[A'ctelios Salash
Gender: n/a
Age: 6.71232 Billion Years
Race: Dimensional Collapser
Faction: n/a
Origin: 4.33634, 2.35367, 4.99543, 9.73721
?
Debuffs:
Physical Deformity x4,343,606
Dreaming]
That... is not a good thing.
I don't know exactly what it is, but this whole situation definitely isn't a good one.
One thing I was sure of. Under no circumstances would I be using a mana-empowered Observe on something that's billions of years old. I'd probably be put into a coma from the 'brief summary' of such a thing's life.
Or Observe might break. Or just return '?'. Even if it did provide a 'normal' description, I didn't WANT to know more about... that thing.
Still, while as horrifyingly huge and ancient as A'ctelios Salash was... Optimize was older and bigger.
Probably.
It wasn't like I knew exact figures. I knew the Entities were ancient... were they BILLIONS of years old? Did time actually matter to a race that could freeze it? Or that could move between dimensions? I guessed if the Entities worried about things like the heat death of the universe, they had to also be billions of years old.
Of course, it wasn't like I was Optimize. For all my powers, I was still essentially its [Avatar]. I'd like to think Optimize was fond of me, if a Shard could be considered fond of its host. That still wouldn't matter if I picked a fight with... whatever this was. Optimize would let me die, and just store my memory within it. That was a silver lining.
...But that was only if I picked a fight with it and lost, and I wasn't fighting A'ctelios Salash was I? I was fighting its residents.
Probably.
I still didn't know the whole story, so I should perhaps not jump to any conclusions.
...I did start to think of options if it came to a fight.
Then again, giant tortoises lived a long time, and they weren't exactly apex predators. A'ctelios Salash couldn't be THAT strong if it had been defeated by people in the past. That meant it was weaker than the Grand Design. And I think the Grand Design and Optimize are of similar strengths?
"Sibby, circle around it. I want to land completely out of sight." Just to be safe.
'Sure thing! I'll begin to negate the glass thingy's momentum. Brace yourself!'
We'd already had slowed down some so as to not overshoot the Carven City. Sibby abruptly slowed our momentum and turned the plane while I put my foot against the dash. My stomach felt like it was doing flips as we banked to the side and slowed down dramatically.
We dipped low, and I lost sight of anything but sand as we approached the dunes. Then, we stopped and the plane became visible.
Instead of making my way through its confined interior. I Inventoried my glass construct and Sibby and I landed on the sand - one of us more gracefully than the other.
'I'm going to go on ahead and start investigating! It's been a while since I got to search for missing people and a huge city like that is bound to have interesting things!'
I nodded. "Don't eat the meat, and keep an eye out for Riley." Sibby tilted her head and gave me a questioning look. "No. I don't think they'd kidnap her if she's in this country, or continent, or world, but if there's one place she might decide to go visit..." I let out a sigh. "It's a city carved out of the still-living corpse of an ancient alien."
'Ooooo... good point!' Sibby nodded resolutely. 'All the more reason for me to be quick!' She vanished from view, and I felt her move away.
Huh. I'm better at telling distance instead of just direction now. I wonder if that's a new thing? Or if having our bond weakened made me more sensitive to certain details.
Regardless, it was time for me to choose my disguise.
Gandalf was out. This was no game, and I might need all of my abilities. Especially Observe. It had worked on A'ctelios Salash itself, so I would probably be able to glean some details from its residents even without spending any mana. That said, my current form looked too... healthy.
I liked to think that I wasn't vain. My body was just my character. It didn't affect things any more than a video game's sprite did. I wasn't stronger or weaker from gaining or losing muscle. All my strength came from my powers, not from biological manipulation.
There was no need for me to look like Bengal - my albino Zangief disguise - to be stronger. Similarly, I could dial things in the opposite direction.
Short. Skinny. Emaciated.
I had some clothes I'd picked up from the battlefield that were more or less intact, but clearly had seen better days. I un-Inventoried a silicone packet, and activated my character creator. I moved the bars around until I was a 90 pound weakling who'd looked like he'd spent a week in the desert.
Sunburnt skin. Gaunt face. Rags.
