Thirty-Eight || Atenacius
Doll Master reasoned that Atenacius' primary concern was killing Valen – that the whole spell the Book was presently casting had been aimed for such a purpose – and therefore Maya was the least likely to attract his full, murderous attention. Therefore, she should be the first to return to Atenacius; he was far less likely to hurt her, and her presence might constitute enough of a distraction to allow Rue and Doll Master at least a few moments to canvass for the Book itself.
"Why would he do such a thing?" Maya asked. "According to you, Valen died hundreds of years before Atenacius."
"Because Atenacius was jealous, mad, and paranoid," Doll Master said. "Although, as should be plain, he had every reason to be."
"There is no other way?"
"Afraid to lose your crutch, Princess?"
Maya flushed, but did her best to ignore the jab. "The Book of Cosmos is part of the very foundation of East Heaven Kingdom. It's not a vital aspect of our power – the Kingdom's as a whole, that is – but it is a powerful symbol. Nobody will be much pleased to find it's been destroyed."
"And they will be far less pleased to find their crown princess trapped within the boundaries of its spell. I assure, my dear, there is only one thing we can do now."
Maya almost moved to speak, caught herself, and exhaled.
"Allow me to express my displeasure with the situation once more," she said.
"Granted," he replied. "And having done so..."
She nodded, and started down the path, approaching the descending end carefully. The ascending side crumbled behind her and re-formed under her feet, and, thus assured, she moved first into a walk, and then into a jog. The pathway receded from the hanging platform.
Doll Master allowed a few moments of movement before he looked over to Rue. "You've been quiet," he said. "You seem a bit... pale."
"I'm not surprised."
"Are you well?"
Rue shrugged.
"That's not an answer," Doll Master said.
"I don't know," Rue said. "I can't... process anything right now. It's just..."
"You've never had the burden of memory. It must be difficult to accept."
"Surreal," Rue finished, and laughed humorlessly. "We're in the middle of space, preparing to murder a sorcerer who's been dead for seven hundred years, and the man who killed Claire tells me he's my brother and, incidentally, we're both dolls made by another, equally dead sorcerer. You'll forgive me for not being certain I'm actually awake right now."
"You're forgiven."
They waited. Maya continued her descent, a little slower now; she was just about at the edge of where Atenacius had been attacking them, and her movement suggested that she was – quite understandably – growing nervous. Much to her credit, she did not falter.
"I have a question," Rue said.
"Just the one?" Doll Master asked.
"What's all this for?"
Doll Master blinked and looked at him curiously. "How do you mean?"
"I mean..." Rue faltered slightly, searching for the best way to proceed. "It sounds like Valen went to... rather extreme lengths... to put this in motion. You said we... our purpose is to resurrect Valen."
"Yes."
"To what end?"
Doll Master did not respond immediately. Rue waited, afforded him several seconds, but when Doll Master failed to respond at all, Rue gave him a sideways glance.
"You can't tell me that was it," Rue said. "That he went to such lengths just so he could be brought back to life later on."
"That was... part of it. Valen's ambition cultivated many enemies. Other Aeons were fomenting plans to see him dead. He took measures to frustrate their efforts and sidestep the conflict."
"Sidestep."
"That's why we awakened after a thousand years. Aeons lived for a very long time – hundreds of years – but they weren't immortal. He assumed that a thousand years later all of his then-current enemies would be long dead. Even if the legacy of Aeon magic survived all that time, there would be nobody left who actually remember him. They wouldn't act quickly, if it at all. By the time they would recognize what a threat he is, it would be far too late to stop him."
Rue mulled over that sentence.
"Stop him from what?"
Doll Master said nothing.
"Doll Master–"
"He's heading for Maya," Doll Master said abruptly, cutting Rue off. "I think we should concentrate on the task at hand."
Rue looked down.
Maya had come to a stop. In front of her was the rippling, starlit form of Atenacius. Doll Master moved to the other side of the platform, the direction Atenacius was not looking in, and concentrated. The air changed.
"Land down below and search for the Book," Doll Master said. "Best get started."
Rue nodded, made his way to the opposite edge of the platform, and jumped.
