*AUTHOR NOTE*
Hey-hey folks, Galend here. Wanted to let you know at the top that this chapter will mark the beginning of a brief break from releasing while I make sure the ending is every bit as good as I can, as well as touch up the book in its totality before we get into book 2. Releases should kick back up relatively soon, and my messages are open to anyone who have any questions about the story in the meantime. Thank you a million for your patience, I promise I'll be working my ass off to get these chapters, and the conclusion to book 1, out soon.
*END OF AUTHOR NOTE*
"I mean, I guess the warmth was really my sense of…me?" Tom continued venting, pacing in front of my chair as I purchased a few more specialist classes to support our exterior defenses. As of now, the buyable support has held up the last 4 squads before they even reached our lakesides. Of course, I've long since stacked up our turrets and traps along the sides of our mini-Elysium.
"Identity. And yes, you were stripped of it, Tom. That feeling was familiarity by association, not clarity. How many times have I warned you about finding purpose only in others?" I replied, after locking in the final addition to our defenses. Tom sighed, his head tilting to the floor in shame. We'd already gone over…a lot of shit.
It quickly became clear when Tom mentioned the cyclical nature of his environment accompanied by subtle, twisted additions that rapidly evolved into entirely new prisons, that he'd somehow run his own Escaping Fate trial. Now, the 'turning into a rat and eating us' thing, and to go through over 2,000 loops when I couldn't scratch 200 details is troubling to say the least. Especially when he was only meditating first, something I taught him in the first place. Even now, in his more clear state, his nose occasionally twitched as he sniffed the air.
"Right. It's just, fighting for the fate of Elysium, for us…it's been everything to us for what feels like a lifetime already. I mean, look at the good it's brought the co-" Tom paused, my open hand twitching to slap the delirium from his skull.
"No, go ahead, please continue." I said, with wide-eyed anticipation. He'd already agreed every time he slipped up and referred to Elysium as the 'colony' to have that crazy shit smacked out of him. Honestly, there's a few other ways we could've trained that back out of him. But, I prefer this method.
"…to the settlement. Look, if I had just worried about myself this last month, there's no telling how many lives could've been thrown away for nothing." Tom continued, a tinge of frustration in his tone. Good, I haven't heard him have a gull with me once, outside of his mental breaks. That's not okay with me. Tom's many things, but a coward's not one of them.
"Sure, but why is it an ultimatum? You really don't think you're capable of caring for your own mental well-being and your friends?" I asked, flicking through the turret displays in search of our newest attackers. They'd been released almost an hour ago, yet no contact has been made. A first for sure, but I wouldn't blame anyone for taking their time and making a proper plan.
"But isn't that a lack of commitment? Especially now, at a time where we're constantly under threat of being blindsided by some overwhelming Pylon defense, or power hungry factions?!" Tom asked, pacing as we spoke. I sighed, realizing I'd have to put it bluntly this time around, rather than the fun way.
"No, a lack of commitment is devoting your life to others without maintaining your donation. That's like letting yourself get sick and donating blood anyway." I quickly countered. Tom froze, like I'd just delivered a forbidden phrase that sent his mind spiraling.
"I…shit. No, no, I don't care!" Tom yelled, sniffing the air once and clenching shaking fists as his face went beat red.
"A tantrum feels a bit childish, even for your standar-"
"No, no I don't care…about the col-argh." Tom frantically clawed towards his spine, his shoulders arching back suddenly as if he just got slapped open-handed on the flat of his back.
"Okay, okay. This feels like progress. Let's work through this buddy, what are you feeling right now?" I asked, slowly rising up from my seat. I still had my display open to monitor the perimeter but, these new guys haven't made any moves yet. I'll notice when a little movement finally stirs, other than my choirmens slowly floating across the fields.
Fucking love those guys.
"Argh, it's like my entire back in on f-…" Tom stopped, tilting his head.
*sniff*
He turned to face me, his face contorting into a wild, feral look bearing his teeth and openly drooling.
"DECIEVER!" He screamed, leaping toward me. A pressure on my shoulder sent my nervous system in survival mode, punching at whatever snagged me and dodging out of the way of Tom. As I dove away however, a hooded figure with thin pupils and glowing crimson eyes. Silky black-green fibers fell at the hooded figure's shoulders, flowing in the air as Tom clamped his teeth on the figure's throat. Dark green fluid and a strange green haze spewed everywhere, Tom's head jerking back and ripping the man's throat out.
