28. Revelations In The Dark

The Owl Temple was amongst the tallest buildings in Iskander, standing just short of the city hall and the many mage towers at approximately five stories. Much to Lukas’s surprise, it only appeared to have one main floor. Giant pillars held up the almost invisible grand ceiling. Lukas couldn’t tell whether it was magic or a trick of the light, but it felt as if he was looking at the night sky. Countless stars, cosmic clouds, and other heavenly bodies colored the darkness above. Occasionally, silhouettes of giant owls moved across it, making no sound at all.

Individual structures with roofs and windows of their own sat within the giant temple. Some looked like dormitories and observatories from outside. Many resembled aviaries. The woman waved Lukas into one of the latter, holding the heavy wooden door open for him. It felt like he had stepped into a forest. Dim lighting and the painted patterns made the pillars look like tree trunks. Only a silver globe and twinkling ceiling lights provided illumination. A gentle breeze blew through the room and wood creaked.

“Is the diviner in here?” Lukas asked but got no answer. He looked over his shoulder. The woman was gone, and the door silently closed behind him.

Iskander existed in a constant state of chaos and cacophony. Darkness only muted the noise, but even nighttime came with a constant distant murmur of voices, clanging workshops, and the clatter of wheels on cobbled streets. Frequent bells from cart-pushing vendors, alarms, and clocktowers added to the noise. Only the enchanted research centers and the grander libraries offered a respite from the chaos. It seemed the Owl Temple was also one such structure.

The main hall wasn’t particularly silent. Footsteps and voices bounced between the pillars and the tall ceiling. Occasionally, Lukas heard the scrape of claws on stone and little distant hoots. However, once he stepped into the aviary most human-born sounds ceased. It no longer felt like Iskander.

“Hello?” Lukas called. 

There was no answer. A sudden burst of wind rushed over him. It wasn’t uncomfortable and didn’t almost knock him on his feet like when Silverspine moved her giant wings. Instead, he felt soothed. Comfortable. He refused to let his guard down. Two amber orbs appeared in the deep darkness. They danced individually before meeting in the distance. Then, they moved together, shooting towards Lukas. His right-hand shot to his belt. The shortsword was missing.

 I was sure I had it a minute ago.

The luminous orbs stopped just about six feet from Lukas, just as he was about to leap out of the way.  It was then he realized, they were a pair of eyes, familiar eyes. Lukas had looked into them countless times before. He knew them. Intimately.

“What took you so long?” A soft feminine voice asked.

“Minarv?” Lukas’s heart skipped a beat. “Is that you?”

Sweet laughter rang through the darkness. “You made it. You actually made it. I was sure you were mad.” Her voice quietened. “I was worried you weren’t going to survive. Silverspine is a traitorous bitch.”

“She certainly didn’t take it easy on me,” he said, taking a step towards the eyes but they moved with him, maintaining distance. “I’m sorry I didn’t come to you sooner.”

“Why didn’t you?” Minarv demanded, amber eyes narrowing. 

“I forgot.” Lukas didn’t lie. “And that’s not me being callous for once. It was the transmigration. It's supposed to have only taken my knowledge of your realm and everything I learned about Fracture, magic, and everything else. But I’m starting to think Silverspine messed with it. She took more.”

“I wouldn’t think so if she wants you protecting her interests. I think it's Fracture. It took your knowledge of the Greater Beings. That includes intimate knowledge.”

“Oh.” Lukas smiled. Bits and pieces were starting to come back to him. “ I’m sorry I left so abruptly. It felt like I had to go. The longer I stayed the harder it would be.”

“No. You did the right thing.” The eyes and tone betrayed Minarv’s sorrow. “We always knew that we were…temporary. If knowledge of us got out, Silverspine and the others would come for you with all of their power. You were already on par with the Lesser Beings. They’d think our alliance was so you could find an alternative path of ascension.”

“I suppose that’s one way to sleep to the top.” Lukas laughed. “True as that might be. I feel horrible—”

“We shouldn’t talk or meet as we used to. It’s not safe for us. It's for the best if you put everything behind you. It was a tryst. An affair. Now, you’re finally going to accomplish your ambitions.”

“Eventually. Yes. I need to get past this bottleneck first. I need more clones to truly take off. Do you think you can offer any insight?”

Minarv fell silent. The floating amber eyes grew larger. The light illuminated a translucent body. It was mostly human but with owl-like features. It was all starting to come back to him. It wasn’t a clone that had pursued the demigod. He had done so personally. It had started as a test of his charisma but become more. There was no keeping secrets from an entity he trusted to peek inside his mind and purge traumatic memories.

