with it.

That was, until a shard of glass impaled the creature at its very centre, splattering corrosive slime over the ground before it evaporated into silvery fragments. Only the glass remained.

IF came to a quick stop and attempted to find her potential new opponent, believing herself capable of taking anything in this area. Her misplaced confidence remained in place even when she saw the creature, completely unknown to all humans.

It was a golem, made not of crystals but rainbow-coloured glass. Similar entities had been observed in cave systems before, but no monster ever displayed such a colouration; the golem stood out crassly among the serene moonlight the walls emanated, being a source of colourful light amidst eternal night.

The golem stood two metres tall, its bulk making it appear considerably more massive than IF herself; the young fool remained cautious, observing this unknown as it observed her in turn. Though she was confident, her nearly fatal encounter with the Clione had remained in IF's mind; it would never leave, making her unwilling to ever give a foe another chance to catch her off-guard.

Silence descended on the hallway as both sides stared each other down, one a woman who would never break, the other a construct made to last for eternities.

Seconds passed before the golem moved, lowering its arm that had still been raised toward where the Metal Dogoo died. It breathed a ringing sigh which made the glass forming its body swirl the slightest bit.

"A human... it has been a while since I had sapient visitors."

Its voice was high, artificially so, and appeared somewhat uncanny coming from the figure of an imposing golem. Each word sent the colours in its body swirling, drawing a surprised twitch out of IF. The golem bowed its head lightly, then gently treaded toward the elongated glass shard on the ground.

Under IF's watchful eyes, it reached out with one arm and covered the shard; the glass swirled before turning liquid, then it was absorbed by the construct.

The young Maker knew that this was either the first case of a monster capable of speech in history, or something else. She waited, unwittingly relaxing as nothing bad continued to happen; a pair of glowing green shards formed in the golem's head, reminiscent of eyes, as it turned back to look at her.

Then the construct bowed at the hip, the very picture of politeness despite its atypical body, and addressed her in its unnatural voice: "My apologies. I am the guardian of Lady Histoire's inner sanctum, crafted by the Tome herself"

Moments passed as IF's mind began to work through the golem's statement, attempting to find any indication whether it was true or not. Why would Histoire need to create a creature such as this, and why in this particular place, she wondered. Then, when no answer was forthcoming, the young human asked her question out loud.

The guardian's glassy surface began to wobble and it emitted a series of clinks, its alien attempt at laughter. "What rests here," it explained after reining in its mirth, "shall not be known to man or god. Its greatest protection is obscurity. With you already here and past the wards however, I may as well show you."

The golem made to move, but IF stopped it with a motion of her hand; she remained wary, unknowing whether she could trust it. "Why are you so helpful if this place is supposed to be off-limits? Histoire wouldn't have her security be that lax."

Another clinking laugh followed while the guardian bobbed its head up and down in a poorly imitated nod. "Indeed, but she does not need to know, no? It can be our little secret. Besides, the corridor you went down to get here actually has a Sharicite-barrier that stops people from noticing it; you went past that anyway, so let us call it a reward for finding this place?"

When the young human remained in place, she received a slight headtilt in response. "Such is the trouble of creating an intelligent guardian, Isabelle. I have my own free will, and I so rarely get visitors."

This however, the creature's direct access to the Tome's records even without her supervision, managed to convince IF. Wrongly assuming that no monster could know her name like this, she found it as proof of Histoire's influence. Though the application of Sharicite did surprise her a little. "Can you really do that kind of thing with Share Energy?"

She received another overly exaggerated nod and followed the guardian upon being beckoned again. "Indeed you can. With the creator goddess Silver Heart gone, her child Histoire remains the most talented Sharicite engineer in existence. She may have even surpassed her mother in the tens of thousands of years since."

IF listened quietly, eyes a little wide as she considered the possibilities. There was so much to find here. So much to potentially learn. "So, did she, uh, Silver Heart I mean, did she make this castle?"

"Just so. There are basically no limits to Sharicite but your own mind, at least for CPUs." They began to wander down the corridor with several metres between them, but the guardian did not appear bothered by IF's wariness. It merely turned its head so what passed for eyes were directed at the visitor; this creature did not require eyes to see, although the notion meant to calm IF only alienated her more.

Her feelings were put aside when the golem continued, though: "Have you never wondered why your companion, Broccoli is what you call her, does not age?"

"Uh, I did, but I can't think of any- oh. Share Energy?" IF received a bobbing nod which only made her grow more confused. "But how? Broccoli is no CPU."

"She is not, but one needs not be to handle Sharicite. Magic can act as a substitute." Warnings from her divine friends immediately flashed back into IF's concious memory while the guardian continued: "She wished upon a small piece of Sharicite, a family heirloom. The colossal amount of spellpower she was born with allowed her to do it, though even such might can not withstand that which is made from hopes and dreams. The Sharicite sucked every last bit of power out of her and kept going; she only survived because she is that far outstanding."

IF listened with rapt attention; she knew it was not right to learn more about others like this, but this creature was to sate her curiousity. As all humans do, she disregarded what was right in favour of her own desires and did not interrupt.