Not alone.
A single thought accompanied by the slightest shift in the air triggered my fight response, ducking down and narrowly dodging another hooded assassin's long, jagged bone dagger aimed at my neck. I slid my knee under his, wrapping the pit of my arm around the assassin's neck and slamming him to the ground head-first. His body bounced off the grass with a thud that vibrated throughout the ground once, like an echo of his impact.
"WAIT! Release him!" A grizzly voice demanded, my hands releasing the downed assassin to face the new one. All I found was Tom, shivering on the floor beside a corpse, the man's face covered in bite marks in a pool of green liquid. He was also missing half his cheek, which wasn't lying anywhere nearby upon first glance.
Then, as if from thin air manifested a tall, lithe figure with their hands up in surrender. Bright golden eyes glowed from under their long, dark green cowl. Their chest piece was made of interlocking bark, bound by bronze wiring. His shoulders bore large leaf-like padding that swayed along a breeze that didn't exist inside here. I placed my foot on the back of the downed Assassins head.
"Please, let the boy go. Let us talk."
"And exactly why the fuck should I do that?" I snarled, jabbing my heel deeper into the would-be assassins skull. The man cautiously lifted back his hood, revealing a slender middle aged man. His cheekbones protruded high on his incredibly symmetrical face, his skin glowing lightly with veins of greenish-gold streaks that pulsed steadily, like a heartbeat.
"I concede. You outnumber me, and all of my warriors have been discovered. I am their leader, if you're going to kill anyone, please kill me first." He said with a low, gravelly tone.
"…who are you?" I asked, narrowing my eyes and scanning the lanky figure thoroughly, not bothering to hide my newfound curiosity. Based on his rather extraordinary appearance, it's only fair to assume he's either their leader-leader, or high ranking in a large, incredibly 'well-funded' faction at the very least. And, being their assassins that turn invisible, I wouldn't put the latter past the realm of possibility. The golden-eyed man sighed, placing a hand on his spiraling bark chest piece where his heart would be. His long, thick-vined bracers wiggled independently, as if sentient themselves in response to his movement as the sinuses slapped off his chest lightly.
"My name is Caedrus Marr, Chosen of Aekheris and leader of the Thornsung chapter. And right now, I'm a father who does not wish to watch my son die. I do hope you understand. If blood must be paid, let it be mine first." The man answered, his glowing, slitted eyes locked with mine. They had a strange dark spiral pattern, so thin and subtle I had to imagine not even he would notice them in a mirror without intent. I glanced down at his supposed son, releasing just a little pressure testing if he'd try to make a move. The would-be assassin's head my boot rested on twisted violently trying to wrap around his shoulder, panic draped across his frantic, wide-eyed expression. The young man's eyes were a dull brownish-gold, not nearly as vibrant as this Caedrus guy. Yet, the resemblance in facial structure was unmistakable. My foot relaxed off his head, yet the young man remained prone, laying completely still.
"Brenamir. Get. Up." Caedrus commanded his nervous son through clenched teeth. His green-skinned son scrambled clumsily to his feet, stumbling beside his father.
"You have my attention, Caedrus. Tell you what, you and I have a little chat, and I won't make you watch your son die." I proposed, side-eying Tom who was straight-up meditating beside his mauled victim right now.
I swear to the gods Tom if you don't pull your head out of yo-
"So long as the current location of our people in the tutorial is off the table." Caedrus countered, pulling me from my thoughts. Realizing I'd have to buy my severely troubled friend some time to collect his sanity, my eyes narrowed on Caedrus' body language as I answered his request.
"It is not." I said bluntly. Caedrus smiled at my response, as if he'd hoped I would refuse him.
"…how rude of me, I realize I never got your name?" Caedrus said through an embarrassed chuckle.
"Korbin, Leader of Elysium." I answered in a deadpan.
"A pleasure. Now, I'm sure you've deduced our faction prefers…surreptitious tactics over brute force." Caedrus said, gesturing toward the spot his fallen comrade once lay unmovingly, having disappeared. Tom only now began rising to his feet, his twinblade in hand.
"Sounds like a fancy way of saying you're sneaky. You act as though rogues are a rarity." I sarcastically scoffed, tilting my head toward Tom subconsciously, and immediately cursing myself internally afterward. Caedrus didn't turn to look, his son, however, stole himself a little peak. Only one, before whipping back front facing, staring shakily ahead into oblivion. Caedrus sighed through his smile, the kind you give trying to hold back your unyielding rage toward a 'loved-one'. Take the 'love' out of it, and I knew it all too well.
