AA. 205

Team Forge is the first and only team to have completed the fifth sector and maintained its lead throughout the Cleansing. You have earned 1 Silver Ascension Token, 10 Schema Tokens, and 1000 Schema Credits for your efforts. 

Everyone but, apparently, Iris received the same notification when entering the rest area. She got the same rewards for her efforts except the ascension token. Nil already knew what he was going to do with it. Nil wanted to help Lily and intended to loan it to her so she could pay back Wilson Luduses and reduce her debt. Even if the Nexus didn’t go along with his secondary request, the act would hasten her escape from the predatory contract.

The tokens went into Finesse and Spark, bringing them to their Silver Realm peak. Nil was glad he had hoarded all the tokens earned while on Ashe Fall. The others had done the same to a lesser extent. Through Sheer Grit was starting to show its potency. Their natural growth lagged behind his, and they relied more on Schema Tokens than him. Selia and Shawn also needed to split their attention three ways. Finesse helped with their martial ability. Mind helped them deal with the mental strain of spell casting and precise ability in control. Finally, they needed Spark for their ability pools. Most of their attribute ranks were still in the middle of Silver Realm. 

The Cleansing had proved fruitful. All of his abilities, attributes, and the Source Gauntlets had seen significant growth. Nil had hoped Anti-Friction Lattice would’ve gained a rank prior to the final challenge, but it hadn’t yet. Nil had used the ability extensively during the Cleansing and had it to thank for speedy movement through each sector. Without it, he would’ve struggled to outpace Selia.

Everyone ate and enjoyed a brief shut-eye. Then, fifteen minutes before their allotted rest period ended, the construct stirred them all. Everyone freshened up, snacked, and drank tea. Nil had brewed the beverage before they slept and heated it up over the wood-fired stove. 

Much like Shawn, Selia no longer wore her starting outfit. Her clothes had suffered significant damage. It wasn’t a matter of how much they revealed but their chances of falling apart during combat. She replaced her bottoms with a pair of dark, form-fitting shorts. A charcoal top that resembled a karate-gi covered her top half.

Nil didn’t bother with much besides the trousers he got on Ashe Fall. He had washed them before sleeping, and they were sufficiently dry. It was all he bothered with since the rest wouldn’t survive whatever chaos awaited. Everyone prepared their weapons and techniques during the final seconds before the arena construct teleported them to the final challenge.

It was as Iris had predicted. A giant tear in space hung over the Buddhist-monastery-like structure growing out of the mountainside. Giant squid tentacles stuck out of them. Nil recalled seeing similar limbs in all the ritual sites—especially the ones with Wells of Power—that he and the team had visited. The giant Void entity was trying to extend its reach into several corners of Eternum at once. 

The appendages weren’t as giant as Oth’s, but each had the girth of a giant sequoia tree. Serrated, hook-shaped claws that curved inwards covered them. Each radiated a sickening energy reminiscent of Cursed Energy. Insectoid limbs covered in thick chitin pulled at the tear’s edges. Nil couldn’t tell whether the creature was trying to climb through or widen the opening in space. Looking at the creature gave Nil a dull headache, and he supercharged psychic fortitude, erring on the side of caution. 

Eternum has been marked as the breeding ground of a new scuttler hive. If the princess is allowed to tap into the planet’s strongest Well of Power, she’ll set roots and accomplish her goal, ascending to the rank of mother and queen. Destabliziing other Void anomalies around the world has crippled her progress.

Cleanse the temple’s heart of Cursed Energy and Void influence, ensuring the princess fails and Eternum is secured. The Deep Ones’ ritual must be stopped. The princess’s influence must be repelled.

This feels more like a quest than an arena match. 

“I think we should prioritize the ritual,” Selia said. She shuddered, looking at the dimensional tear and the monster reaching through it. Alien colors and blackness deeper than anything that Nil had ever seen peeked through the gaps between the rift’s edges and the titanic entity. “Taking out Deep Ones—whatever they are—should be easier than dealing with the beautiful princess.” 

“That won’t work,” Iris pointed at the tentacles bunched together and reaching into the structure. “I can guarantee that won’t work. You might be able to get through it, but not the rest of us. Those things will be a pain to tear through, and I can guarantee there are scuttlers swarming on top of them.”

