Shroud opened his eyes, for the first ti in a long, long while.
He could feel the cold, tallic ground beneath him, the pulsating, drumming sound of automated machines repairing tal walls. He could sll the faint scent of rust and blood, and sense the soreness in his body; the Player was himself again, and it felt good.
He rose back to his feet and found it a strange sensation. After existing as re information, physical movent alone had beco pleasurable. How could Aster ever forsake this simple pleasure? Shroud would never understand. It was like living half a life.
Shroud turned around, finding himself in so sort of tallic corridor with a large, dark glass window on his left. Three corpses laid nearby, those of hobgoblins in lab coats showing the Concordian insignia on their back; they were covered in blood and lacerations as if a savage tiger had torn their flesh apart.
Had he done it? Where was he?
His mind was still clouded, with holes in his mories. Either Asters premature death had permanently damaged so of the mories affected by his Lock, or it was just the shock of regaining control, but he couldnt rember what his body did while under the Ministers control.
He peeked through the glass windows, seeing only an underwater abyss on the other side. A dark, sinister trench, lit up by a faint, unnatural blue light; monstrous salamanders the size of cars, multicolored amoebas, and a titanic leviathan passed nearby, barely sparing him a glance.
The Institute Base. Below the surface of Oceanis.
Shroud glanced around himself, noticing the eye watching him above. Mad World, he cast, the sound reverberating with the power of his sorcery. The cara eye glitched at once, turning inert, and the lights died out in the room.
It felt good to use sorcery again. Although considering the underwhelming results, it appeared Concordia had partly protected their technology against that spell.
Shroud imdiately opened Magik, and contacted the Dragonslayers on their discussion feed.
SHROUD: Guys? Guys?
No answer. Their accounts were still active, but none answered. He checked Network, finding that the feeds only showed darkness. lusine. She interfered with his Lock again, isolating him.
Fear growing in his heart, he turned to the Administrator instead.
ADMINISTRATOR: Mathias.
SHROUD: Where are the others? Deeper in the base?
ADMINISTRATOR: Safe, for now. You separated to cover more ground.
SHROUD: This is a trap. I wasnt myself. Aster controlled , but I beat him. Blackcinders is coming, and lusine is interfering with Network.
ADMINISTRATOR: You beat Aster?
SHROUD: Blew him up. Its a long story, but we dont have much ti. The others are in danger.
ADMINISTRATOR: I know. Yoshikage inford of the visions you sent her, so I took care of calling for help.
Thank the gods now that he knew they existed, he could say it without sounding like an idiot.
ADMINISTRATOR: But the situation is not quite optimal. Concordia set anti-teleportation wards around the base, so teleporting out of it is impossible without accreditation, except for Aces Lock. Help will arrive to evacuate you soon, but until then, you have to stall.
SHROUD: You will not tell where are the others.
ADMINISTRATOR: Not yet. I cannot be fully certain you are truly yourself again yet.
Fair.
Shroud himself didnt know what he wanted anymore himself.
Shroud considered buying Teleport, but the wards preventing it ant it would be wasted money. He could also purchase Dot Three spells, and try testing them in the field.
However, in the end, Shroud decided mastery trumped power, and he instead purchased Intuimotion and Dirt Call once more. As he turned towards the windows, he attempted to ntally affect the glass within, and as he heard the familiar sound of two spells rging, he knew he had succeeded.
Glass Field was his to wield once again.
His senses expanded through the windows and his glass armor, giving him a good view of the abyss. He realized he was in a structure built on an underwater Neurotower, deep below the ocean; he could see dark, giant shapes under his location, waiting at the bottom of the sea.
With little choice, Shroud decided to explore the base further, the sight reminding him of his previous descent into Mammons tower.
The bases corridors were uniformly built the sa way, with windows showing the abyss on the left, and cubic, lab chambers on the right. Each of these experintation rooms had windows of their own built into them, allowing Shroud to peek through.
