Path of the Deathless

315 (I) To Break a Curse [XII]

315 (I) To Break a Curse [XII]

The sheer number of Pathbearers in the Prismatic Guard kept taking Shiv by surprise.

The moment he stepped out from the surface Gateway, he found himself surrounded by a sea of organic signatures. There were thousands of the bastards, with more teleporting in. The Jump Magi weren't bringing them through team by team, either. It was entire regiments being deployed as huge chasms of Dimensionality opened cliffs in space, allowing the Guard to flood through. The Republic had the gateway completely surrounded. Dense columns formed from a complicated spell pattern and varied mana types burst free from the soil and curved across the sky, forming the bars to a magical cage that engulfed the gateway. There were barriers underground as well. Though Shiv couldn't see them, he could feel them. His Biomancy was repelled with an explosive blast the moment it dipped a meter beneath the earth.

That left only fifty meters of free space around the gateway.

Rippling waves of Dimensionality washed through the air. Though Shiv's Portomancy was weak, and he lacked all technical knowledge with regard to the duties of a Jump Mage, even he could feel the spatial repression choking the atmosphere. The Republic's forces might be able to teleport in and out of the area, but no one else was supposed to.

Between the magical pillars, Shiv could see four colossal airships gliding through the sky. They resembled the Inquisition airship that Havel had commandeered for his raid on Blackedge. That meant they were evolved automata rather than pure vehicles. Their insides scintillated with additional life signs, and Shiv focused on a few, hopping between the perspectives of the passengers as he gleaned the airships’ interiors. Flashes of heavily armed Pathbearers forming up in hangars and readying themselves for landing greeted Shiv's Awareness. Then he skipped a little bit further as his Atlas of the Flesh Scryer placed him in the perspective of someone setting up an artillery position.

Shiv let out a low whistle.

Adam's Psychomantic reply came with a sour note.

It was understandable. Even if the Ascendants were false gods demented by a power that they were unworthy of, the Prismatic Guard was still a foe to behold. A curious thought itched inside Shiv. He wondered how much of this army he could kill before they brought him down.

Heavy winds battered his body as whistles and horns blew above. However, the Republic mainly relied on Psychomancers to coordinate their formations—a curious thing considering Psychomancy was a restricted magical art. The closest of their Vanguard infantry was five hundred meters away. Their dragoons and riders hovered in the air well over a kilometer out, maintaining their distance from Shiv. Something told him they were briefed on his capabilities and knew he was primarily a close-quarters combatant.

However, the few thousand fear chains that snaked out from the gathered forces and infused Shiv with greater power told him they weren’t actually looking for a fight.

They knew enough about him to be scared. For the first time, he wondered what rumors had spread with his name. What his reputation among the martial Pathbearers was like.

Shiv considered this as he casually opened his Sync-Letter in the direction of the Prismatic Guard. He aimed at the densest concentration of aerial soldiers; scattering their most mobile forces would delay them from reaching the Gate and twist the momentum in favor of the Orcs. Anticipating a potential battle, Adam and the Culturist had prepared the grayskins for emergency mobilization, and the Tutorial gateway, once tuned to the Fairwoods, was temporarily synchronized with the surface instead.

Seconds passed. No deafening blast carved a cataclysmic path across the world. No Rhetoric deprived Shiv of a new body. A clashing mishmash between rattling armor, soaring mounts, flying Pathbearers, and distant klaxons thundering from the looming airships became a chaotic ambiance.

Shiv guessed. Turning the notebook around, he prepared himself for Death.

Instead, he got the following:

He stopped reading for a beat as his Sage of the Enkindled Heart contained the warmth radiating through him. It took him a substantial effort to shrug off the artificially induced affection he suddenly felt toward Veronica.

Sage of the Enkindled Heart:

In response, Shiv created a new task for his Bifurcated Processing—turned his subconsciousness into a bystander to monitor any unexpected feelings burgeoning inside him—before continuing.

“What a load of bullshit,” Shiv grunted to himself. He stopped reading then and there and flipped to an empty page. Then he made a cut along one of his fingertips and quickly scribbled a rebuttal.

Shiv closed up his wound and flipped back to Veronica's letter.

Shiv’s left eye twitched.

Sage of the Enkindled Heart:

That was true, but it still felt good to be regarded so highly. Especially by a True Legend—

Bifurcated Processing struck him like a whip. His mind reeled as he regained his composure.

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Gardener of Doubt:

Sage of the Enkindled Heart:

“The felling—seriously, you’re writing this shit with a straight face, you old bitch you…” Shiv growled as he flipped to the page he'd started earlier and scribbled a new response down.

At this point, Shiv was starting to wonder if she was deliberately trying to annoy him. Reading her subsequent statements fanned the flames of his suspicion.

Sage of the Enkindled Heart:

And her following line made Shiv clench his teeth.

“I godsdamned hate you so much right now,” Shiv whispered. “ much.”