"We are no mere rogues, my friend. Our factions reach spans far across the multiverse as it has for thousands of years…" Caedrus paused, his grin twitching into a frown as his eyes flickered with doubt for but a moment before he continued.
"…and, we will be expanding very soon." He said with a raised brow. I paused, not taking the open bait, wondering exactly why someone in his position would be so willing to give away valuable information.
"You said you're a Chosen. This 'Aekheris', what is he the god of?" I asked, feeling a mix of relief at seeing Tom creeping behind them both, and fear at the wiry glare he wore clutching his blades. Caedrus's vine-like bracers flailed, but Caedrus calmly placed a palm over one, and flashed his ever-pleasant smile.
"The Vital Interstice." He said, tilting his head back slightly in reverence, looking up at the cloudless sky.
"And what exactly is that? Sounds like an event or some concept more than an affinity." I replied, buying Tom time to, and I use this word incredibly loosely in saying this, hopefully restrain Caedrus properly so we can speak more openly. That, and it sounds just foreboding enough to know about.
"Hmm…you see it's always difficult to define it for those outside of our faction. I suppose your initial impression also has some merit-" Caedrus said, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully with a smile as wide as ever.
"-my patron put it so perfectly when we first met, though admittedly he's a being of very few words. Gods, what was it…pardon me, I do hope I don't totally botch his wisdom." Caedrus nervously scoffed, just before lunging his open hand down toward the floor. Tom's blade pierced through the back of his neck in a blinding flash of blue light before Caedrus could reach his...well, there was nothing there at his feet. What remained of Caedrus's head flopped back until his head slapped his spine, having no muscle left to support on his way down. The forward momentum flung him forward, smashing his head on the floor with a sickening crack. His son's eyes grew glossy, a tinge of remorse tickling my chest as I summoned a fireball.
Tom's whole body wildly twitched at me as the flames appeared from my palm, his vibrating pupils locked on the fire. His posture began to curve forward, both elbows tucking in at his sides in a matter of a second. Luckily, he was able to restrain himself, stopping on a dime, and blinking rapidly while grasping at his back, groaning in pain. After a brief pause, the pain appeared to subside before he shakily strolled right past me, allowing space for the welling fireball to cleanse our camp of its final uninvited guest.
As the access flames generated from charging my fireball way too long torched the last remnants of the assassins however, I couldn't help but feel an internal flicker of regret that quickly billowed into fiery disappointment for having been so arrogant up to this point. The carelessness to assume we were truly untouchable because of a couple outdated chaos cannons and some niche troops nearly got me killed. A life that would've been lost for nothing. What's more, I had the only people I've ever met who're capable of avoiding my defenses entirely at the tip of my fingers. But, I let curiosity, and Tom's crazed twitching distract me long enough for them to find their only true escape; death. A waste of a life, but I have a feeling rogues capable of becoming invisible struggled very little to preserve their lives.
"Hey…uh, it's probably a bad time to ask a favor bu-" Tom began nervously, his face contorting as he spat out a thick dark green fluid mid-sentence.
"Yeah…we're going to pretend like that didn't happen for a while, okay?" I asked, reviewing the system notification officially proclaiming our successful defense. Though, leaving an interaction with a possible problem like Caedrus practically empty-handed certainly felt like no victory. Tom stiffened his lip, wincing as he nodded in agreement.
"'Never' sounds good." He replied with a frustrated sigh, shaking his head. I chuckled, before letting out a slow exhale while sitting back in my chair.
"Oh, we will. But not now, at least until you can stay coherent long enough to at least feel bad about it." I snickered, Tom's face dropping into a look of genuine worry in a matter of a wonderful little moment.
"Kidding, buddy. Of course I'm just kidding, come on?" I chuckled enthusiastically, slapping Tom's shoulder. He smiled, but not the kind that accepted the admission of the ruse. A passive smile, while his paranoid mind debated whether I was actually joking. For all his fucked up ramblings about lies and watching us die I don't really blame him though.
"Now, what were you saying about self maintenance not being important again?" I asked through a sly grin. One masked in snarky sarcasm, when its true source was knowing I will 100% be bringing this up to him later.