The wind caught him and brought him downward in a fairly gentle arc, although he still had to be careful how he landed. He hit the ground and rolled into it, absorbing the shock, and easily jumped back to his feet at the end. He turned and looked up to the fragment of walkway above him, where Maya yet stood confronting Atenacius. When he was sure he was safe, he started along the platform, searching for any sign of where the Book itself might be. Several seconds behind him, Doll Mater landed and severed the magic he had been commanded, and started off in the other direction.
Maya would buy them time, but not much of it; if she'd been able to carry out a conversation with Atenacius, she might have been more effective, but as it was all she could do was hold her attention as best she could through whatever means she had. They had to work quickly, then, canvassing the platform's broad surface before Atenacius looked down.
So Rue was pleasantly surprised when he found the surface irregularity not ten seconds after landing.
The platform, being made in the image of the Book, had a defined set of elaborate patterns that left minor bumps and ripples on its surface. From above these had taken the form of fine lines, easily visible from overhead; all of the patterning on the surface had been like that, raised veins on the surface of the platform. What Rue had found – nearly tripped over, actually – was something unlike the rest of the patterning, a small rectangle raised slightly from the leathery surface.
And hidden under it.
The instant he was sure of what he was seeing, he pulled the Arc Edge from his back and brought the blade down on the protrusion, leaving a tear in the platform topology but not quite breaking through. He tried again, hacking open a larger hole; on the third swing, he felt the leathery surface give way. The edge of the blade nipped the thing beneath the surface.
It screamed.
Rue threw himself backward just before a blaze of pale light erupted from the opening and sent a spear of hot energy lancing up and out into the stars. Rue shielded his eyes from the light, squinting against it and through it to try and see what it was originating from, but for several seconds it continued to roar and flare. The finally – abruptly – it stopped, as though somebody had simply snipped the end of it and cut the energy.
Rue had about two seconds for his eyes to adjust before Atenacius slammed into him.
He hit the ground hard and was suddenly pinned there, and before he could do anything else Atenacius struck again, a funnel of paper and ink crashing just below Rue's breastbone and forcing the wind from his lungs. He tried to draw breath, but Atenacius' magic had him caught, winding tight around his upper body until he was coiled in paper and light, his arms pinned to his sides and his bindings so tight he could barely breathe.
"You need to manipulate the princess?" Atenacius snarled. "You can't fight me on your own!"
Rue tried to respond, but he didn't have the wind for it. His protest was little more than a pained wheeze.
"Ah, and now I'm not worth speaking to!" the Aeon shrieked. "You came all this way to kill me, why don't we talk!"
He paused, giving Rue an agonizing moment where he was clearly expected to respond. Of course he couldn't – he could barely draw breath – and Atenacius rounded on him immediately.
"I know you aimed to kill me," Atenacius said, his voice dropping dangerous low. "What did you tell the girl to make her help you? Lies, threats? Promises?"
The pressure eased slightly. Rue inhaled, coughed, tried again to speak.
"Where is she?" he asked. He swallowed, drew a deep breath, and raised his voice. "You didn't hurt her."
"As though you're concerned," Atenacius growled.
"I– am," he breathed. "You didn't–"
Something cut through the air, long and thin and sparking with lightning, and crashed into Atenacius' back. The impact caught him completely off guard, and with a cry of surprise Atenacius was thrown forward, his grip disintegrating. Rue rolled to the side as Atenacius hit the platform. The Aeon disappeared on impact, dissolving into a storm of light.
Rue scrambled to his feet and felt something shift behind him. He turned.
Atenacius again. Re-forming, drawing up around him paper and dragging down stars and weaving bands of light. His form was amorphous at first, but rapidly coalesced into the creature he had seen before. Rue stepped back, drawing the Arc Edge up defensively, his eyes flitting rapidly across Atenacius' returning form.
But Atenacius, this time, was not looking at him. He had turned around even as his ephemeral body reconstituted itself, and was glaring off in the opposite direction.
"Impossible," he growled.
To which Doll Master responded by hurtling himself right into Atenacius' chest.