"Moreover," the guardian continued, "the side-effect of this entire matter is that her body ceased to be human, in a way. Or became more, even I can not say for sure. It remains in its current shape and she has become immortal.

That was news to her; she did not even know whether her fellow Maker was aware of this. "Broccoli is immortal?"

The guardian made an indiscernible motion with its arm, this time failing to imitate human customs entirely. "In a manner of speaking. She can still be killed, but her body will never age or waste away on its own. However, her life is also linked to the little creature her wish for a friend created; if this one were to die, so will she and vice versa. Their emotional link is also quite interesting."

IF blinked and became rather grateful that the golem stopped talking at this point; she had wanted to learn more about Broccoli's condition, but it had quickly become a little too private for her liking. She would also need a while to stomach all of this; it sounded somewhat saddening to her, who rather lived in a short blaze of glory than remained forever.

Moments passed in silence as they rounded a corner and went through the very first actual gate IF had seen in this entire structure. Behind it lay a circular room with a single pedestal in its center.

The guardian motioned for this very pedestal with what may be reverence. "This is where the third Tome rests in-between cycles. Without any CPUs, she often lies here and dreams, reliving better times."

This, IF knew, contradicted words which had been spoken to her before. Histoire was always working, or so she thought, unaware of the melancholy that came with such age. Even a personified book was not immune to such feelings, and neither were the gods.

The human took a closer look at the pedestal, but found it in the same moonlit colour as everything else, barely standing out in an otherwise empty room. There was nothing in here either, her mind almost tricking itself into believing she had stepped away from Gamindustri entirely.

In order to distract herself from such thoughts, she turned back to the guardian with a question in mind. "So what exactly are you guarding here? Histoire doesn't really need the protection, does she?" And she had not been told of anything else in this place that required a guardian so far.

The golem, in turn, tilted its head and motioned her forward, to a second pathway one could only see once one stepped past the pedestal. IF blinked at it and then followed the construct again, her curiousity overwhelming her distrust of the situation. She no longer saw any reason to be wary, which to most meant that there was none. A common error.

As they walked however, IF's mind produced another question. Something she felt might be connected to this whole matter. "How do the silver wings play into this?" she asked the guardian.

Its response was both benign and curious: "Are you asking because of Tari's Blue Heart?" Though it was correct, or perhaps because it knew it was, the golem did not wait for an answer as it answered the question. "Either way, the silver wings are a relic of the forgotten past, as is your own Awakening... and what lies at the end of this path."

This, she did not know. Her Awakening had always been hers, to the point she never questioned it even after learning of the silver wings. IF faintly wondered what else she had taken for granted but which was not.

Noticing her confusion, the guardian chuckled again in its alien manner. "You have to understand, back in the forgotten past, Silver Heart possessed the power to reshape reality. The same as every other CPU of her time, and the collective of humanity as well."

"What?"

It was all IF could say, her mortal mind reaching the limits of its ability to accept the fantastical. The guardian, well aware of this, continued without a care.

"Be aware that there is a fundamental difference. Every deity could bend reality to her will in a certain manner, but humanity as a whole could do the same. Not single people, but everyone. Any believe held by the majority of all humans became reality. Such as the CPUs, who came into being when the concept of religion first took hold among the hearts of men."

The guardian actually interrupted its walk to turn back properly, its blank expression unreadable to IF. "However, you have to understand that times were different back then. The gods were leaders in name only, but truly slaves to their peoples' whims. A fall from grace was a death sentence, CPUs had to go to war against each other at the will of their subjects."

Its words had sent IF's fragile mind reeling, the pure contradiction between ancient knowledge and current affairs strengthening her disbelieve; were it not for the situation, she would have openly called the guardian a liar. Perhaps it was but the shock that prevented her from speaking up at all.

What it said next, however, was something she readily believed: "And with so much strive and general negativity around the world, some ultimately came to believe in another deity, one whose purpose was the exact opposite of the CPUs. One who grew on the peoples' failings and who would bring ruin to Gamindustri."

IF understood it instantly, for humans would instinctively know their collective end. "The Deity of Sin."

"Correct. Born out of anguish and fear, with the sole purpose to destroy." It knew little of the thoughts that Oblivion incarnate entertained, and thus refrained from speculating on them. "Many CPUs died when She first emerged, entire nations were wiped off the face of the world. But the gods held back their malevolent kin, and some survived the battle. Silver Heart was among them. The people celebrated their saviours.

"Except that they all missed how bitter Silver Heart had gotten from being a toy to their whims, or the true enormity of what they brought upon themselves."

They began to walk again by that point, almost unnoticed by IF who still attempted to refuse the old truth. She grasped for that which she knew, keeping up conversation for the sake of her own sanity: "You mean that She revives every few thousand years?"

A clinking laugh answered her, the guardian rightfully amused of the matter being brought up. "Quite. No one however, not even Her own creators, realised that recalling her is as simple as raising a child under her name." Its tone of voice turned solemn. "For whenever there is one who truly thinks of themselves as Arfoire, their immortal soul will become a seed to Her."