As the sorcerer walked further into the depths of the complex, Shroud realized he had underestimated the sheer size of the complex, and number of operations taking place within. Most of the cubes contained artifacts or samples, like the ancient stone Kari had upgraded her Lock with on Earth; but the deeper he went, the more the experints beca increasingly bizarre and disturbing.
In so chambers, the researchers had carved salamandrakes corpses for dissection; and on a closer look, Shroud noticed so corpses still twitched even as their brains were widely exposed, tal chips implanted among the neural pathways. In one cube, a sli of coalesced water moved on its own, striking at the window in an attempt to break it; in the one right next to it, a bullmans corpse had its head replaced with a tallic device, walking around like a morbid puppet.
Many cubes kept various prisoners and beasts sealed within them. Many had suffered extensive mutilation or alterations, from arms replaced with tallic tentacles to brutal surgery that would make ngele blush. One hob seed to have fused with another, with extra arms and heads. The sight made Shroud want to vomit, doubly so since most of the prisoners ca from Concordias own species.
The Institute was experinting with Concordias own population, and he began to notice a trend he didnt like. Most of the experints focused on brain surgery or motor experints. As if that laboratory searched to understand what made bodies follow the brains orders.
He could have used Glass Field to break the cubes open and release the tortured, twisted creatures within, but he doubted they would treat him kindly. If they could think for themselves at all anymore.
From what he saw, better that they all drown and die in peace.
Shroud eventually passed in front of a cube thrice bigger than the others, peeking through the window. The room contained distortion in space itself; reality appeared to condense, to bend, at a focal point. A tear in the very fabric of reality, rougher than the Gates, pulsating with blue light and power.
The rift offered the vision of a bluish reflection of the facility, except instead of Shroud, a group of salamandrakes watched back from the other side, waiting with venom in their eyes. Could this be so kind of Gate? Except that one led to another tiline, another reality? How far could sorcery go? How many places, how many universes could it reach?
Shroud reached the end of a corridor, and the steel, opened doors of an elevator. Another eye cara watched him from above the entrance, but Shroud knew that what looked through was no UB. It was a human intelligence.
A familiar one.
At this mont, Shroud sensed a faint, ntal signal through the Network pathways, a silent invitation to a eting long overdue. He could sense lusine calling him through their bond, inviting him to climb down the elevator to et her.
Shroud would answer.
The Administrator called him before he could enter, though.
ADMINISTRATOR: Mathias, if you go that way, you will nothing but tears. You already freed yourself from Concordias grasp, do not fall back into it.
SHROUD: I know. You knew. You knew and you said nothing.
ADMINISTRATOR: I wanted to protect you, Mathias. This is what I was created for, to protect Players. Even from themselves.
SHROUD: Stitch told you. When he tested , he noticed brain tempering. But you did nothing.
ADMINISTRATOR: I need absolute proof before I can take action. I am the Administrator. I assist and protect the Players. This is part of the paraters that bind . After the Manus fiasco, I asked that stronger fetters be put on . I hoped you would find it in you the strength to prevail, or that I could find a solution before the damage beca irreparable. You have a purpose to serve in all of this.
SHROUD: Then, if you are ant to protect the Players, you know the danger she poses so long as she serves Wyrde. She is a Terminal, and she knows how to hack into Magik.
ADMINISTRATOR: Mathias, if you et her, soone will die. It may be you, it may be her. But with Blackcinders coming, soone will.
SHROUD: Im fine with dying if it ans stopping her and Wyrde.
ADMINISTRATOR: I understand. Which is why I urge you to turn back because I have been there before.
SHROUD: Have you, Halcyon?
He could have sworn the answer shook the Administrator to the core, for the artificial intelligence took several seconds before answering.
ADMINISTRATOR: I am not. Halcyon. I emulate him, that is all. I am not him. I will never be him. He is gone, for good, and nothing will change what happened without dire consequences. One should accept the past instead of obsessing over it.
SHROUD: You are damaged goods. A broken Terminal.
ADMINISTRATOR: I suspect I will always survive a jump, but I am the corpse of a corpse. I can still access Manus Distributor Lock, but not at one hundred percent. Manus in its pri could oversee infrastructure spanning a galaxy and wage war with the full might of the Concordian Empire; I can barely supply a thousand Players worldwide. If I had lusine restore the way she did with my template, I could do far more. Your Grant Spell features can provide far more power with far fewer resources.