“They’re just scuttlers,” Shawn said. “We can rip through whatever gets in our path. My—”

“Just scuttlers?” Iris snorted, shaking her head. “You’ve only seen the young hives where they haven’t had the chance to sufficiently feast and evolve. The Scourge were smart about their extraction from Eternum, but that won’t be the case at the point of impact and ritual site. We’ll have to deal with the princess’s royal guard, specimens who have fed on powerful Scourge Champions and Cursed Ones, and their offspring. And believe me, when I tell you so, these bastards reproduce fast. This will be anything but easy. I don’t like our chances without a mage.”

“Do you have an alternative?” Shawn asked.

Iris pointed at the tear. “We need to assault the princess directly. If we can destroy the legs holding the tear open, the tentacles anchoring our royal highness should retreat. Then, Selia can assassinate the Deep Ones, fueling the ritual. Then the tear should close on its own.”

“How the hell are we going to get up there?” Nil asked, struggling to gauge the distance. “It's much farther than I’ve ever jumped.” He pointed at the winged insectoids flying around the tear and all along the tentacles. “Those don’t look like friendly bystanders either.”

“Between Shawn and me, getting you up there should be no trouble at all.” Iris looked at Shawn. “Right? My arms and your barriers should give Nil enough barriers to jump off. We could zig zag to the top.”

“Meanwhile, I make my way to the ritual site,” Selia said thoughtfully. She frowned as she studied the creature above and the temple towering over them. It grew out of the side of a mountain. “It’s a long way to fall if anyone fucks up.”

“It's a long enough fall for me to activate the surrender tattoo,” Nil commented. “I can do this.” He hesitated, looking at the distance between the monastery and the tear, the tentacles, and all the flying creatures in between. “I think.”

“That doesn’t give me a lot of confidence.” Selia took Nil’s hand and gave it two quick squeezes. It was her silent way of sharing hesitation or concern. Selia didn’t like the idea and wanted something better. Unfortunately, Nil had nothing to contribute. He was too busy trying to figure out how to get to the target safely without falling. Running or sliding up the tentacles felt like the best bet, but the claws and monsters wouldn’t make it easy. “Does everyone think this is the best option?”

Iris nodded. “We have two options. Surrender and still come in first but settle for poor rewards. Eternum is lost to the Void, or the intelligence organizes a second emergency Cleansing. Or we take a shot at assaulting the princess directly. If your mage didn’t have to surrender, we could’ve tried our luck taking the construct’s suggested route. We neither have the stamina nor firepower to deal with an army of probably overfed and superpowered scuttlers.”

“I’m all for it.” Shawn nodded. He turned to Iris. “We can help Nil climb and shield the two of us. If you can also keep me from getting swarmed by the flyers, I could also start a spell to close, if not shrink the rift. It would require a couple of the legs to be knocked back, though.”

“Doable.” Iris nodded.

“I don’t like the risk to Nil, but we don’t have any other options. But if he’s into the idea—”

“I am,” Nil said, giving Selia’s hand a soft but firm squeeze.

“Then, we might as well try.” Selia sighed. “If it doesn’t work out, then retreat. Find me, and we deal with the ritual together.” She looked at Shawn. “Catch him if he falls. Please. I don’t know if Absorb can deal with that kind of height.”

“I think it can,” Nil replied but went ignored.

“I will,” Shawn told Selia. “Or try my best, at least. You have my word.”

The scuttlers in the monastery were far more advanced than the creatures Team Forge had faced thus far. They had more going for them. It wasn’t just a matter of more appendages like the princess and her cephalopod-like mouth ornaments.

Tiny cat-like insectoids assaulted the team as soon as they scaled the mountainside, approaching the towering monastery compound. They moved with far greater agility than the specimens encountered in the sectors or prior challenges. The scuttlers displayed the speed, agility, and jumping power of cats, and energy flowed through their claws and swipes, leaving gouges in the local stone. Shawn and Iris held them back as Selia prepared her Arcane Eye and other detection spells. 