I couldn't give myself chapped lips, but otherwise I think it was perfect. I think I'll call this outfit... 'Milton'.
I staggered down the road. Nothing too exaggerated, I still had miles to go. It didn't take much skill to look bedraggled. The sun was searingly hot up above me and I was the only person on the road.
It took a while, but I finally came to A'ctelios Salash.
*Dread negated by Gamer's Mind.
Just looking at it was disturbing enough to trigger Gamer's Mind. If I hadn't known it was alive, I might've been convinced that the gigantic corpse was actually dead. The conflicting sensations rose up as the road circled around to come to its front - where the five eyes were.
They were circular and glowed with an inner light, but that was where their resemblance of human eyes ceased - not that anyone but Parahumans had glowing eyes. I'd personally seen Sibby make hers glow enough that it wasn't strange.
The light from A'ctelios Salash's eyes was different. It was faint, given the sunlight, but I could clearly tell that it was from fire deep within.
The rest of its ocular organs were twisted in bizarre ways. No cornea or pupil. The hole in the center was clearly an addition that bored through the complicated geometry of the rest of its eyes.
An unnatural addition to an unnatural thing. But... I was calm.
As I came into view, I saw a figure in the eye point at me. There was movement and arm waving, and soon a small crowd had gathered in the nearest cavity. They waved at me, and made beckoning gestures.
I looked up at them, and sunk to my knees. A weary traveler wouldn't be able to make the climb up the tentacles that kinda looked like a pathway. There was more movement up above, and then a solitary figure began to make his way down with surprising agility.
He stopped where the flesh met the sand and motioned towards me. "Come! This is A'ctelios Salash. Welcome, welcome to the Carven City! All are welcome here! Food, drink: all free!" He smiled widely, his brown eyes glinting with mirth.
**Athal is happy.
**Athal is eager.
He was tall, and dressed in a long leather coat with a hood that shielded him from the sun. Underneath, his flesh was pale, almost pure white. That wasn't the strangest thing about him. That would be his teeth. They were pointed. Not the long, canines of carnivores, but more like his human teeth had been filed to a point or shaped in some way to make tearing into flesh easier.
Just to be safe, I poured some mana into Observe and ignored the pain.
[Athal Yeothrix
Fleshchosen 9
Miner 5
Hauler 3
Leader 6
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Race: Human - corrupted
Faction: A'ctelios Salash
Origin: The Grand Design of Isthekenous/A'ctelios Salash.
The son of Baosar Yeothrix - the ruler of A'ctelios Salash.
Has lived inside all his life, and has never set foot off of A'ctelios Salash's body. He loves his city, even if he dislikes working in the mines below. He, like every resident, has spent time there - carving out sections of the flesh and bone for various uses.
His main responsibility now is to greet visitors and increase the number of Fleshchosen, Pakeil, and other inhabitants of the city.
Debuffs:
Hunger
Fleshwarped]
What the hell was a 'Pakeil'?
I took his hand with a grateful smile. "Thank you."
He pulled me up and onto the tentacle, which felt as hard as rock under my feet. "You look weary, my friend. Those who visit us rarely arrive during the day when the sun shines so brightly. Come, let us go inside where it is cool and not as bright."
"I-" I stumbled and Athal caught me with ease. Just like I thought, stronger than he looks.
"Easy, easy. Give me your arm. I will help you make the ascent."
I nodded with fake gratitude as I put my arm over his shoulder. "I appreciate it. I found the road, but I wasn't sure if I was seeing things when I saw this..."
Athal laughed. "As I said, it is A'ctelios Salash. A city and a kingdom both!" He put his arm around my waist and easily supported my weight as we started to climb up the slope. "I've been told that the roads to A'ctelios Salash are still some of the few that remain in such good condition across Chandrar."
"Really?" I glanced up at him.
"Yes." He nodded. "It is said back in the time of Nerrhavia, may she never return, that the [Tyrant] build roads across the continent. After her fall, most were torn up and used for other purposes, but the ones around our home remain almost as pristine as A'ctelios Salash itself!"
"Why is that?"