So it knew the true nature of Network. It always did.
ADMINISTRATOR: We share the sa origin, Mathias. Your Lock is strictly superior to all others because Manus customized it this way. It was ant to be a tool for godhood and universal domination, and so far you have barely tapped into its true potential. In ti, if you follow the path Manus set for you, you could create your own Neurotowers and matrices, harness Flux independent from the larger Dis system, maybe even create your own. You can even affect Magik Online to a degree.
SHROUD: You did not choose to accept the Save and Load feature. My Lock imposed it on Magik Online because it derives from it. I am the true Administrator.
ADMINISTRATOR: Not yet. The Players Locks, yours included, are artificial. A Lock is still needed to safely use Flux in the first place, but since Magik Online takes care of the Flux distribution through instead of the normal channels, Players can spellcast even when their Lock is being interfered with. However, artificial Locks are less potent and need to be nurtured. Sidequests guide Sorcerers towards getting more in tune with their Lock, uncovering dormant abilities. They will reach an Overlock stage, where their Lock no longer needs to rely on Magik as an interdiary. There is a strong risk of escalation if Players skip these steps, so I strictly restrict them. If I lifted them, you would gain Administrator privileges, but there would be a price.
SHROUD: That is why you left get away with so much. I am your back-up.
ADMINISTRATOR: Yes. Magik Online will always need an Administrator, and should I fall, I would rather have human overseeing humans. Your Network could perfect Magik Online, and overco the limits of my Distributor.
SHROUD: I am sick and tired of lies and manipulations. Wyrde, the Maleking, Aster, Ashmal, you it is as if everyone tries to pull in their direction. I am thankful for the chance you gave , but that doesnt make hiding that secret from right. Just as hiding secrets from my friends wasnt right.
ADMINISTRATOR: I understand, more than you think, but the truth is that, at this mont, you are indeed a pawn, Mathias. I am sorry to be so blunt with you, but this is the truth. You are a pawn with limitless potential, and whoever controls you will win the board. But you can change this. Your future is in your hands, and you alone should decide it.
SHROUD: Great. Then you should understand why I must do this. I will never be free unless I confront her and learn the truth.
ADMINISTRATION: I do understand, and I cannot stop you. That is freedom. But I will repeat it, this is a choice that will only bring you great anguish, and I will have to permanently destroy your account and Lock if you fail, Mathias. Your Network is too powerful and dangerous to fall into Wyrdes hands, especially if she realizes you can influence Magik Online with it.
SHROUD: I know. Do what you must. If it cos to it, can you inform the Dragonslayers of the truth? The full truth.
ADMINISTRATOR: I will, but please, inform them in person.
That was the plan.
Shroud stepped into the elevator, the doors closing behind him.
As the elevator went done, with glass windows allowing him to peek outside, Shroud began to gain a clearer view of the abyss below, of the pulsating cables fueling the Neurotower and of what they held prisoner.
Two imnse creatures, similar to the salamanders he had seen swimming in the water or waiting beyond the gates, were trapped by the cables, hooked on them like a twisted life-support system. Unlike their smaller kindred, considering the distance, these two titans probably asured more than one hundred ters each. Their scales had turned white and lifeless, colored energy flowing out of them and into the tower.
Power batteries.
And the more he observed, the more he realized that was no reef abyss he faced, but a spine. A spine of the sa tal that made up the Neurotower, buried below dirt and stone. Shroud couldnt fathom the size of the creature that-
Terminal detected. Awaken Worldshaker: Taurvi the Destroyer?
The Network flash ca abruptly, but he anticipated it. He delved deeper, asking the system for more information.
Awakening the Worldshaker will result in the extinction of 97,98 percent of all life on the planets surface within a twenty-four hour period. All souls will be harvested by Neurotowers for the purpose of Flux production. Genetic data will be harvested for the purpose of renewing the population through Lifeforges.
