Path of the Deathless (Book 2 Completed)

151 (I) Provoke [II]

“The Eldest follows.”

This is a fundamental axiom for all Seekers who have not only witnessed the Outside and kept their minds intact but also allowed that which lurks beyond the System to reside in them. When the colors from that place beyond settle within our pattern-limited flesh, a synthesis follows. But with the beginning of that synthesis, you become a child of the Eldest, for before all the other Outsiders were, the Eldest was waiting.

Tragically, we are the only ones that can truly notice the Inverted Progenitor. For though the Eldest exists in relation to its uncanny mixed descendants, they remain unknown to their direct spawn. For they are not apart from the Eldest, but too closely intertwined.

Think on this: Your skin cells do not have a conversation with you, do they? Yes. So the lacking metaphor serves its end.

And what does the Eldest seek? A change. A mutation. A splitting of its lines. It yearns to instill the disorder of the shapeless Outside within a structure of pattern-based stability, and should you endure before the initial colors, the Eldest will follow, and they will paint you from within. They will make you something new.

But herein comes a stranger struggle—the Eldest cares only for change. Something will be grown within you. Something meant to rise from your flesh, or to be subsumed by your flesh. And for you to endure, Seeker, for you to remain changed but continual unto yourself rather than a host to a new organism, you must devour the unreason that lives within you. You must consume the strangeness and integrate it into your order.

For the host and spawn of this metamorphosis are in question, and ultimately, the transformation itself is what the Eldest desires...

-Face of the Stranger: Eldritch Beings at the System’s Periphery

151 (I)

Provoke [II]

Mind-rending colors spilled out from Uva and trickled along the exterior of Shiv’s Vitae. The Deathless tried to detach his mana, but whatever had a grip on him refused to let go. The eldritch colors pressed against Shiv’s Vitae streams but failed to seep in. He watched it wash against the outer layer of his Vitae like a flood of oil being poured across water as he pulled back.alking. Fuck off, and don’t bother replying.”

The Dreamtaker let out a quiet grumble of incomprehensible noises before going quiet.

Uva’s mouth remained open.

“You okay?” Shiv asked. “The Dreamtaker’s not threatening you on the inside or anything, right?”

“No. She’s quiet. And dumbstruck, I think. She doesn’t understand why you are so agitated. She still can’t perceive any part of the Eldest’s existence.” Uva blinked rapidly as she ran a hand along her naked body again, where the odd creatures had drifted earlier. “And I can’t believe you managed to kill that thing.”

Shiv smiled. “Yeah, well, they aren’t the only ones that can perform acts of bullshit. And if they do start changing you from the inside again, you let me know so I can follow through on that threat. I wasn’t lying when I said I’m tired of the Outsiders and their incomprehensible nonsense.” He calmed himself slightly. “At least I got a Feat out of killing that thing.”

“A Feat?” Uva echoed with surprise.

“Yeah.” Shiv grinned as he brought up his new reward in his mind again, letting Uva read it through their re-established link. “Casual Scargiver. From the way it's described, it seems like I can keep the Outsiders injured across time and causality? Not entirely sure. I guess I’ll find out when I end up fighting someone later. My guess is that if I hurt someone, they’ll stay hurt now. At least until they fix themselves up. They can’t just jump back in time and remove the wound with Chronomancy like I can.”

“I...” Uva pinched the bridge of her nose. “Shiv. Adam is right. You are absolutely ridiculous, sometimes.” Shiv grinned as he let himself fall back on the mattress and pulled her down with him, pressing his body against hers. Uva’s eyes remained locked with his, her expression flat, before she broke and let out a soft chuckle. “Well. I’m glad I came to you with this matter, Hero Shiv. I was so very worried before, but now...” She ran her nails across his chest, and Shiv felt his insides ignite at her touch.

“You know...” Shiv swallowed. “We should still tell Adam and... Valor about this.”

“Later,” she breathed. “We still need to monitor the situation. See if the Eldest returns.”

“Yeah,” Shiv whispered, pulling her even closer. “We should give it a few minutes. Or an hour. In the meantime... Again?”

“Again,” she answered, wrapping herself around him once more.

***

“And you’re sure you killed it?” Adam asked again, looking over Uva with concern.

Shiv stared Whisper down as he let the orc into his cape. The final member of the stealth team was in place with Can Hu and Valor. The only thing left to do now was wait for Uva to enter his Forest of Alloy, and then they could depart.

“Yeah,” Shiv said, blowing some dust off his Mask of False Paths. “I definitely killed the damn thing. Got a Feat out of the deal too. Did I mention that?”

Adam glared like he was trying to will Shiv’s head to explode. “You did. Four times already. This makes it a fifth.”

“Really? Damn. My Memorization Skill must be regressing. You want to hear about what it does—”

A river of water poured down on Shiv’s head, causing him to guffaw. “Is that a no?” he asked, wiping his hair out of his eyes.

“You bastard piece of shit,” Adam hissed through clenched teeth, trying not to laugh. He pointed his hand at Shiv, and the Gate Lord’s Hydromancy mana condensed into a narrow sphere at the tip of his index finger. “Another word, and I'll show you a world of misery.”

“Ah, shit, my only weakness.” Shiv sighed. “I guess I better just tell myself what the skill does in case I forget—” Adam fired a curving jet of water straight into Shiv’s left ear. It struck dead-on against his inner ear, and the Deathless twisted away. “Agh. Damn good shot.” He started whacking at his head to get the water to come out. “Okay. You got me. I’ll just do it mentally.”

Adam shook his head. “It’s like trying to discipline a large, bloody dog sometimes.”

“Vera was the same way.” Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to see Rose Van Erren standing at the tower’s entrance. Shiv blinked at her as he pounded against his skull twice more, dislodging the water. Adam stepped away from Uva as he shot a worried look at Shiv. “The orcs?”

“All in the cape and accounted for. They didn’t see her.”

“Good.” Adam marched over and took his mother by the arm. She was wearing a plain white dress, and her complexion was still pale. Despite this, she looked stronger than she did a few days ago. Her eyes weren’t so sunken anymore, her crimson hair looked more vibrant, just like Adam's now, and her body was slowly developing muscle. Even so, the slowness of her movements told Shiv she wasn’t even as fast as an Initiate in terms of Reflexes. She might have gotten some skills back, but she needed to level them all again.

“Mother, what are you doing here? You need to rest and recover,” he said as he took her by the arm.

She shook her head and pushed him away gently. “I can walk on my own, Adam. I’m feeble, not crippled. And as for rest and recover, I tried that, but your gate has a crippling lack of wine and cigarettes. I can’t quite sleep so well without them.” Her eyes slipped past Adam and fell on Shiv. As he looked back at her, she averted her gaze.

At least things are going better than last time, Shiv thought.

“So. You’re all leaving again?” She asked. “Off to save Blackedge?”

“Adam isn’t leaving,” Shiv replied. “He’ll be nearby, trying to coordinate the orcs and plan the town evacuation mission.”

“Oh. And what will you be doing?” There was a hint of a challenge in her voice.

“Infiltrating Stormhalt and his Inquisitors. Hopefully, I can get them to start a fight with Sullain and his Necrotechs. Save us some trouble.”

Rose’s expression turned into a savage scowl. “Oh. Havel’s involved in this, is he? Of course he is, the fucking cunt. Jealous sack of refuse never could let anything go. Just never expected him to take things this far.” She spat on the ground. “Fucker.”

Adam, Shiv, and Uva traded looks. The Gate Lord in particular looked mortified by his mother’s language, absolutely uncertain about how to react.

Rose sniffled. “Well. Do you have room for one more in that dimensional cape of yours?”