Rue threw himself to the side as Atenacius and Doll Master crashed just in front of where he had been. Atenacius was apparently stunned; he lay on the ground, speechless and unmoving, even as Doll Master leapt back to his feet and pulled away. Doll Master lowered his arm and summoned his weapon, and the slick black tendrils of magic twisted down the length of his arm and into his hand, extending and sharpening into a blade.
"Rue," he said, "get the Book."
Rue jolted suddenly, shook off his surprise, and turned. The seam he had torn into the platform was still there, and though the light was not nearly so intense it was still gleaming against the darkness, the tear exhaling bits of shredded paper.
Right where Atenacius had re-formed.
Of course.
He sprinted the short distance to where the Book was waiting and swung his blade in a upward arc, not striking the book but striking the tear on the side. He tore the hole further open, allowing more of its gleam to escape.
"Would you kindly just hit it!" Doll Master shouted.
The answer was no. Rue reached down and with his free hand grasped the edge of the Book, pulling it free from its hiding spot and dragging it out in his hand, trailing thick lines of congealing ink behind him. His forehead hurt– less, thankfully, than it had when he had actually concentrated on fighting it, but it was a clear sign that the Book itself was anathema to him. Or he was anathema to it.
"Get off of me!" Atenacius shrieked. He whipped his hand up and struck Doll Master against his ribs. Doll Master managed just a moment too late to bring his blade around, striking against and through Atenacius arm. Ragged bits of paper and spots of ink flew into the air as Atenacius' hand fell to the ground, unraveling immediately into worn, yellowed pages. Doll Master staggered to the side, clutching at his side; streaks of red emerged from between his fingers.
Atenacius shook off his arm, and the paper stump was suddenly consumed by ribbons of light, twisting together and forming a new hand. He tested it once, then whipped his arm to the side and unleashed a crack of lightning at Doll Master.
Doll Master was hurting, but he was ready for it this time. He adjusted the sword and took the blast to its blade, dissipating most of the magic on impact. He turned to face Atenacius properly, removing his hand from his side. The wound was still bleeding, but it wasn't anything threatening.
Atenacius collapsed onto himself, briefly becoming a swirling mass of light and ink before suddenly re-emerging, standing fully upright, his starlight hand held forward and burning anew. He looked quickly to Doll Master, then quickly to Rue. His expression hardened.
"Impossible," he repeated. "Two of you..."
"Impossible is a word used by those who lack the talent," Doll Master snapped. He looked slightly over his shoulder, addressing Rue. "Destroy it!"
Rue shook his head. "Not until Maya's here," he said.
Doll Master stared at him, briefly flabbergasted. "Why– why?"
"I don't know what's going to happen when this breaks," Rue said. "I'd rather we all be in the same place, just in case."
Doll Master grimaced, frowned, but nodded. "Fine," he said sharply. "Go find her."
"What are you doing with my Book!" Atenacius howled. "Your hands are not fit to touch it!"
Atenacius suddenly moved, his torso stretching away from the rest of his body and shooting out across the open space. Rue wheeled and ran, but had only made it a few paces before the floor beneath his feet suddenly jolted. He mis-stepped, tripped, hit the ground, barely keeping his grip on both the Book and his blade. He looked over his shoulder and saw Atenacius' hands digging into the leathery surface of the platform, clawing at the platform and dragging it back toward him.
He had to do that because Doll Master had struck him around the center of his extended body, cleaving the sword through Atenacius' abdomen. The back of his body had already fizzled into light; the trunk of it was rapidly receding, sparking down to nothing as it consumed the rest of his form. He was desperately dragging Rue back to him.
"I don't know what– what perversion you've accomplished this time," Atenacius snarled, "but I won't allow this to continue. You've cheated death once, Artema, I won't allow this a second time!"
"You really don't recognize the hypocrisy of that, do you?" Doll Master asked.
Atenacius twisted and raked at the air behind him. Doll Master ducked to the side, sending Atenacius' razors of light out into the darkness. For a moment, Atenacius concentration left Rue, and Rue pulled himself back to his feet and started to run again, looking quickly to see where the spiral pathway was.
"Two of you," Atenacius repeated. "Impossible. Unless- gah. What are you?"