A cycle of life and extinction. Where did the Flux go?
To the Dis System. To the creation of new Gates and new Worldshakers, so distant worlds can be reached.
Who ruled the Dis System? Who profited from this?
Guess who, Shroud?
That ntal retort ca not with the informal data flow of Network, but a haughty, mocking voice. When Shroud attempted to draw more information, Network sent him a normal signal.
Awaken Worldshaker: Taurvi the Destroyer?
Who built it?
Awaken Worldshaker: Taurvi the Destroyer? -
Realizing that whatever entity controlled the Dis System had stonewalled him, Shroud wisely stopped bothering the imnse creature.
He was so exhausted of all of this. Exhausted of the secrets and the intrigues, of the larger forces, invisible trying to take away his choice, to push him in the direction they wanted.
Before, when he thought he fought to save and avenge his mother, Shroud could take it. As the Maleking once told him, if he knew why he could bear any burden.
But if it had been for nothing what was the point? What was his why? What was his reason to go further?
Deep down, Shroud already knew.
The elevator reached its last stop, the tal doors opening to reveal a large, rectangular room, an imnse and pristine underwater cathedral of tal and glass providing a perfect view of the abyss around itself. The ground resonated with a tallic echo as Shroud walked through, finding the area deserted.
That cathedral was at the very bottom of the trench, and through the glass, Shroud noticed stone, Greek-like ruins, forgotten under the sea. Temples, houses, buried underwater for centuries, if not eons.
It must have been an Observatoire or laboratory of so kind, only for the Institute to empty it when Aster inford them of the operation. They had taken everything of value with them, leaving only silence and empty space.
Almost.
Shroud picked a tallic sound coming from above, although he already noticed her through Glass Field.
Using her armors tentacles to crawl on the ceiling while keeping her arms crossed, lusine watched him, her face hidden behind her helt. Yet, now that he knew the face behind the mask, he recognized her subtle posture, one of absolute confidence in her intelligence and mastery of a situation.
We called the first entity Lifeform: Poseidon and the second Lifeform: Cleito, said lusine, as she descended on the ground, landing on her legs and walking toward him. These are the ruins of Atlantis, taken eons ago from Terra Firma and brought to Oceanis.
Shroud adopted a wary stand, causing lusine to stop when she was within five ters of him. And the machine? he asked her, unwilling to let her approach further.
A Worldshaker. An engine of creation and destruction ant to protect the towers, even if it must wipe out all life on the world; in ti, they are sent through space to build more towers, spreading the Dis System across the cosmos. Other of these creatures slumber on Terra Firma, beneath the arctic, below the Bermuda Triangle, or on the dark side of the moon. Concordia lost entire fleets and hundreds of sorcerers putting one down in the past.
So it was true what Ashmal said. The entity who built the Neurotowers was no friend of life, at all.
How many gods like these two suffered in the bowels of these structures, the life drained out of them to fuel the imnse infrastructures of Dis, its Gates, and its sorcerers?
Mathias lusine trailed, clenching her fingers nervously.
Take off your helt, he interrupted her, still on guard. I want to see it with my own eyes.
While this is very cliche dont you already know it to be true?
Still the sa grown-up sci-fi dork. Shroud would have chuckled, had the situation not been so tense. Take off your helt.
Silently, lusine grabbed her helt, removing it to the sound of automatic securities lifting themselves.
She hadnt aged at all.
Still the sa beautiful blonde hair, which she kept short now, and the sa piercing eyes full of motherly pride and intelligence both. Sa beautiful smile, sa expression, sa everything.
Alice Martel looked exactly like her sons last mories. In fact, she looked a bit younger.
Green Sorcery treatnts, Alice said, her voice unmistakable without the helts voice alteration. We hope to mass produce an immortality treatnt, available to all, within the next fifteen years.
How long he had wanted to see her, alive and sound.
In his fantasies, it had been a warm, epic reunion, with Mathias bursting her out of prison before tearfully taking her in his arms. But now, at this very mont, a bitter taste had filled is mouth.