"Because we have no need for stone, and it is much better to have pathways through the desert, yes?" He laughed as he took great strides upwards. "We are mighty, but we still desire things from the outside."
"Like what?"
"Oh, all sorts of things. Recently scrying orbs have been popular. There are these world-wide broadcasts, and it is rumored that Wistram will be making them with much more frequency soon. We also need medicine."
"Medicine?" I glanced at him and how easily he was making the ascent. "You seem healthy and fit to me."
"Ah." He smiled. "It is true that those of A'ctelios Salash do not need healing potions, but we do use herbs and tonics to prevent disease. In an enclosed space, such things can spread quickly."
**Athal is slightly afraid.
**Athal is slightly guilty.
My notifications told me that he was lying. Or at least not telling the whole truth.
"Oh?"
"Yes. We are a trade city, for none other can withstand the desert heat like us. We have so many visitors, and diseases are always a concern where so many people gather." We got to the eye and the rest of the leather-clad people helped pull me inside. "But you can see for yourself."
Athal let go of me and allowed me to stand on my own feet. I glanced at the others. They didn't dress like guards. They all wore the same style of leather robes. They were all also pale and with the same pointed teeth as Athal.
Still, despite their apparent lack of weapons, I got the impression that two of them were 'on duty' from how formal they seemed compared to the rest. My suspicions were proven correct as they stayed behind while the rest of the group accompanied me and Athal down the hall.
"I'm sorry, I never introduced myself. I'm Milton."
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Milton. My name is Athal. And this is Groll, Khoerv, and Esgun." He nodded to each of the other pale people in turn. "You look like you've had a difficult journey."
"Yeah." I openly stared at the walls. The color had started dark and purplish, but as we moved inside, it gradually became more reddish. The texture underneath my feet was hard, but it looked like it should be soft somehow. "I got... lost in the desert. I wandered around for days until I came to the road. I rationed my water, but I thought I was a goner."
**Athal is sad.
**Athal is concerned.
Athal nodded sympathetically. "It is harsh outside, but why did you arrive during the day?"
I blinked. "When should I have arrived?"
He shook his head. "I can tell you have little experience with the desert. A'ctelios Salash welcomes many caravans, but normally at dusk and dawn. That is when they travel to avoid the sun. Some even journey through the night, but most rest then as well. None of them brave the day unless they have a great need."
"So, you get a lot of travelers here?"
"Indeed!" He smiled widely, showing off his teeth. "See for yourself." We stepped out of the tunnel and into a vast cavern. The hollowed out head of the creature. We had a good vantage point, as the pathway sloped down to where a city existed.
The outskirts were below them, but the inner city rose up on walkways and bridges. Multiple distinct levels, and built out of wood and stone, not the dark flesh I'd expected. "It's huge!"
**Athal is proud.
"It is the main part, the head." Athal nodded. "A true wonder of the world on any list! It has been called such by many visitors." Indeed, there were numerous people milling around. "Outlanders like yourself. Many come to trade. Fewer make their home here. A'ctelios Salash welcomes them all the same! But, you are tired and hungry. Let me show you to where you can eat and drink to your heart's content."
"Is it okay? I don't have much money?"
"It's fine. Fine! Come!" We skirted the outside of the cavern and headed down. "If A'ctelios Salash is plentiful in one thing, it is meat. We export it at prices that anyone could afford." He winked at me. "But for a weary and weak traveler? It is free!"
**Athal is delighted.
**Athal is slightly afraid.
**Athal is slightly guilty.
I followed him.
'Hey! Kevin! Give me observe!'
I relaxed at little at Sibby's message. Even with Gamer's Mind, I was starting to feel a little unnerved. A lot of 'unnerved' it could handle, but my feelings of unease hadn't yet crossed the threshold that it allowed.
'Sure, Sibby.' I pushed Observe to her through our connection. 'Keep me updated.'
"Meat?" I replied to Athal, trying to resume the conversation after my apparent long pause. "You keep animals here?"
**Athal is slightly afraid.
**Athal is slightly guilty.
"Of course we do!" Athal's smile looked a little forced. "Here we are!" He turned down a passageway and opened a door. "This is where many of our fine [Chefs] work to produce food like you've never seen before!"