"That would be telling," Doll Master said mildly.
Rue spun and saw the pathway behind him, and saw further that it was much lower than he had expected it to be. After another moment, he recognized a figure there, Maya, still making her way ever-downward. He looked quickly over his shoulder, to Doll Master and the still-dissolving form of Atenacius, and quickly shrugged the Arc Edge back on his shoulders. Then, gripping the Book, he took off at a full run. When he felt he was close enough, he started calling up to her.
"Maya! Are you all right?"
She faltered in her run, looked around, looked down.
"Oh! Yes, yes, I'm fine."
"What did Atenacius do?"
"I was just trying to speak him," she said. "I don't know Aeonic, but maybe he's picked up English. Although that didn't seem to be the case. He seemed to think I was trying to say something, but, well... you caught his attention somehow."
He raised the Book. "I found this, is why."
Maya slowed down a little to get a better look at him. "Ah," she said. "I guess that would do it."
"Come on down," he said. "I'm not doing anything until I'm sure–"
The Book burned.
Rue cried out in pain and surprise and dropped it to the ground. As soon as it landed, the Book's cover tore open, revealing its interior pages. The Book was in bad shape; even other than being cut in half, the interior pages were torn and mangled, their words bleeding into each other, significant chunks of the pages themselves torn or fallen out. He stared for a moment, then pulled back as the words – such as they were – suddenly exploded into a burst of light, and once more Atenacius emerged in a swirl of energy.
"How did you not anticipate that?" he asked.
"Excellent question," Rue said.
Atenacius threw himself bodily at Rue. Rue jumped back and to the side, but Atenacius anticipated it and twisted in the air, bringing his hands forward and hurling a net of ink at him. Rue tried to pull jump out of the way, but it was too wide, and he didn't have nearly enough space for it. The net caught him and sent him collapsing to the ground, pinned down by thick cords of ink.
Atenacius hit the ground, collapsed, and then leapt upward, immediately reconstituting himself as he rose. He turned upon Rue and looked down at him.
"First you," he said, "then the other you. Are there any more I should be aware of? What have you even done, Valen?"
Rue shoved against the net, but it was weighted down against him too heavily; he could move it, but not nearly enough. "I told you," he said. "I– am not– Valen!"
"Close enough," Atenacius said.
A spear of light lanced down and struck him.
It wasn't enough to truly hurt him, but Atenacius went stumbling, and it gave Doll Master an opportunity to jump in. He reached the edge of the ink net and concentrated, severing the bindings that held the net together; within a few seconds, it collapsed into no more than ink. Rue shut his eyes to keep it from hitting them, and when he no longer felt the weight of the net at all he flipped over and stood up, wiping away what he could.
He didn't have much time, though. Atenacius had recovered, but his attention was no longer on them; it was far further up, focused on Maya.
"Princess," he snarled. "That was very, very foolish."
He sprang.
Rue lunged.
"Don't touch her!"
He yanked the Arc Edge free and lashed out, striking Atenacius against the back with the flat of the blade. The Aeon was thrown out of the air and hit the platform again, and Rue threw himself forward, over Atenacius' form. He landed on the opposite side and reached down, scooping up the remnants of the Book again. Then, realizing that was unnecessary, he threw it to the ground – far harder than necessary – and wheeled so he was standing just over it. He raised his blade.
Atenacius twisted and faced him. "Don't!" he shrieked. "Everything I am–"
"–is written in this book," Rue finished. "That's the point."
Atenacius screamed and pushed off the ground, but Doll Master leapt after him. His weapon split into three blades, forming a claw-like construct that he used to swipe down on Atenacius' back, striking the Aeon and slamming him into the ground. Atenacius writhed, trying to force himself free, but Doll Master pressed harder against him.
"I think we've had enough fun," Doll Master wheezed. "Finish it, Rue."
Rue raised the axe.
Hesitated.
Fell slightly.
He looked at Atenacius.
"I don't want to do this," he said. "Undo the spell. Send us back. We won't kill you– I won't destroy the Book. I just want to leave here."
"You're not reasoning with him," Doll Master murmured.