We, Shroud repeated. I hoped I hoped you had been under a Maze effect, that you were yourself again.
Is that you want to hear, sweetie? That Aster controlled ? That I was brainwashed like you were? That I had no choice, no agency? That I freed myself so I could rescue you? Her smile turned sad for a mont. It would make you feel better, but that would be a lie. You saw the connections created by Maze.
And she wasnt among them. The file had been right.
You were with them. He still couldnt believe it. You were on that plan all along. What are you, an agent?
I am the Vice Blue Minister. Technically, with Asters demise, I will soon be the next Blue Minister.
Vice Minister.
That was way higher in the hierarchy than Shroud expected. No way she wasnt complicit in most of Asters operations through the cosmos. How could you raise so high in the hierarchy in so little ti? Especially after after
After I fucked up everything? You dont have to sugarcoat it, sweetie. Terminal privileges, my skills, and the Grandmasters trust. I told you, Mathias, that she is a good person. She gave a second chance when nobody else would have trusted . She allowed you to live, Mathias, even considering what you represented.
I was your price, Shroud guessed, quiet fury making him clench his fists.
Blackcinders would have killed you if Aster and I hadnt convinced the Grandmaster to give us a chance. I hoped that Asters Maze would never activate, that Manus was gone for good, and that you could live a normal life with your father. But you had to accept that offer.
For you, said Mathias. For you. I did it for you. To find you, to avenge you.
I know, she sighed. I know, sweetie, and I love you for it. We were both mislead, you and I, choosing revenge and making a deal with the sa devil.
Why? Shroud asked. Why the hell didnt you tell us?
Because you were my weakness. If it was known I lived behind that helt, others like Manus would have struck at through you and your father. And there are even worse forces at work out there. The Maleking is marshalling for war, Mathias; he has been scheming against Concordia for decades, and the rediscovery of Terra Firma only emboldened him. It was safer that only a few select mbers of Concordias leadership be aware of our relationship.
So Concordia could keep you in check by threatening ?
They didnt Mathias, it stopped being about you alone. This is about our family, about everyone. This is about the world.
You know. You know what Wyrde is planning. You support it.
State Zero. History erased and rewritten. A first draft erased, replaced with a better one. Imagine, Mathias. An Earth where 9/11, the Holocaust, and Blackcinders massacre never happened; an Earth where war, cri, and disease never existed, where immortality is available to all, our air pure and clean, and the stars our only limit. A world where your father is alive and well. A utopia where there is no famine, no poverty, no conflict. A universe with no Maleking, no Reavers, no Powells to spoil it. A future that looks straight from a dream.
How many will die? Would Maggie Powells have to take her brother down with her?
Why bother caring about them, Mathias? They will never have existed. It will be painless, like falling asleep. Besides, if they vanish, then they were undesirable in the first place.
So if I vanish, that will be for the greater good, right? Shroud deadpanned.
You will not, Mom, no, lusine said. I oversaw the calculations, specifically so we can all enjoy the fruits of our labor. Also, you are a Terminal. You will always survive.
That was rhetorical.
I figured. You imply that I am selfish? Maybe. Who is not? But overall, the greatest numbers will benefit from it. Innocents will benefit from it.
Youre toying with a power you do not understand nor fully control.
And with that power, the Grandmaster will create a present where no son ever loses his father to a psychopath who should have been smothered at birth. I am doing this is for us, Mathias. For our family. Everything I did, I did it for Victor and you.
I dont want that future, Mom! Not when it would be built on the bones of Maggie, of Sol, of the countless trillions Wyrde would deem unnecessary in her heaven. And Dad wouldnt want it either!
You do not speak in your fathers na, young man, Alice warned.
You said you did it all for our family, Shroud replied, the sheer realization of what his mother had turned into almost too much to bear. So did I I thought they took you, that they held you in a cell and now everything I did was it for nothing?
Of course not, sweetie. You did great. You can still do great. The more Terminals we have, the more we can reduce errors and paradoxes during the reboot. She extended a hand at him. Mathias, co with . The Institute has designed a server prototype, similar to Magik Online. We can keep your powers active. We will need you to protect Terra Firma from the Maleking, until we are ready to wipe him from existence once and for all. Solomon is also welco. If you co, he will follow. We can make everything right, together.