“Shard abilities have varied requirements for growth. Repeated usage is the most common. Often it requires discovering new uses or improvements to the ability. Sometimes it's related to accomplishments and grand feats.” Minarv sighed. “It’s challenging to tell with Arcane Clone because it carries traces of Silverspine’s magic. The journal is also interfering with my senses.”

“Silverspine isn’t interfering with my growth, is she?” Lukas asked, frowning. “The journal was pushy about me serving her interests. Is—”

“No. As vile as the dragon is, she isn’t that much of a deceiver.” Minarv chuckled. “I think that’s why she treasured you so much as a vassal. You, Lukas Zaun, excel in fields where she lacks talents or is incapable. Your growth is vital for her, and she trusts your thirst for power to continue serving her interests.” She paused, eyes gaining luminosity. “My reach and power are already weakened by the dimensional divide. The journal is only causing interference.”

“So you can’t help me.” Lukas sighed.

“I thought you’d just be pleased to reconnect.” Minarv sounded disappointed. “You’re right on the cusp. I can feel it. Focus on the arcane side of things. Don’t just try to control and manipulate the magic after dispelling a clone. Do it during creation too. You should be able to change more than whether the clones have agility or power enhancements.”

“Thanks, Minarv.” Reached for the faint visage of his former paramour. “You’ve never let me down.”

“You always served the court well.” Her face became more visible as the eyes dimmed. She wore a soft, sad smile. “I did fail you, though. If it were me who sent you to Fracture—”

“Don’t go there. It's best if we don’t waste our breaths or time on what-ifs. You did your best and I’d like to think so did I. A mortal was never meant to be with a Greater Being.”

“It was good while it lasted, wasn’t it?”

“It was.”

“Take care of yourself—” Minarv paused. “I meant to ask. Why are you still Lukas Zaun? I thought you’d change your name after transmigrating.”

Lukas shrugged. “I didn’t want to. Arcane Clone and my name. They’re both integral parts of who I am. Maybe its a silly—”

“No. It's not silly at all. Names are tied to souls and yours is especially potent and durable. The way you use Arcane Clone and cope with the memories… would drive most mortals insane. The fact that you’ve maintained your sanity even after six decades and however many more you’ve lived through the clones is a testament to your grit and power.” Minarv’s smile faded. “Perhaps your name, soul, and cloning powers are all tied together and part of a package. I wish you luck, Lukas Zaun. May you achieve your ambitions.”

“I’ll be back. We need to—”

“No. This is the end of us. Don’t visit the temple again. They’ll sense something unusual happened here. My servants and champions want to know who you are. It's for the best if you remain anonymous.” Heavy stones moved at the back of the room. Outside lights leaked through the new opening. Lukas felt the weight of his sword and knife on his belt a moment later. “Go out through the back. Disappear.”

“Goodbye, Minarv.”

“You’re not as cocky and fun as you used to be, you know.”

“Cockiness without the strength and power to back it up is idiocy.” Lukas smiled. “Didn’t you teach me that?”

The amber spheres disappeared. Lukas used every ounce of willpower he could muster to call forth memories of the Court of Owls and its leader but failed. She was the one Greater Being he liked and treasured. He hated that the transmigration had robbed him of all the great times they had together.

Maybe I should cut El-One and Kat a break. Let them have their fun until we have to move on. Knowing him—us—it will implode or fall apart sooner or later without my intervention.

Entering through the window proved harder. The inn had wards to repel infiltrators and Penelope had added to them. Lukas knocked three times. Much to his delight, the clones had returned from their tasks and invited him in, helping him bypass the security.

“Good thing you’re back, El-Prime,” El-One said. “We were discussing. You need to rethink the appraiser job. We can earn a shit load of money super fast, and get all kitted up with shards, essences, and high-end equipment. The information is out. You might as well take advantage of it.”

“Maybe wait until after Mister Grey’s job,” El-Two added.

“It's an excellent idea,” Lukas said. “But I’d rather not be trapped in a storefront all day and night. Maybe once you can summon and use the journal. Then, I can leave one of you in the storefront and do my own thing. It won’t be a big deal if Mister Grey or one of his competitors comes for us.”

“We can just be the sacrificial lamb,” a clone said, finishing the thought.

“Precisely! We’re making decent money with Penelope, and Mister Grey is already starting to deliver. Let’s not needlessly complicate our lives.”

“Journal!” Lukas called, summoning the floating object. “Enlighten us.”

The degree and potency of available upgrades will depend on the completed quest. You can sacrifice material and ability progression rewards to empower me instead. Each completed job will allow you to add to my functions, increase the potency of my functions, or gain quality-of-life improvements like the clones being able to summon and use me.