Sage of the Enkindled Heart:

“FUCK HER PSYCHOLOGY!” Shiv shouted. The air around him boomed. He turned his hateful glare on the Prismatic Guard gathered around the gateway. “AND FUCK ALL OF YOU! GO HOME, DIPSHITS! CHANDLER’S GAMBLING WITH YOUR LIVES!”

A few of the fear-chains thickened, but no one replied to him. Shiv had half a mind to throw himself at them in a blind assault to just get things over with, but butchering random members of the Guard didn’t sit well with him. The Inquisition had its hands stained with uniquely vile deeds, but the Prismatic Guard just seemed like random people doing their jobs. Slaughtering them would be—

Shiv seethed. He swapped his physical form with his Severed Shadow and studied the vitality signatures around him.

Adam answered flatly.

Uva sighed.

“No, I—” Shiv choked as he realized he wasn’t sure if his current emotions were actually his or not. At some point, his genuine annoyance must have melded with the frustration Veronica was deliberately trying to inject into him. Once more, he realized how disgusting High-Tier Social Skills were.

Adam cut him off.

Shiv frowned.

“But she will speak with me, I suspect,” Valor said from right beside Shiv.

Shiv completed half a nod before he flinched and barely caught himself from jumping.

“Oh, hi, Valor,” Shiv breathed, clenching his jaw tight. “Been here all this time, huh?”

“Ah, no. Only for the past few minutes. My return from the Capital took a bit longer than I expected.”

Shiv did a double-take. “You—wait, were you really at the Capitol with me?”

The ancient Pathbearer chuckled. “Someone had to stop Anthony from being foolish. Also, I approve of you not murdering that Adept. Though you could have been far more gentle about your method of incapacitation.”

“Yeah. Didn’t really mean to do that. So, guessing you want to speak with Veronica instead of me?”

“Yes. Though I am still an incomplete soul, it will suffice to play the part of myself convincingly. She knows me. She will be on guard with me. And she will speak to me as a potential threat rather than a child she can manipulate.”

Hearing Valor state his intentions out loud hurt Shiv’s pride. “Yeah. Probably a better idea. I noticed how her words were just… pulling me along. It’s hard to tell which feelings are my own and which come from her. Has me questioning my free will a bit.”

“Do not be ashamed. Instead, be proud that you are capable of even considering that. Most Pathbearers would have likely been consumed by pure irrational fervor. Picking your battles and not wishing to be manipulated is not cowardice, but wisdom.”

“So, I should let you surprise her in my place?”

“Hm. Not exactly.” Valor hummed with amusement. “I think we should both go. You should greet her in person first, and then I will appear next to you and see how she responds. She anticipates you. Few can anticipate me. With her unbalanced, it will be most educational. In fact, I think we should bring your friends along.”

“Friends?” Shiv asked. “You mean, Uva, Adam—”

“Jessica and the Educator.” Valor’s correction was tinged with a hint of puckish glee. “The Culturist too.”

“Using ‘friends’ very loosely there, Valor. Also, won’t she just, I don’t know, teleport away or something if she feels like she’s getting ambushed?”

“Does Veronica Chandler seem like the type to accept that she’s been out-schemed by a child? Especially one she considers to be of her blood?”

Sage of the Enkindled Heart:

That was all it took for Shiv to decide on the next course of action. “Okay. We all go say hi to Veronica. You are sure this won’t cause her to order the Guard to just storm the Gate, right?”

“I am not certain about anything, my young disciple,” Valor said. “And that is the most important thing about going through life: accepting and overcoming uncertainty, and taking calculated risks. Of course, being immune to death means your threshold for what counts as a calculated risk is far more lenient than most others’.”

“So, what does that mean?” Shiv asked.

“It means you should take ridiculous gambles. I do agree with Veronica on one thing: You shouldn’t be so eager to declare yourself before your enemies. A bit of mystique and madness will serve you well. And I think you can be taught to harness both to great effect. Now. Let’s go gather everyone and find Legend Jessica and see what kind of backdoor she has hiding within the depths of her sword.”

Adam asked.

The lich shook his head.

“Huh?” Shiv blinked. “Why?”

“Because I kidnapped it already. Along with the Marshal and Commander in charge of the operation, respectively. The Prismatic Guard will soon start searching for their commanding element, but they will not be able to find any trace of them.” Valor held his head high, like a schoolboy proud of a devious prank he'd just pulled rather than a nightmarish Shadow who'd somehow snatched a number of high-ranking commanders from an opposing army without anyone noticing.

Shiv gaped.

Uva inquired further.

For too long, Shiv thought himself the literal incarnation of terror on the battlefield, that fear was his weapon to wield against all others. Now he realized he was wrong. He was little more than a rank amateur, and standing before him was a true author of dread.

Adam squeaked.

“Valor.” Shiv gazed upon his mentor with new eyes, ones filled with admiration. “Teach me everything you know.”

The Undying threw his head back and laughed like a happy grandfather. “In due time, dear boy, in due time.”

***