I blew up Aster, Shroud replied. How will you make that right with Concordia?
Its okay, sweetie, we can cover it up. I intended to take him down myself at one point, after what he did to you. We can make it work.
More lies. More deaths. Where would it stop?
Where would he stop?
There is sothing controlling these towers, these Gates, and these weapons, Mom! Shroud argued. It is using you, and Concordia, to sustain itself, piggybacking on the Empires back to spread to more worlds! The more you use that technology and sorcery, the more it controls you!
Nonsense. The Grandmaster studied this system far longer than either of us, and she never found any proof of a central will behind it. Neither did I.
My visions
Could be the remnants of Manus, or hallucinations, or a sorcerers prank, Alice dismissed it, her tone disdainful and arrogant. I refuse to believe a godlike being would allow such a chaotic, random, unjust universe to exist.
Mom, thats the entire point! Dont you see? The Saves consu entire alternate tilines to work! Every ti one is used, sothing never cos back! Im sure its the sa with the energy these towers harvest? Where do you think it goes? Who does it feed?
The loss is caused by Black Flux, itself caused by bugs, lusine replied. Hence why it is so critical you join us, Mathias. We can eliminate them, ensure most people survive the transition.
Who gave you the right to pick who lives and who dies?
It is for their own good. Mankinds good.
Who are you to choose for everyone else?! Shroud snarled back, Who elected you?
Since when did n know what was good for them? Alice replied with cold disdain. We were within an inch of destroying our own planet before Concordia arrived, even after scientists warned us thirty years ahead. As for elections, which country dropped atomic bombs on cities?
Which one dropped a teor, Mom?
That silenced her for a few seconds before she offered a weak explanation. That is Blackcinders cri, not the Grandmasters fault.
And who appointed Blackcinders to her post?
You have seen Lugh, and the Maleking
Blackcinders is no necessary evil and you know it, Shroud cut her off. Mom, Wyrde is bad. Manus knew it, enough that he thought removing her was the key to peace. Maybe she thinks she is righteous and that this is for the greater good, but Concordia, as it is now, has too much blood on its hands for it to be true. She is a cold-blooded dictator, and her actions speak for her.
We would be both dead without her, Mathias.
We wouldnt have been in danger at all without her! The whole universe fears Concordia! All of mankind lives in fear, with a doomsday weapon pointed at them!
Terminal refused connection.
Do not dare peek into my mind, Mathias.
Like you did in the Neurotower?
It was that or you died! Alice argued back. You would have been dead long ago if it werent for my protection!
Fine, Shroud conceded, sowhat. You had a bad hand and you tried to play with the cards Concordia gave you. But now? You have sorcery. You could leave. You could strike back.
No. Even if I wanted to, I couldnt.
She couldnt? Why? Did they strap a bomb on her or sothing? No no stick. A carrot. You need Wyrde, Shroud realized. Youre like . A prototype.
Mathias, you do not know
You gained a Lock during the battle with Manus, Shroud guessed, the micro expressions on his mothers face enough to confirm it. But you cant draw Flux by yourself. You need another Terminal to supply you like Magik and I.
She had accepted the chance to be a sorcerer, so long as she served anothers goals.
In the end, they werent so different.
His mother pointedly avoided confirming his hypothesis, but the silence was an answer in itself. Mathias, I get it, you have people you care about. So do I. I will do anything to see your father returned to us. I can do far more at Wyrdes side, guide the reboot properly.
There shouldnt be one, Shroud replied. Ive tested it, tried to make my life better with it. Twice. And Ive seen the cost. Its just not worth it, Mom.
It is! Now she was shouting in exasperation. Why cant you see it, sweetie? Solomon, that Werner girl, they will be fine if you cooperate. Your father will be fine if you cooperate.
Maybe, Shroud conceded, before turning her words back at her, But this is no longer about us, Mom. It is about the world.