Inside, there was a spacious room lit by glowing crystal on the ceiling. A wooden table and chair sat in the center. On it were plates filled with heaping mounds of food. Steam rose off of them as a pleasant smell assaulted my nose.
"This is too much!" I protested.
"Nonsense. The bounty of A'ctelios Salash is to be shared with all!"
I sat down next to Athal and his companions. They all looked at me, but helped themselves to the food - eagerly savoring each bite.
**Athal is delighted.
**Athal is slightly afraid.
**Athal is slightly guilty.
I cut a perfectly marbled steak and placed it in my mouth.
Sibby crawled through the halls of the flesh-city. Kevin was right, Riley WOULD love it here. It was also someplace that she would have to be extra-special careful inside. Sibby, of course, was invincible, but it was hard to protect Riley from danger like this place.
She hurried through room after room as she went lower. The important thing was to figure out if Riley had been here. If she had, then she definitely would have made her mark. That was why Sibby was looking for an operating room instead of for a person.
Cities were big, and people were small. Rooms were bigger than people and easier to find - especially since they didn't move around and Sibby could move through walls.
She'd spent a good amount of time inside of the head. Up there was a proper city with people moving and talking. It felt normal. If Riley was there, then she'd probably be safe. That was what prompted Sibby to move lower and request observe from Kevin.
The true threat was if Riley wanted to stay - assuming she'd ever been here in the first place. If that was the case, then she would surely be deeper down inside, where the more interesting organs were. The city in the head wouldn't interest her since all the good stuff had been apparently cut out by people long ago.
[Fleshchosen]
[Fleshchosen]
[Fleshchosen]
[Pakeil]
[Fleshchosen]
[Fleshshaper]
[Pakeil]
[Twisted Monstrosity]
[Pakeil]
[Pakeil]
Most of the humanoid people were 'Fleshchosen' or other things with 'flesh' in their names. The 'twisted monstrosity' had been a small baby that cried with a voice that was both too deep and too high at the same time. The Fleshshaper was doing something to it.
That was interesting, and Sibby would love to investigate it more, but she had her mission, and that came first.
The Pakeil were more interesting. Apparently that was their race. Or, rather, what their new race was? Observe wasn't giving her much. 'Pakeil - former Human.' 'Pakeil - former Garuda.' 'Pakeil - former Horse?'
That one was bigger than the others. Too big to move through the human-sized tunnels. The regular Pakeil were beasts of burden. They pulled huge blocks of meat for the Fleshchosen, but needed barbed whips to motivate them.
While she was looking for rooms, the Pakeil were interesting too. Several of them had rags or bags hidden under the fleshy folds. That was something she'd have to ask Kevin or William about. It made no sense to her to store things there. What was the point of being naked except for clothing like that?
[Davi Costa
Gender: Male
Age: 16
Race: Pakeil - former Human
Faction: n/a
Origin: The Grand Design of Isthekenous/A'ctelios Salash.]
Huh?
Sibby stopped and turned to the Pakeil she'd just passed. Did this one have a name? And details? She looked at it more closely...
Hey! The torn rags that were trapped in its flesh were modern! Not like all of the clothing she'd seen since arriving here. In fact... She silently and invisibly scrambled up on its back. The Fleshchosen's whip passed right through her as he commanded the Pakeil to continue hauling the slab of flesh.
There! Right there! A backpack! It was concealed under a larger flap, but it was definitely a backpack. Sibby had gotten quite skilled at stealing things. First that letter from that guy in that oasis, and now a whole backpack.
While bigger, the backpack was far easier as she didn't have to worry about not having it touch the sides of its 'container' while she pulled it free. Sibby simply reached down, grabbed it, and made it invisible and intangible just like she was.
The Pakeil's flesh oozed down to fill the void, as Sibby left with her prize. Of course, where there was one, there would be others!
She made sure to throughly investigate each and every Pakeil she came across as she made her way deeper in search of an operating room.
"That was a wonderful meal." I nodded to Athal.
**Athal is happy.
**Athal is anxious.
"I am glad that you enjoyed our hospitality, Milton. I'm sure you're tired. We could give you a room where-"
I fell to the floor and started convulsing.