"Empty words," Atenacius growled. "You'll leave me and my Book, and then what? Erase it with everything else?"
Rue blinked. He lowered the Arc Edge a little more. "I... what?"
"You think I'd never figure it out? You always underestimated me. I heard your talk. I knew you. When you revealed that ghastly creation of yours, there was only-"
Doll Master contracted the blades, scraping into Atenacius' ephemeral body, leaving ragged holes behind. Atenacius' words were interrupted by a snarl of pain. "You always talked too much," Doll Master growled.
Rue looked up. "What's he...?"
"Break the book, brother. I can't hold him still forever."
"No," Atenacius said. "No you can't."
Atenacius collapsed. Doll Master fell forward, thrown off balance, and Atenacius formed up behind him, his silhouette reduced to the haze and color of a nebula cloud. Doll Master tried to turn, but he didn't have quite enough time; Atenacius threw himself completely against his back, his whole form suddenly ablaze with concentrated starlight. Even from where he was standing, Rue felt the intensity of the heat, and used the Arc Edge to try and block the worst of it. Doll Master cried out and slammed into the floor, his robes burnt and smoldering, and Atenacius raised his hand and caught a stream of light, dragging it down and forming behind him a pale white lance.
He took the lance in his hand and plunged it downward.
Rue moved – too slow, too late – but he had only barely stepped past the Book when a tongue of flame erupted from the side, cutting across Atenacius' face. He yelped, surprised, and his aim went wide; where he had been aiming for the heart, the lance tore into Doll Master's side. Doll Master howled and turned, trying to use his other hand to grab and dispel the lance, and after a bit of wild groping he finally managed to get a hold of it and disperse it. The wound was not nearly so bad as it might have been – certainly not fatal – but there was already a puddle of blood forming up beneath him.
Atenacius wheeled to face where the flame had come from and found Maya making her way toward him. She was pale and shaking and sweating and bore an expression of absolute terror, but she still had leapt free from the walkway and was trying very hard to pretend she knew what she was doing.
"I repeat," Atenacius said. "That was very foolish."
Atenacius reached up and dragged his hand through the air, the stars disappearing from behind it. Burning embers formed in his fist. He drew his hand back.
Doll Master looked up.
"I feel the need," he said thinly, "to impress upon you the importance of this task."
Atenacius hurled the light bombs at Maya.
Rue swung the axe down.
Everything erupted into white light.
. . .
Slowly, Rue's blindness faded. The white in his eyes fell away, and he blinked rapidly and looked around, trying to get his vision back a little faster.
He was...
...back in the room.
He blinked again, this time in confusion, and looked around. It was the same room they had left before, when the Book had exploded; a chair, a bed, a lantern, still casting a gentle, warm glow about the room.
His breathing was coming short and ragged; his head hurt, and he pressed his hands against his forehead, but there was no blood this time. The ache was deeper than that, anyway, and duller, and slowly receding. He closed his eyes.
Was that a dream, then?
He hoped it was.
He pressed his hand against his chest, as though trying to slow his heart, and immediately drew it away, his eyes snapping open. He spread his fingers and stared at the thin black liquid now coating them.
Ink.
He looked down and realized he was still partly soaked in it.
"Oh," he breathed. Then the realization hit him. "Oh! Maya!"
He nearly leapt over the furniture before another voice caught him, and he stopped.
"Your concern," Doll Master said, "is much appreciate." He chuckled, then suddenly stopped and inhaled sharply. Rue turned to see him splayed on the floor, still lying in a distressingly wide pool of crimson. Rue turned and knelt down.
"Geez, I'm sorry," he said. "Are you..."
"I'll be fine," he said. "Help me up. Sitting up," he added quickly. "I don't think standing will do me much good."
Rue did so, offering his arm so Doll Master could use him as a center of gravity. Doll Master pulled himself into a kneel, but went no further, falling backward until he was leaning against the wall. Blood still flowed from the hole in his chest.
"H-hold on," Rue said. "I'll go–"
"It's fine," Doll Master said. He reached up with his opposite hand and pressed it against the wound. "Give me a few minutes. I'll have it sealed."
Rue hesitated, but nodded. He replaced the Arc Edge on his back and turned.