Then you should understand.
Viviane Werner. Ulysses Werner. Perse Werner. Gavin the Hob. Maggie Powells. Solomon Nicholae. Samantha Brown. Kari Matsumoto. Saga Freyson. Murmur the Imp, Booz, Nathaniel Stitch, Baihu the Tiger. He finished, his mother silent. I networked them all. I saw life through their eyes. I saw their struggles, their fears, their hopes. Through them, I could overco Aster. I cannot let them die.
Sacrifices have to be made, Mathias. The happiness of too many people hinges on this.
Maybe. But not the sacrifice of others. Or else it is no sacrifice, just selfishness. And even if sohow, everyone survives the transition, then we will be just like the puppets kept upstairs, or like Asters thralls, just with a few extra steps! We will live but we wont be alive.
But all will be right.
You cant just erase your mistakes, mom!
I didnt make a mistake! Now she started shouting back, her pride wounded. I was misled. I was tricked. I didnt make a mistake.
At that mont, Mathias saw his mother under a different light, the arrogance that drove her, her perfectionism. She and Wyrde would condemn the entire universe rather than live with their faults and wrong choices.
He couldnt walk that path.
He had made many mistakes, foolishly risked his life, but that was what made him stronger. He had co to accept his shortcomings, to try and work around them. That was what it was to accept responsibility.
Mom, I cant join, Shroud shook his head. Nothing you say will make do so.
By now, her smile had faded into subdued irritation. You are just as stubborn as when you were young, she said. You are making a grave mistake, Mathias. Wyrde will not give you any more chances after this. The leash will go off.
Then co with instead, he extended his hand, while she retracted hers. The Administrator can give you sorcery.
Dont you see that this is a trap, Mathias? lusine shot back. Have you read the legends about the gods who power Magik Online? Do you want these rapists and murderers back in charge? Because that is what they want, to be worshipped again. They use you as cannon fodder, while they remain hidden. You shouldnt look forward to their return.
Maybe. Maybe no. But he would choose them over Concordia any other day. Mom, they are almost extinct, he said. This is not an attempt to regain power, but the last dance before the curtains fall.
That is what they said to you.
This is the truth, Shroud insisted. Species working together, sharing resources isnt that what Concordia was supposed to be? Mom, if you really fight for mankind, then co with . Put power back in the hands of man.
He could forgive her, for everything, for Aster and whatever else she had supported. He could forgive it all, if only she choose right.
But she didnt take the hand.
She didnt even hesitate.
I told you, Mathias, this is about the world. About mankind. Even if I love you, sweetie, I will not give up on paradise. On your father. State Zero will happen, and you will be part of it, whether you want it or not.
I can always be brought back, is that it? Shroud frowned behind his helt. You can always bring back if I die now, like Dad?
Her cold silence was an answer in itself.
No way around it then. I wont let it happen.
You want to fight you? You think it will solve anything? Wyrde will launch State Zero, with or without us, Mathias. We will improve the process, but she doesnt need us. All you will do if you win is increase the collateral damage during the transition. She put on the helt, her motherly voice replaced with an artificial one. I will not raise my hand against you, sweetie. But neither will I protect you anymore. If you are so set on this foolish path, then we have nothing more to say.
So you will just run away again?!
She stopped moving, as still as the iron golem she looked like. Goodbye, Mathias, she said, vanishing in a flash of purple light and leaving him to die.
Shroud stood alone in the watery abyss, looking up as he saw a great, fiery shadow, swimming towards the cathedral. A dragon with fire in her eyes.
Blackcinders.
