Path of the Deathless

349 (I) Broken Things [III]

—Udraal Thann’s recovered notes349 (I)

Broken Things [III]

The arrow arrived from out of nowhere. One moment, it wasn't. The next, it split through the fabric of reality, defying the Usurper-Narrator's stilling of time to greet the back of her center head. It combusted in blooming, brilliant colors—colors that defined the sunrise of a distant horizon, cast by an eternally clear sky; colors that Shiv knew all too well.

He had no idea how Adam had defied the temporal quarantine, nor what powers he now possessed that allowed him to surprise Evanescia so. It also didn't matter. Adam was here now, and everything came second to his immediate safety.

The arrow's explosion consumed Evanescia; her very being vibrated, stunning her for the briefest of instances. A brief instance that both Shiv and Adam capitalized on.

Shiv closed in on her—not to strike her with strength nor spell, but to divert her attention from Adam. Wherever he was.

The answer to that question arrived in the form of a second arrow. This one, Shiv noticed beforehand. It too tore through the golden mana fused over the surface of reality like a layer of lacquer. Shiv's Legion of Self let him examine it in detail. Its blazing length was like something distilled from the pureness of a star, and its edges rippled and radiated with the corona of a wondrous horizon. Its tip sank into Shiv's flesh, but rather than tearing him asunder in body or soul, the arrow injected its essence into him, and with it came a glorious warmth accompanied by a long-missed presence.

Once more, Shiv felt Adam ignite the insides of his soul, and graced by a source of boundless Heroism, Shiv felt his own powers swell. Felt his own skills rise in strength. Felt his heart clear twice over, of all doubt and darkness shrouding his judgment. The world around him grew brighter as he was infused by Adam's Divinity. Yet, amidst the incandescence was always that azure purity that stood deviant from the energies that radiated from Longinus.

Inside, the blessings bestowed by Adam's power were even greater. The cracks lining the exterior of the Harbinger were sealed by the pyre of Heroism. Shiv's new Legendary skill went from being brittle to merely dented.

the Harbinger breathed.

Adam's voice came as an incoherent, droning mess inside Shiv’s head. Processing anything while Legion of Self was active remained a struggle. But there would be time enough for dialogue and plans in a moment if Shiv did things right.

the Harbinger instructed.

And so Shiv realized he had to do something unexpected to throw everyone off. If this had developed into a fight, then Evanescia would draw upon one of her Mythic-Tier characters, and even Adam’s divine power couldn’t bridge that gulf.

The Deathless manifested his reinforced Harbinger. Its golden form manifested over him, shrouding him in the person he could be. That time-wrought body, constructed from golden shards of glass, was still deformed in a few places, but it shone clearer than ever before. The Harbinger resembled an older Shiv: taller, refined, stable of gaze, proper of dress, bearing the tools of his desired trade and the confidence of someone who was more than a mere monster. And the resolve residing within the Harbinger was cast out in a telepathic shout that made the world tremble. Even the Mythic-Tier Chronomancy gripping the world shook and fractured in Shiv’s immediate vicinity.

Just because Evanescia's magics were greater than his by magnitude didn't make him weak. Ultimately, her time mana wasn't concentrated; it was spread out to hold an entire dimension in enduring stasis. The Harbinger, meanwhile, was dense and concentrated, and so it was able to contend with what the Usurper-Narrator pitted against him, at least while she was not focusing her efforts on him.

“WAIT!” Shiv's voice struck Evanescia. Her silhouetted form staggered for the second time as Shiv's enkindled flames manifested before the Usurper-Narrator as a vaguely human shape with both hands held out, conveying Shiv's honest intent toward pacifism.

Using Legion of Self, Shiv sent another thought to Adam.

With that done, Shiv let time progress an instant into the future, and both Evanescia and Adam stiffened and stilled, restraining themselves from immediate violence. Shiv felt the shift in their emotions and the faint whispers of their thoughts. The Harbinger wasn't just a courier of his intent, but also an astute listener of hearts and minds. It had to be, since communication was core to its way of ruin; after all, what difference to the Harbinger of broken mind from a broken body from a broken heart?

Legion of Self ceased. Shiv's perception of time returned to normal.

Evanescia stood across from him as a silhouette, no longer in the body of the tree-headed entity made of separated shards, her posture halted on the verge of violence, and her emotional core clear and excited, swirling with passionate energies. Within Shiv, somehow more deep and brilliant, was Adam. His heart was burning as well, but it was with defiance and a righteous urge to strike down the wicked. The Paragon’s mind was tense and anxious; he wasn't sure what game Shiv was playing, but he didn't question him. He trusted Shiv, absolutely, and it went the same the other way.

Shiv and his Harbinger let out twin exhales.

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his skill instructed.