"Off to find the Princess?" Doll Master asked.
Rue did not respond. He moved to the other side of the room, about where Maya had been standing when he had finally struck the Book, and sure enough she was there– prostrate on the ground, unconscious, little burn marks peppering her skin. Rue knelt down and made a cursory check for anything broken or out of place, and once he was mostly sure she was okay he lifted her and laid her out on the bed.
"How is she?" Doll Master said.
"Unconscious," Rue responded. "And hurt. But not too badly. Not as far as I can tell."
Doll Master closed his eyes. "Good."
A quiet pall fell over the room. Then, slowly, Rue turned to face Doll Master.
"What did he mean?" he asked quietly.
Doll Master opened one eye just enough to see. "I beg your pardon?"
"Atenacius," Rue said. "What was he talking about?"
"Quite a number of things. You'll have to be more specific."
"No, I don't."
Doll Master closed his eyes again and winced.
"Doll Master–"
"Ruecian."
Rue stopped. "Sorry?"
"I realize we were never properly introduced. I've always known you, of course, but you've... forgotten." He shifted slightly, sitting more upright against the wall. "My name is Ruecian Artema."
An odd ripple of familiarity ran down Rue's back. It chilled him.
"Ruecian," he corrected. "Tell me."
Doll Master nodded to himself. "Of course," he said. "I..." He pressed his hand against the wound again, harder this time, and winced. The flow of blood seemed to have stopped. He looked up, his expression still pained, and met Rue's gaze. "That was quite a lot of information to pass on, I didn't want to overload–"
"Please."
"You were... you were quite correct," he said. "This is certainly a lot of trouble to go through for mere resurrection. When Valen returns – when he has a body again – he is going to remake the world."
Rue's expression remained blank.
"The Dewprism can re-write... everything. Correct the mistakes of the past. Ensure a perfect future. He always believed– he believed that if this world was the result of random chance, it required order. If there was a god who built it all, they were a fool. The world is diseased. Such imperfection, such suffering. Under Valen's auspices, that would no longer be the case."
"Atenacius said–"
"There is such instability," Doll Master said, "that the slate must be wiped clean."
Rue was quiet.
"And where does that leave us?" he asked. "Or... anybody else?"
"Us?" Doll Master asked. "His children? We will be brought into the new world– rewarded, you and I, for our work in bringing him back. As for everybody else... he will keep what can be salvaged. But there is so much that cannot be salvaged." His eyes opened a little wider, exhausted but imploring. "I've no doubt Claire would be with you."
Rue stared at him for a few more seconds, then turned and picked up Maya.
"I'm taking Maya back to town," he said. "I need to get her some medical assistance. I don't think she's seriously hurt, but I don't want to take that chance."
"All right."
There was another moment of silence. Rue arranged Maya so he could carry her comfortably, both for himself and for her. When he was ready, he stepped toward the door. When he reached the threshold, he turned again.
"I'm not coming back."
It took Doll Master a few seconds to realize what he meant. He sighed. "Well," he said. "That's... disappointing." He pulled his hand away from the wound, revealing that the hole had finally sealed itself. He looked at his hand, still caked in blood, and did not look up again. "I suppose that isn't a precursor to wanting to rendezvous somewhere more auspicious."
"No."
"I see."
Rue stood there for a moment, trying to conceive of anything else to say, but nothing came to him. What else was there?
"What of Claire?" Doll Master asked quietly.
Rue hesitated. "I– I'll find a way."
"Without the Dewprism? That seems extraordinarily unlikely." He pulled himself to the side and slid over to the desk, using it as leverage to help him get back to his feet.
Rue said nothing else. He turned and stepped through the door.
"If you change your mind," Doll Master said, "come to the altar."
Rue stopped. A strange sense of frustration and anger hit him. "I'm not changing my mind," he said. He started walking again.
"It doesn't matter," Doll Master called after him. "It's your purpose. It's what you were made for. It's why we exist. You can't deny fate, Rue. You will come back. We will finish this."
This time, Rue did not stop, even as Doll Master continued to speak.
"And if we don't," Doll Master added, "then rest assured, I will."