Arfoire's dreaming gaze was drawn by the mention of her name, just as any time it were spoken before. This time however, IF did not merely feel a passing glance running over her mortal flesh; the Deity of Sin's attention remained, for she was nearing an old relic of the lost reality.

Shuddering, she forced herself to focus on the conversation in a futile attempt to power through the influence. "Then why would she-" "-kill the children named after her? She doesn't."

The golem's head tilted slightly, revealing yet another truth with the almost palpable cheer of one who had the answers to well-guarded secrets without understanding for the mayhem their truth could create. "Histoire does. In order to prevent another emergence before its time, she disposes of every child to be raised under Her name and has done so since time immemorial."

For indeed, the Tome's nefarious side had been hidden better than almost any other secret in the world and beyond. The lengths she would go to to prevent her ancient enemy from running amok were beyond anything humanity as a whole expected; even the gods remained unaware.

IF, who no longer truly worked through all the revelations, merely accepted it with a nod. She would need a long time to truly understand all she was told here.

A minute passed in silence, the young woman left alone in her thoughts as she was led through the seemingly endless corridor. Except that it ended, allowing the two of them to enter a circular room which oozed malevolence; the feeling was even greater than Arfoire's continued gaze, assaulting IF's mind and making her instincts scream to flee before the titans of old struck her down.

The room was as empty as everything else had been, though its walls were pitch black; a hungering void where no light fell yet everything remained visible to the naked eye. The sheer weight of its singular content shifted reality.

There, on a slightly elevated platform in the room's center, a sword was struck into the Sharicite. A simple blade, one-handed and made of blank steel.

Yet simply gazing at it sent IF's mind into turmoil, filling it with visions of a vast, grey desert; violet skies hung overhead and right ahead lay a pit of blackness, filled with countless eyes staring into her very soul.

Pain exploded within her skull and IF crouched with her hands pressed to her temples, groaning as the sudden throbbing nearly burst her head. The sight of what she had seen lasted longer, countless eyes staring at her even from within the darkness of her own eyelids.

"Ah, yes," a familiar voice drew her out of the spiral of madness, chasing away the eyes. "You should not look upon it directly. Even here, as secured as it is, the blade still recalls what it is" Cold, fingerless hands grasped for her face and turned it away, the exhaustive mental strain even preventing IF's instinctive fight or flight response from kicking in.

"Open your eyes."

She did, and found the guardian in front of her. It nodded again, the motion slightly less exaggerated this time. "Before you lies Gehaburn, the shard of extinction" it explained softly. The blade did not react to its name, lying quiet as it waited with unending patience; waited for one to draw it and end the lifes of gods.

"Silver Heart changed everything. She rewrote reality itself, taking especially the power to affect reality from humanity and her own kin alike; it is sealed within her masterwork, the Tome Histoire." IF nodded mutely, taking anything at all to fill the painful void left in her head. "Yet some parts of existence are too great to be removed entirely; fragments remain, such as the Awakening you carry, or the silver wings CPUs still grow in time. This blade is another such fragment, power born long before Arfoire herself but yet filled with her essence. It kills any and all that it strikes, men and god alike."

IF stared at the golem weakly, unable to hold back the one question on her mind: "H-How can s-something like this exist?"

Even though she had seen the fantastical, her mind remained mortal. Even with her peerless force of will, she nearly shattered under the realisation of her own insignificance in the machinations of ancient gods.

The guardian, however, gave her the only explanation it could give: "It does exist is all there is to it. No one is allowed to have it, be they human, god or monster. This is the Tome's refuge."

Their declaration fell on deaf ears as IF attempted to cope with what she learned, to hold her fragile mind and sanity in place. Before she had managed such however, something slithered over her forehead and a simple application of Share-given powers made her faint.

Never once having let go of her since turning her away from Gehaburn, the guardian had no trouble knocking her out. It held the unconcious human gently, looking down at her resting face with unseen sadness.

It quietly lamented the fact that their conversation had to end, but it knew its duty. Despite the lies and half-truths it gave in the beginning, this creature adored humans; it had been made to watch in solitude, yet it desired to interact with humans despite not understanding them, or how to properly converse with one. The curse of free will.

The guardian's arms liquified and flowed up Isabelle Fontaine's head, gently entering her ears to reach the brain without damaging her. The alterations to erase her memories of this place and what she heard were cumbersome, but not difficult.

It was more work than the guardian would have had knocking her out immediately and altering her memories, but it yearned for companionship too much to simply push her back out without at least attempting a conversation. Even though it did not know how to talk to humans, actually doing so was still bliss to the lonely creature.

Yet, it all had to end.

. .

. .

Once she killed the creature, IF nodded and turned around to finish her round... only to find the agents already up ahead. How weird, she did not expect them to move just yet.

The young Maker made her way through the various teams, exchanging nods and greetings with some as she passed. 5pb. and Broccoli both waited up ahead and greeted her curiously, with CC2 apparently having gone ahead to scout alongside the Leanboxians.

"Finally back, eh?" Lyrica offered with a grin, "you've been gone for hours."

"Come on, it wasn't that long." IF almost laughed and moved forward to join her colleagues, who put the matter aside. "Let's finish this."