“I guessed as much.”

“You were right.” El-One’s eyes narrowed. “The bitch really switched to the carrot from the chain. I get why you want us to investigate the undercity now.”

“Do you guys lose deductive abilities alongside inhibitions?” It wasn’t a jibe. Lukas was genuinely curious. 

Both clones shrugged. “I don’t think so,” the El-One replied. “It’s been a while since you summoned me. My brain has had other properties and followed different trains of thought. I’ve been mostly focusing on metalwork and the magic exercises you gave me.”

“I was trying to find the best spears, shields, and deals without the journal,” the other clone added, his tone betraying disdain. “It doesn’t mean we’re stupid. We’re a part of you.”

“Oh. Did I hurt your feelings?”

“Well, now that you mention it—”

Lukas dispelled both clones. Their equipment noisily fell to the wooden floor.

I’ll need to apologize to the landlady for that later.

When using Arcane Clone again, Lukas clamped his eyes shut and reached deep within himself. He didn’t just let the ability tear a chunk of magic away and use it to mold a shell around the fragment of his soul. Lukas tried to guide the flow and make modifications. It was like working with set rubber. No matter how he twisted, tugged, and compressed, it all snapped back to normal.

“Well, that was rude,” the new clone said. He looked identical to Lukas and lacked the physical differences born of any empowerment. 

Attempts with an empowered clone appeared the same. Lukas attempted to create a clone enhanced for agility but without the physiological markers. 

Lukas refused dejection and pushed on, trying several permutations and combinations until he was confident that no matter what he did, he could change the clones’ appearance. He then approached the challenge from a different direction. Lukas attacked the way the magic and his soul fragmented interacted. The edges seemed to weave together when he created empowered clones. He memorized the two different patterns and attempted a version that used both.

Another failure. 

Success came by accident. When the delicate, finessed approach failed, he turned to intent and hamfisted it. Lukas focused on an arcane exercise that Penelope had taught him. It focused on gathering ambient magic for storage or channeling into a spell. He didn't intend to fuse it with the one but keep his personal stores topped up for continued experimentation. 

Something clicked during the process. The journal vibrated demanding his attention and the floor that formed drained almost all of his magic, leaving Lukas gasping for hair. The clone that formed looked no different from Lukas, lacking the physiological changes of the other empowerments. 

“Holy shit, El-Prime!” The clone exclaimed. He closely studied his hands. “What did you do?”

“I'm not entirely sure,” Lukas replied. He analyzed the clone with his arcane senses. It was indistinguishable from him besides the smaller magic stores. He could feel ambient magic revolving around and flowing through the new El-Two. It seemed the magic gathering and channeling technique was an integral part of the clone. 

You have unlocked a new Empowered Copy and may now create clones with arcane specializations. Channeling a technique during creation will make it an innate part of the clone. New creations will immediately be added to Empowered Copy for swift summoning afterward.

The current specialization excels at absorbing and channeling magic.

Arcane Clone is now ready for ascension to the next tier. Please pick an essence to start the process.

“We did it.” Lukas's smile stretched from ear to ear and goosebumps covered his arms. 

Before jumping to ascend his Soul Pillar Lukas ran a couple more experiments. He attempted to create clones while channeling his shard abilities. Unfortunately, the journal didn't react and he didn't get the results he desired.

Let's not get greedy.

“Do you still want us to go down to the undercity?” The clone asked, eyeing the weapons on the floor.

“Go on. I know you want to experiment too.”

The clone grabbed the mundane shortsword meant for them to delve without Lukas. “Bryna,” he said, loudly and clearly. 

Ambient magic flowed through the clone, barely sapping his internal stores or harming the magic shell that formed his body. It gathered in the shortsword's blade. Lukas saw another noticeable change. Minor glints and delaminations smoothening. The clone grabbed a piece of parchment out of the waste pile on the floor. He smoothed it out before running it over the blade. The parchment fell into two soundlessly.

“Any headache from casting without a focus?” Lukas asked.

The clone shook his head. “Skina,” he said next and his irises gained luminosity. “This is incredible. I wonder if I am an arcane focus.”

“You're still going to the undercity but only after I've ascended the pillar to tier two,” Lukas said, massaging his temple. The extreme magic drain was strenuous. It meant he couldn’t just create the arcane specialization clones when he wished it and needed to be more strategic with their creation. “We still need to figure out what Silverspine's interests are down there and discover whether it's within our current capabilities.”

“Got it, boss. Take a load off. Ascend. I got your back.”

“Give me a moment to recover more magic. I want ‘Elvis’ around in case this knocks me out for ages like with the Body Pillar’s awakening.”