Evanescia called out. Her silhouette quivered as if she was on the verge of summoning a Pathbearer to form, but she held herself back from self-inserting and stayed her hand from retribution. Rather than sounding offended, she was positively giddy—and what's more, her emotional core boiled with curiosity.

Adam shouted back from within Shiv. His voice reverberated with power, but where Evanescia was a clear and crisp narrator, Adam was a resounding bellow. A clear clarion call that would blare like a horn signaling the arrival of cavalry, liberating a town under siege.

The Usurper-Narrator's body language betrayed a hint of confusion, and her mind whispered a faint note of hurt. Her feelings weren't offended so deeply that she thought less of Adam, but she simply couldn't seem to understand why he didn't appreciate the life she was offering.

the Harbinger deduced.

“Wait,” Shiv interrupted the conversation between the two. “Evanescia, we were talking before Adam so rudely interrupted us—”

Adam barked with confusion and surprise.

Shiv whispered to his friend telepathically.

A burst of surprise came from Adam.

A quick peal of laughter escaped from Evanescia. She began circling Shiv, eyeing his Harbinger up and down.

“Third, huh?” Shiv was genuinely curious about how he compared to the other two possessors of the skill—but the Harbinger whispered for him to focus, to avoid getting sidetracked like he so often did. “Well, since you know how it works, that saves me some explanations. So let me start off with a few ugly truths: We both know how a fight between us is going to end.”

Evanescia and Adam said at the same time, though their emotions burned very differently from one another.

“Yeah, we do,” Shiv insisted. “I don't know how many Mythic-Tier Pathbearers you can insert yourself into. On top of that, I don't even know if Mythic-Tier is your ceiling of power. And that's not getting into all your other skills. On the other hand, you know a lot about me. You've been watching me this entire time—well, most of this entire time.”

Evanescia said, still circling him.

That revelation took Shiv by surprise. “Huh? How does that work?”

“And in time, do the Eldritch become Fae?” Shiv asked.

Evanescia tilted her head.

Adam spat.

She snickered and rubbed her hands together.

“Yeah, sure. I can say all kinds of things. But that’s what I want to talk with you about—Evanescia, you know you're getting a little too excited, right? You're kind of spoiling your own story.”

The Usurper-Narrator cocked her head and stopped circling Shiv as his words filled her core and mind with the smoke of doubt.

“I mean exactly what I just said. You're damaging your own reading experience. Look, I understand you not intervening while I was beating on Longinus.”

Adam shuddered with alarm inside him.

Shiv grunted in acknowledgment.

Shiv turned his focus back to Evanescia. “But you had the excuse of wanting to figure me out, wanting to understand how I managed to slip out of your Fairwoods. On top of that, as you said earlier, me grinding Longinus down over days of skirmishing is entertaining—but come on, what kind of story arc is this, right? I've already deviated. You told me so.”

Evanescia admitted, and her heart sang a note of genuine mournfulness.

“Wait, I thought the Princess made that thing. The armor with all those tooth fairies that was actually awakened and alive, right? The one that had its own Path.”

Evanescia nodded animatedly.

The Usurper-Narrator's voice was innocent and jubilant, but her words still roused a ravenous anger inside Shiv. She had planned this, in some regard. She'd allowed Georges to suffer—allowed so many people to suffer—at the hands of Longinus, a monster beyond compare. If Shiv knew one thing for certain, it was that the Wanderer was a monster that needed killing. Evanescia didn't care, however. She just let him be. She let him play Shiv's villain, and so many people suffered for it.

The Harbinger paused and considered something.

A weakness was identified. Shiv zeroed in on it. “Whoa, hey, whoa! What the hells, Evanescia!” He threw up both hands and sighed in offense. “Honestly, this is why dealing with you can be so annoying. You always do that. Always. It's like you don't respect yourself or this place at all.”

The Usurper-Narrator didn't say anything at first, but her emotions rang clear. The sphere at her core turned bruised as her ego took a genuine hit, but she remained confused as to why.

Shiv laughed humorlessly. “Sure. I’ll elaborate. Can't believe you didn't notice what you were doing all this time, though. Makes me wonder how many other people you did this to.” He was dragging a knife across her metaphorical flesh now, making it hurt a while longer before he sank it in. “Spoilers, Evanescia. You love giving people spoilers.”

And then, almost to Shiv's disbelief, he felt the Harbinger's powers activate. A shadow formed behind Evanescia. It was a faint thing, a midnight fire that danced and flickered, but was almost akin to a mirage in how thin and weak it manifested. Even so, the shadowy effigy tied to the Harbinger ran a hand along the Usurper-Narrator's silhouette and a portion of her outside. A thin bit of epidermis began to glisten and crack—like compromised glass.

A detonation of power went off inside Shiv for the rhetorical feat he just performed.

Harbinger of Tripartite Ruin 208 > 213

Rhetoric 25 > 32

Deductive Reasoning 24 > 27