AA. 189

Since they were going to return to the fray as soon as everyone recovered, Nil didn’t prepare anything too heavy or large. The cubes of dried meat and vegetables hydrated well and contained enough starch to thicken the broth. Everyone had a cereal bowl’s worth of it. Nil flavored it with pepper and dark herbs that smelled like chervil—a cross between parsley and tarragon. Dried fish, similar to anchovies, made up for the lack of salt. 

Only Zora was picky about food, but she devoured the meal hungrily without question. It was simple and light but soothing. Selia called it ‘noogy.’ Nil and Shawn had extra helpings, and then everyone decompressed together.  

“Given everything we’ve seen and encountered thus far, what are some things everyone wants to avoid at all costs?” Zora asked. Almost an hour had passed since they settled in the rest area. “We’ll continue in duos for the next zone. But afterward, we’ll all move together, and it's best if we’re all on the same page about what we want to fight and would rather not.”

“Glimmer,” Nil answered without hesitation. He recalled seeing the floating orbs of light on Layla’s screens. “I know there is no way to look out for them and get away. So, I’d just rather avoid any and all lights that we can’t describe or recognize.”

“Between your Bronze Realm Mind and supercharged psychic fortitude, you should be fine,” Zora told him reassuringly. Her sympathy and empathy often felt like pity, but Nil knew that she didn’t mean it negatively. “But we’ll keep an eye out and maintain a wide berth.”

“None of those biomechanicals for me,” Selia stated. He was glad she quickly stepped and didn’t let Zora continue. The Glimmer genuinely scared Nil, and he had made it clear before. Now, exposing his fears around the team’s mage felt like a big mistake. “The Weave told not to deal with them. Their biometallic bodies are durable as hell and recover from most damage. Apparently, the lights screw with power seeds. I’d rather not have my phase-shifting go all wonky and fall forever through the ground or end up stuck halfway in a wall. 

“I don’t think much besides heat and lightning weapons from your vault can deal with them.” Selia took Nil’s hand. She gave it a tight squeeze. “And the Chaos weapons, of course. Even then, I’m doubtful whether that’s enough. Source or not, these things are powerful.”

“The druids think it is the same energy that fuels them,” Shawn added, sipping his second cup of tea. His eyes drifted to the kettle sitting next to the arcane fire. “It’s not the Source in whatever form contains the multiversal barriers but something else. Something more alive. There are some theories that they’re born of technologies from multiverses that predate ours.”

“Living Source machines.” Selia sighed. Nil felt a little shiver run through her. “That’s not terrifying at all.”

“The elders of the Circle of Endless Beyond model their wood golems after the Tanglers,” Shawn continued. “Adaptive. Powerful. Fast. If they can cut through my barriers in the same way as Nil, I certainly don’t want to deal with them either.”

“No Void mech-hives then.” Zora nodded. She tightly held her cup, hunched over it. The woman seemed to enjoy inhaling the vapors more than drinking the tea. “I don’t have any experience with them. If they’re as durable and recover as swiftly as you say, it's probably best if we avoid them. Personally, I detest the idea of dealing with all Void things. Scuttlers and Assimilators are easy to deal with. But the more unknown something is, the harder it is for my weapons to counter. It's the nature of the competition, though. And I really need that Silver Ascension Token.”

“How about, as a rule, we just avoid anything we don’t recognize,” Nil stated. “It might go against the spirit of the Cleansing, but I think just going for other teams or resolving events might be the way to go. Stopping rituals, destroying hives, and taking out assimilators have all proved themselves as guaranteed sources of points. We can continue doing the same—”

“Unless there are no other options,” Shawn quickly added. “If there are more challenges that involve sealing a tear in space, I don’t think we should turn our back on it. They’re straightforward. Survive and protect until I’ve finished my spell.”

“Why didn’t you tell us you could do that, by the way?” Selia asked, playfully smacking Shawn’s arm. “Naughty.”

“I didn’t know whether it would be relevant.” Shawn shrugged. He shot the woman an apologetic smile. “To be honest, I didn’t know whether I was good enough or I’d pull it off. If I failed, eventually, the entity responsible for the tear would emerge, and we’d have to take it out to end the anomaly. But now I know that I can do it. The effort, energy, and mental stress costs are ridiculous but well within my reach. It just needs to be a gate challenge.”

“You need a long rest afterward,” Zora said, eyes hungrily shooting to the crystal. Nil imagined having one like it would accelerate her mage training. “I understand. It's the same when I use a particularly taxing spell. You probably have enough energy to spare with your incredible Spark. Sealing space must seriously tax the mind.”