**Athal is concerned.
"Milton? Milton?" I felt his hands on my sides. "It shouldn't be working this quickly! Groll, Khoerv, go find a [Fleshshaper]!"
"A [Fleshshaper], Athal? They aren't needed for one accepting the gift."
"Even at its quickest, the gift takes hours to manifest. Regardless of if one is chosen or not, the change takes time to set in."
"Perhaps he has a Skill that aids in digestion? Something that allows him to eat quicker and absorb food faster?"
**Athal is relieved.
"Yes, yes, that could be the case. All the more reason we should have a [Fleshshaper] come and examine him. Lock him in a cell until we understand what we're dealing with."
'I have information about something you lost.'
I innerly grumbled at the timing of the habitual message from Wistram as two sets of strong hands lifted me up and dragged me through the tunnels. While now wasn't a good time to respond to it, I could use this opportunity to check in on Sibby.
'Sibby, how's it going?'
'No sign of Riley or a place that Riley would've set up. Oh! I did find some people from Earth. You wanted to look for them right? Or, I found what they used to be. They're kinda large flesh lump things called 'Pakeil' now. Riley made something like that when she was little.'
'So they're alive?'
'Eh, technically? I'm pretty sure there's nothing else going on inside their minds. They're like stupid animals. The one Riley made was really upset and went on a rampage. It made for a fun game, and she learned how to subdue her art better. Oh! I have some of their stuff, give me inventory and I'll put it in.'
'Hang on.'
My two captors laid me on the floor with a strange amount of gentleness. I opened my eyes just a little to take a peek as they stepped outside the rather large room and closed a thick bone door.
I sat up, and un-Inventoried all the food I'd 'eaten'. If I had it in my Inventory when I pushed my Perk to Sibby, she would eat it without a doubt. Sibby might be invincible, but it would still be a stupid risk to take.
'Okay, I've pushed it to you. Let me know when you're done using it.'
Time passed and I considered the situation. My acting had apparently been a bit premature, but not over the top. Spasming and convulsing hadn't raised any eyebrows, only the timing had. Furthermore, this room didn't exactly feel like a prison cell. Not exactly.
The door was barred from the outside, but there wasn't even a peephole. Even solitary confinement rooms had ways for the guards to see their prisoners. The fact that such a thing didn't exist strongly hinted that they didn't consider a sneaky escape attempt likely.
The door was also a lot wider than it needed to be - in addition to the room being so big. More like a barn than a room.
Were... they going to send in animals to eat me? Some sort of filtering system for the food?
I looked down at what I hadn't eaten. It wasn't poison in the strictest sense. My hosts had also consumed it. While I believed Remi that something was amiss, it was good to have proof on my own. They'd given me meat to what? Turn me into one of them? Process it somehow? I don't think their goal was to kill me.
'Okay. I've got it all! I haven't found any sign of Riley being here. Oh, and no alive people from Earth either. I'm pretty sure they're the flesh lump things. I'm almost done with exploring.'
Hm. That was fast. Sibby made good time when she wanted too, and when there was no one else slowing her down.
And what did she mean by 'flesh lump things'? I'll ask after examining what she found.
I took Inventory back, and examined what Sibby had added: Rags, rags, rags, rags of Earth clothes, an iphone, a wallet, a video camera, a-
I stopped.
A video camera?
I un-Inventoried it, touched its port, and connected to it with Ears of Babel. There was no electricity, but I could still communicate just fine with such a small device. It was also a lot easier to see what was on it than it was to browse a computer. The operating system was simple. Most everything was dedicated to storing the video.
...
"The meat... it was... a trap..." The video showed the group of Earthers in pain and clutching their stomachs. One was going around with a bloody knife and putting the others out of their misery, but the filmer shook his head at the offer. "What did we do wrong?"
The camera shut off as it fell from his hands. The scenes after that were of Athal accidentally turning on as he scavenged their belongings. He couldn't understand the camera. To him, it was a broken artifact of no real value. Something to be discarded, instead of proof of his crimes.
*Anger negated by Gamer's Mind.
*Hatred negated by Gamer's Mind.