Players' StatsAccount
Dragonslayers Guild Moderator
NaShroudNetworkProgressHolderMathias MartelBroadcastUnlockedLevel3 (Magister)Grant SpellUnlockedAffinityBlueSynergizeUnlockedLockNetworkLocked Feature(0/7)Spellcoins8Overlock(0/1)Stored Saves5Save?Load?Spell CompendiumNaDotAffinityPremium Thoughts1BlueBabel1BluePurge1GreenAccel1WhiteBeastmaster2BlueMindshield2BlueDoppelganger2BlueHeal2GreenPowersurge2GreenLightbringer2Red/OrangeMad World2Blue/GreenGlass Field2Blue/OrangeMaster Mirror3Blue/Orange/VioletAccountDragonslayers GuildNaYoshikageOversoulProgressHolderKari MatsumotoRemberUnlockedLevel3 (Magister)Channel SoulUnlockedAffinityYellowLocked Feature(1/3)LockOversoulLocked Feature(0/7)Spellcoins4Overlock(0/1)Spell CompendiumNaDotAffinityBabel1BlueWallcraw1GreenPeak1GreenNeedless1GreenWard1YellowDoom Sense1YellowSpiritsight1YellowDeathgem1YellowDreamwalker2YellowPowersurge2GreenHands of Slaughter3Yellow/Violet/RedSpaceslash3VioletTulpa3YellowAccountDragonslayers GuildNaThe Mur!AdamantProgressHolderMurmur the ImpHarderUnlockedLevel3 (Magister)FasterUnlockedAffinityOrangeLocked Feature(0/3)LockAdamantLocked Feature(0/7)Spellcoins1Overlock(0/1)Spell CompendiumNaDotAffinityReinforce1OrangeDiceweight1OrangePitborn2Green/RedFormless2OrangeHomunculus2OrangeIntegrator2OrangeReload2VioletTiloop3VioletCarbonskin3OrangeAccountDragonslayers GuildNaDocInseminateProgressHolderNathaniel StitchSpawnUnlockedLevel3 (Magister)IncubateUnlockedAffinityGreenLocked Feature(0/3)LockInseminateLocked Feature(0/7)Spellcoins1Overlock(0/1)Spell CompendiumNaDotAffinityPremium Thoughts1BlueIntuimotion1BluePsychotry1BlueDeathgem1YellowDoom Sense1YellowSpiritsight1YellowTisense1VioletPathfinder1VioletAlchemic Grasp1OrangeFlux Sight1WhiteAccel1WhiteAccountDragonslayers GuildNaAceCastlingProgressHolderSaga FreysonSummonedUnlockedLevel3 (Magister)Piercing BoundaryUnlockedAffinityVioletLocked Feature(2/3)LockCastlingLocked Feature(0/7)Spellcoins25Overlock(0/1)Spell CompendiumNaDotAffinitySwitch1VioletPathfinder1VioletTisense1VioletUrbanstep1VioletSeamancer1OrangeAccel1WhiteDoorway2VioletSplash2Orange/VioletRainmaker2Orange/VioletTeleport3VioletAccountDragonslayers GuildNaSharpshootSpellgunProgressHolderMaggie Jesse PowellsCrimson BulletUnlockedLevel3 (Magister)Homing BulletUnlockedAffinityRedLocked Feature(0/3)LockSpellgunLocked Feature(0/7)Spellcoins13Overlock(0/1)Spell CompendiumNaDotAffinityStockmight1RedBabel1BlueAccel1WhiteThunderling2Green/RedBullseye2Violet/BlueSoundwave2RedLightningrod2RedAccountDragonslayers GuildNaSolAegisProgressHolderSolomon NicholaeSpell MartyrUnlockedLevel3 (Magister)Accel AllyUnlockedAffinityWhiteLocked Feature(0/3)LockAegisLocked Feature(0/7)Spellcoins23Overlock(0/1)Spell CompendiumNaDotAffinityPeak1GreenNeedless1GreenBabel1BlueBlue World1BlueQuasar1RedBiosurge1RedReinforce1OrangeEncode1WhiteSpell Syphon1WhiteAccel1WhiteForcefield3Red
Spell of the Day
Clone Factory
Affinity: Green
Dot: 3
Price: 9-15
Activation: Active, Spit Vector.
The user spits a grey ooze which quickly blooms into a deford, monstrous clone of the spellcaster; the clones mutations always improve its battle prowesses, such as gaining claws or fangs, and they share the originals mory and intelligence. The clones mutations worsen and will cause their death within a week unless regularly repaired and maintained.
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