When combined with Energy Echo, Selia not only enhances its range but also the ability’s potency. The accuracy and level of detail still proved much greater than One With The Source. “I’ve mapped it all out,” she said through the communication badges. “The well isn’t at the top of the mountain as we hoped. It's at the heart. Maybe a spring? Or a lake? I can’t tell. Her majesty’s gorgeous tentacles have broken straight through the mountain and are digging into it, somehow breaking the barrier between the material and arcane planes.”

“Is she consuming it?” Iris asked. The party had set off with extra communication badges. Nil was likely to destroy his using Expend, but it survived until the last fight. Shawn supplied him with a new one and gave the last of them to Iris.

“No,” Selia answered. While the others fought, cutting down the feline scuttlers, she phased into the mountain and shot through the rock, heading directly toward the well. “It almost feels as if the princess is fusing with it, becoming one with the well. I don’t know how to describe it. The Weave had helped me feel out such things. It transcends dimensions of sorts.”

“That’s worse than I imagined,” Iris replied. “We can take relief in the fact that she hasn’t broken through the rift yet. You do your scouting. We’ll get where Nil needs to go.”

Iris continued to prove an unsurprisingly competent companion. She spun her blade-carrying floating arms around her torso so fast that they blurred, making her look like a roving, human blender. She shredded all the small scuttlers, turning them into mince. Then, larger specimens followed with the coloration and mobility of a snow leopard. A frost trail followed the creature; black ice made crossing paths with it treacherous, and the already frigid temperatures dropped rapidly. Iris also made short work of them. Her free limbs glowed blinding yellow, and fighting closer to her helped stave off the cold. The scuttlers paid for their speed with lighter chitinous armor and fell victim to the rapidly spinning blades.

Meanwhile, Shawn’s role in the team changed since he no longer had anyone to protect. He needed to save his energy for the ascent and the spell. So, he primarily used barriers to block the enemy’s paths and kept the team from getting swarmed while cutting down anyone who tried to sneak up on them. He took on larger foes, displaying powerful arcane effects and working more like a duelist.

Palm-sized hexagonal barrier segments slotted on and around Shawn’s body and moved with him. Their density made them almost opaque, and even the giant scuttler’s attacks failed to penetrate them. In fact, attacks on them barely made the man budge. He took advantage of the overextended creatures and cut them down with the barrier-wrapped sword. The edge was so fine it appeared invisible to the naked eye, and the scuttlers often didn’t seem to know what had hit them. He surgically removed limbs, occasionally requiring multiple blows to get through the chitinous armor. Shawn didn’t leave a trail of destruction in his path but ensured that nothing got the team from behind.

Nil led the charge, using electrified arm and elbow blades to cut through all and using his tail to whip smaller, leaping attackers aside. He also did his best to deny the opponent access routes by leaving Chaos Lightning Spheres in strategic locations. The feline specimens intent on swarming the party struggled to gain ground. 

Using Shawn’s floating barrier transport would’ve made the ascent much easier but the flyers swirling overhead made it a bad idea. The team had the option to use the environment to their advantage on the ground. Choke points and sturdy construction prevented them from getting swarmed. 

The team was halfway up the mountain when a buffalo-sized scuttler shot out of cover. It succeeded where the others failed, destroying the dense stone that the temple was carved out of. It shot in straight lines, flashing red and silver like Meatball destroying all in its path—allies and obstacles included. The Chaos weapons failed to do any damage while it was charging, and it sped off again when Nil approached. 

It was the perfect opportunity to put Nil’s original technique to work. The basic Chaos Sphere took Nil only a couple of seconds to form. Increasing the internal pressure and preparing it for an explosion took another ten. He took it to just before the point of explosion before planting himself in the path of the charging bull-like scuttler. In the final seconds before the collision, he launched the projectile, pushing his emission and manipulation skills to their limit. The sphere took off at high speed but rapidly slowed. Meanwhile, Nil released energy blasts from both his hands and feet while simultaneously wrapping the latter in energy weaves. He also switched to Absorb.

Anti-Friction Lattice has progressed to Bronze 0!

The new technique exploded with a thundering boom. The air rippled. Chaos flew in every direction, and a concussive wave followed. It eviscerated the scuttler despite its defensive enhancements. Nil manifested an Order barrier just before the Chaos reached him. The two conflicting energies neutralized each other. 

Absorb has progressed to Silver 1!

It works! Now, Andrew just needs to build me a cannon.