It had been just like Remi had said. Davi, the [Cameraman], had documented their arrival in the desert. Their confusion. Their excitement at getting Classes and Skills. Their encounter with a caravan. Their arrival at A'ctelios Salash.
And their eventual deaths.
Athal had greeted them, just as he'd greeted me. The fifteen people had been ushered in, past the above area with outsiders, and granted a feast.
It had been a trap.
The meat of A'ctelios Salash... the meat of an alien life-form was poison. Or perhaps 'mutagen' was a better descriptor. Instead of changing as the inhabitants of A'ctelios Salash did, Davi and the rest had changed into... what exactly?
'Sibby, I'm going to give you Inventory for a second. Could you take out the golden drone at the place you got the backpack from? Next to the flesh lump things?'
'Sure!'
I reached out with my Babel Perks as the drone came on-line. I couldn't see Sibby, but what I did see...
*Sadness negated by Gamer's Mind.
Just like Sibby had said, it was little more than a lump of flesh. It wasn't that outlandish of a thought that it might once have been human. I had first hand experience with Bonesaw. I knew how much it was possible to twist flesh with powers, or rather, magic in this case.
Davi's final recording hadn't shown his final form. I wondered if death had 'saved' the ones that had chosen it. Or if their transformations had continued, and they too were being used as beasts of burden even now.
Could I save him?
I let out a sigh. No. I don't think I could. Even if his mind had remained fully intact, which clearly wasn't the case, undoing something like this was beyond me. Riley could do it - assuming he still had a human brain in there somewhere.
My sister had transplanted brains in the past. She also could piece together a body for him, but she couldn't restore brains past a certain point. She hadn't been able to save the first person I'd murdered...
Besides, there was no way that something could twist a person's entire body like that but leave the brain alone. I wasn't going to delay destroying this place on the off chance that Davi, or others like him, could be saved. It was more important to stop the people of A'ctelios Salash before they claimed their NEXT victims.
But... I had to try to save them. That's what Dragon would do. And not just Remi's group, all of the people that had been twisted by this Hellhole.
'Sibby, I have an idea, but it's going to be a lot of work for you.'
...
Threat Sense let me know that I was about to be watched soon, so I bent over and clutched my stomach and groaned.
"He hasn't changed yet."
"What do we do if he doesn't? Has anyone ever reacted and not changed?"
"No." I recognized Athal's voice. "Not that I know of. We should ask my father-"
"Fire!" A distant shout came from outside. "Fire in the lower floors!"
"What?" I peaked and saw Athal turning towards the newcomer. "A fire?"
"Yes! All over the place! It's an inferno!"
"Nonsense!" Athal shook his head. "What could burn down there?"
The answer, of course, was the flesh of A'ctelios Salash itself. It could be cooked, so it could burn. Sibby had told me she'd been using friction to make sparks when she fought Nerrhavia's Fallen, and she'd told me she could do something similar to start fires here.
"Everything is burning! The furniture, the floors, the walls... everything!" The man sounded panicked. "What do we do?"
"What else? Let it burn itself out." Athal chuckled. "If A'ctelios Salash could be so easily burned to ash, we'd have done so a long time ago. We should move the children away and form a line. Get the wands of cold spells. My father will doubtlessly want us all down there to help." He coughed into his fist.
That was true. No simple fire could burn down a monster the size of a mountain. It will take more than that. However, what the fire did make - was smoke. A disturbingly nice smelling smoke, but it was getting thicker by the moment. I could already see a haze forming.
That was a weakness of all underground facilities - ventilation. It was why they used lightstones instead of torches. Or, at least, one of the likely reasons. Smoke inhalation was a serious threat now matter how quickly their wounds healed, and it would allow the next phase of my plan to take place.
Athal and his men continued to cough as they tried wrapping strips of their clothes over their mouths. While they were strong enough to tear the leather like cloth, it didn't make for a good filter.
"Hurry!" Athal shouted and the group departed, after making sure to lock my door on their way out. The bastards.
I stood up and took a silicone bag that I'd hidden. I was currently granting my Inventory power to Sibby for her second task - killing the transformed people, or 'Pakeil' as they were apparently known.