“It's certainly not easy. By the way.” Shawn’s attention turned to Nil. “How many new moves do you have hidden away? Lightning balls. Spikes. Freezing barrier. What will you pull out of your butt next? A tail?”

“I have a lot in the works,” Nil replied. He wasn’t sure whether most of his ideas would ever leave the training room. “There is no telling what will become battle-ready next. Something long-range and explosive might come next. If I figure out how to create Order weapons and move with them, perhaps that.”

The conversation came to an abrupt end. When Team Forge heard footsteps on the stone outside, they all fell silent. Even though the arena construct forbade combat in the rest area, they didn’t trust the other teams to follow the rules. Nil worried that the Scourge or another team would gladly sacrifice themselves to hurt or get rid of the competition.

Fortunately, the enemy team didn’t. Several sets of eyes peeked at them before owners limped or dragged themselves away to another room. Nil sensed no Cursed Energy from them and was almost sure they weren’t the Scourge. He recognized none of the faces and wrote them off as another random group. 

How many will the construct allow through this time?

According to the traditional Cleansing rules, only eight teams were supposed to make it through to the next sector and they only ever dealt with a total of five gates. The usual rules and patterns that Nil had learned across several recordings no longer mattered. The Void further complicated things.

Team Forge hung around for another quarter of an hour until the crystal was drained and everyone had recovered enough energy to continue. They heard another group enter the rest area as they exited but didn’t pause to check if it was something they knew.

A seemingly endless stone city lay before them. It extended into the horizon, partially buried in snow. White powder added to the growing dunes. The sky hadn’t changed since Nil arrived on Eternum. Black clouds hid the sun, creating the perfect environment for Cursed Ones to roam freely.

“Dusk,” Selia announced. “The nocturnal ones are going to come out now.”

“Better for us,” Zora said. “More easy points”

“And it will be easier to look out for the Void lights,” Nil said, scanning the land ahead with Energy Instinct. “There is something big just down there.” He pointed at what looked like it was once a market or festival square. “Shit load of Cursed Energy filling the space. It's not one source but several, and I think they’re fighting.”

“Cursed Ones fighting one another?” Zora raised a carefully pruned and shaped eyebrow. “That has Void has written all over it. Should we?”

“I don’t see why not,” Shawn replied. He kept one hand on the longsword’s hilt. The weapon hung from his belt, tucked in a sheath that matched the rest of his pearly white outfit. “It's what we do the best. Game plan?”

“You and I make a beeline for them,” Zora answered. She twisted a couple of rings on her staff, and the spell storage stones hummed. “Speedy and Mrs Gonzales can do a lap, ensure nothing is lying in wait to jump the clash’s winner or distracted parties. We’ll initiate. You two come in with your fast and sneaky attacks.”

“This is getting a little boring, isn’t it?” Selia asked once Zora and Shawn set off. She stretched, rolled her shoulders, and got in position for Nil to pick her up and throw her.

“Boring?” Nil laughed. “What do you want to do to spice things up?” He pointed at a still-standing tower in the distance. “Screw around up there, hoping it doesn’t collapse?”

“In a pool of blood after a battle would be even better. If you could source the fluids from our enemies, it would be even better. A couple of red rose petals would make it even better.”

“Are you sure about red petals?” Nil picked her up and assumed the position. “A lighter color or another shade would add some contrast.”

“Why don’t you just surprise me, Mr Roy?” Selia kissed his cheek before he threw her with all he could muster. After some hesitation, Nil did the same with Meatball. She had proven herself a reliable companion. The battlefield was close, and Nil was sure she’d go straight for the dense energy signature.

The final battle had drained a monstrous chunk of Nil’s energy, and Shiver Shield hadn’t recovered most of it. He regained another monstrous chunk by leaping from the temple with Absorb activated. He dropped about a hundred meters, if not more. Then, Nil advanced as fast as his new Finesse would allow.

Maybe I should’ve poured it all into Finesse. Got more than enough energy to spare. 

Anti-Friction lattice has progressed to Iron 9!

The wind blowing through his wild locks refreshed Nil more than purified energy ever could. It was thrilling. Nil understood why people spent millions on supercars, and regulatory boards were squabbling with Aethertech companies. Nil couldn’t wait to find out how much faster he could get. He also hoped Quicksilver Burst would grow exponentially so Meatball could keep up with him. 

For the time being, Nil slowed down and kept pace with Selia. It was no fun holding himself back, but he still enjoyed the feeling of wind on his face. He occasionally switched to Absorb while sliding and slamming into walls, recovering whatever energy he burned with hand blasts. Then he took off again, enjoying the sudden burst of speed.