More specifically, she was using the fire and smoke as a distraction to go around and tear off and Inventory their heads. It was an inelegant solution, but it was the best idea I could come up with. My Inventory was practically empty of important things, so there was plenty of space after dumping out the sand. I had no guarantee that I could actually save the Pakeil, but if Riley was somewhere in this world, then she might be able to.
I felt bad about essentially offloading all the work onto her and Sibby, but well, they were a lot stronger than me in a lot of ways. It did probably mean that I wouldn't gain any levels from what I'd set in motion, but whatever. That wasn't the point.
I consumed the silicone bag to change my appearance, and then teleported past the door.
The room I'd been held in was at the end of a hallway, so I was alone. However, I saw tall people in leather robes running back and forth at the closest intersection. The air was getting hazy from the smoke, and it swirled around them as the Fleshchosen ran this way or that.
I pressed myself against the wall - relying on my stealth skill and Threat Sense to let me keep a low profile and avoid being seen. As the minutes passed, there seemed to be no end in sight to the rush of people. Generally speaking, taller ones were running to the left, while children were escaping to the right.
That meant that going to the left would take me deeper into A'ctelios Salash, while heading right would bring me to its head. I wasn't exactly sure how many levels were above me. I'd gone down a couple with Athal when I'd arrived, but they'd carried me deeper while I'd been in 'pain'.
The flow of adults heading deeper was slowing down, but the people escaping remained strong. I crept along the left side of the tunnel until I got to the crossroad. I waited until the right moment... and then teleported behind a solitary Fleshchosen, twisted his neck, and then teleported back into the locked room with his body.
He groaned, the damage already repairing itself.
Without my Inventory, my options were limited. So I pulled down his hood and punched through the back of his head. Juggernaut let my fist pass through without losing any momentum. His blood splattered across the floor as his corpse dropped bonelessly to the ground.
Ugh. Now I have mutant brain goop on my hand, and I can't just Inventory it away.
Similarly, I had to physically remove his leather robe. All the Fleshchosen were tall and broad-shouldered, so it fit just fine. I gave the room one final look around before I teleported out of it. This time I jogged to the intersection and turned right.
I soon came upon the people who were evacuating. The smoke in the air had grown thicker, and people were yelling and coughing. They filled up the alien tunnel and pushed and shoved as they tried to get into the city. The tunnels down further were a choke point, but it looked like everyone was slowly making it through.
"Move it! Stay in an orderly line! Everything will be fine, you're in more danger of being trampled than of burning in the fire! It's contained down below!" I heard Athal's voice before I saw him. Other Fleshchosen were pressing at my back, but nobody was paying enough attention to notice my non-pale skin.
Heck, with all the smoke, it was getting difficult to see more than a couple of feet ahead.
Then, the mass of bodies around me spread out. We'd made it past the first bottleneck and into the trading city in the skull.
I stepped away from the rush and looked for a good vantage point. The center of the city had multiple floors, but the edges didn't. That was important because that's where the eye-exits were. I ducked behind a building, and then teleported to the edge of the second level. From up here, I could get a much better idea of what was going on.
The answer was less evacuating than I'd hoped for.
Pillars of smoke were billowing out of all of the passageways that lead deeper down. The head itself was a large cavern, so the smoke had plenty of space to fill far above everyone's heads. While there was a line of people evacuating from all five eyes, it wasn't the mad rush of the people leaving the tunnels below.
On one hand, that was a good thing, I didn't want anyone to die in a fire or be crowd-crushed. On the other hand, I really needed everyone to get out before the final step.
'How are things going down there, Sibby?'
'This is a fun game! They keep on closing these heavy doors that are like, air tight. They're starving the fire out, and the doors are made of bone so I can't set them on fire. I mean, I COULD set them on fire but it would take time and the one door that I did it to... exploded instead of burning. Probably because it's bone I guess. Bones usually char when they are burned, so I might've gone a little overboard with it.' I got the mental impression of her shrugging. 'It makes it easy to kill the Pakeil. Not that it was hard to do that. They're big, slow, and dumb. Not really a fun game to kill them, it's more like gathering their heads. Anyways, the challenge was doing it without any of the people seeing me, but since they stopped trying to fight the fire and let it burn itself out, the Pakeil are by themselves. They'd probably die from the smoke or lack of air or something anyways, but killing them isn't the point, huh? It's getting their heads.'
'So they're blocking the fires? Then where is all the smoke coming from?'
'I'm just making more fire past the doors. Heh. It's fun to watch them run around in a panic each time I do it!'
'Okay. Keep it up then.' Sibby could literally do this all day long, but I'd rather get the people outside quicker. You never knew when something would throw a wrench in the works.
Time to figuratively throw some fuel on the fire. I activated Tongue of Babel and communicated that the fire was worse by increasing the size of the smoke columns, adding hints of flames from the tunnels, and causing small fires to appear throughout the area of the city I could see.
Nothing huge. Just small wisps that flickered briefly with light before vanishing. Something people could see out of the corners of their eyes, but be gone when they did a double-take.
The effect was... pronounced.
Panic seemed to spread through the mostly-abandoned part of the city like a tangible thing. [Merchants] hurried away with what they'd managed to save. Some of them with small groups of men. Others with chests of holding they struggled to carry on their own.
The leather-clad residents of A'ctelios Salash chose fight instead of flight. Every man, woman, and child surged forward to where the wisps appeared and tried to bat the illusionary flames out with their bare hands.
I, of course, made the fires too far away for them to reach quickly, so the effect was gone before they arrived. It was one more spark, but it seemed to be enough. Most of them turned and ran back down into the conflagration below - without any concern for themselves.
In contrast, the outsiders yelled and screamed and flooded the exits.
That... wasn't the result that I'd been hoping for. I stood unmoving on my vantage point and Expansion increased the distance I could reach with my powers every passing second.
A man was trampled, but Rapid Regeneration healed him.
Another was making a risky climb down from his exit to a less crowded one. He paused as he came out of the minute-long Instant Dungeon, and then climbed back up with shaking hands.
Unfortunately, that was the extent of what Instant Dungeon could do in a world it couldn't fully model. Still, it seemed enough to get people to reconsider their stupid choices - even if they had no idea how they'd apparently had just gone back time from their perspectives.
Others I granted Threat Sense to. Not for long, just enough that they got the distinct impression that what they were doing was dangerous.
*You have been inflicted with 'Oversaturated'x19.
Son of a-!
It had JUST gone down. If I don't stop using mana, I'm never going to fully heal.
...But this whole thing was my fault, and I had to use mana to connect with them via Power Drain to grant them brief access to my Perks. There was no other way I could think of to help so many people from a distance.
Time passed and the final stragglers exited as the smoke began to really fill the air. No fatalities. Rapid Regeneration was sufficient to heal any wounds the fleeing people had suffered.
I took one final look around and teleported outside.
'Sibby, you can go ahead with the final step.'
'You mean Crawler's saliva?'
'Yep. Stop with the fires, or keep making them, but start dropping acid as well.'
That... came out wrong.
'Sure thing!'
Sibby, bless her heart, didn't ask if I was sure about what I was having her do. It was going to result in more deaths than I'd imagined, but I couldn't stop A'ctelios Salash's people from running into danger. Hopefully they would flee when the body of their city started dissolving beneath them.
I'd worried that the magical nature of A'ctelios Salash's flesh would've rendered it resilient or immune to Crawler's acid. So I'd tested it on the food I'd pretended to eat while I'd been sitting in the cell. Whatever A'ctelios Salash was, it wasn't immune to disease - or acid.
In fact, the morsels I'd exposed to Crawler's saliva had seemed to transform even faster than normal - not that I had an awful lot of experience with how long it took people to melt. It was a decidedly lethal attack I tried to avoid using.
More importantly, it was an exponential one. Spreading fire could never take down a mountain. Digestive enzymes that ate flesh to reproduce and expelled a supernaturally strong acid? That could kill giants. Especially if they were immobile. Or if the acid was inside of them and couldn't just be wiped off.
It seemed like a weapon designed to kill them, which made me wonder... had the Shards encountered a 'Dimensional Collapser' before?