[YOU-ARE: INSIDE-MY-BODY.]
[LEVEL-TWELVE: TESTS-WHETHER-YOU-CAN-NAVIGATE-LIVING-SYSTEM-WITHOUT-KILLING-HOST.]
[DAMAGE-: TRIAL-FAILS.]
[REACH-HEART-CHAMBER: TRIAL-SUCCEEDS.]
[MY-IMMUNE-SYSTEM: WILL-NOT-STOP-TRYING-TO-ELIMINATE-YOU.]
[THIS-IS: BY-DESIGN.]
"So we have to climb 147 ters," Yoo said aloud, "while being chased by immune cells, without damaging anything, in—" he checked his internal clock, "—43 minutes?"
[AFFIRMATIVE.]
"That’s—"
[IMPOSSIBLE-FOR-MOST. THAT-IS-WHY: FEW-REACH-LEVEL-THIRTEEN.]
Squelch-squelch-LUNGE.
A phagocyte attacked—SPLASH—trying to engulf Han.
She dodged—roll-TUMBLE—barely avoiding contact. The phagocyte’s pseudopod slamd into the wall—SPLAT—and imdiately the wall reacted.
PULSE-PULSE-ALARM.
The entire chamber convulsed—SHAKE—and new sounds erged:
WAIL-WAIL-WAIL.
An alarm. Biological alarm. The Spire’s pain response.
[WALL-DAMAGED: -1-POINT-FROM-TRIAL-SCORE]
[ACCUMULATED-DAMAGE-BEYOND-THRESHOLD: TRIAL-FAILS]
[CURRENT-THRESHOLD: 12-DAMAGE-POINTS]
"Twelve points," Corvus said. "We can damage twelve things before failing?"
[CORRECT. EACH-DAMAGE-SOURCE-COUNTS:]
[MINOR-DAMAGE: 1-POINT]
[MODERATE-DAMAGE: 3-POINTS]
[SEVERE-DAMAGE: 7-POINTS]
[FATAL-DAMAGE: INSTANT-FAILURE]
"So what do you count as fatal?" Han asked.
[SEVERING-MAJOR-ARTERY. PUNCTURING-HEART. DESTROYING-BRAIN-STRUCTURE. ANYTHING: THAT-WOULD-KILL-LIVING-BEING.]
So we have to treat this like—
—surgery.
Navigate through the body as if we’re doctors performing operation.
While being attacked.
By the body’s own defenses.
Yoo’s mind, enhanced by three thousand years of Entity-Six’s knowledge, raced through dical concepts he’d never studied but now understood:
The immune system attacks foreign entities.
However, it does have recognition protocols, ways to identify "self" versus "other.", if we could trick it—
"I have a plan," Yoo said. "But it’s insane."
"We’ve already established that’s your operating mode," Han replied. "What is it?"
"We make ourselves invisible to the immune system." Yoo’s Master Illusions activated—HUMMM—his right eye (silver, flowing script) glowing as he crafted the most complex deception he’d ever attempted.
Not visual illusion, biological illusion.
He reached out and touched Han’s shoulder—press—and spoke in Logos:
"RECOGNIZED-AS-SELF."
CRACK.
The conceptual frawork settled over her like invisible coating—shimr-flow-INTEGRATE—rewriting how the immune system perceived her.
Not as foreign invaders, but as a part of the body.
The nearest T-cell—which had been moving to attack—stopped.
Pause.
Its blade-appendage hovered centiters from Han’s throat.
Then—retract—it pulled back and moved past her, searching for other threats.
"It—" Han’s eyes were wide. "—it ignored ."
"Because I convinced it you’re part of the Spire’s body." Yoo touched Corvus next—press—repeating the process. "RECOGNIZED-AS-SELF."
CRACK.
Then Kairos—press—"RECOGNIZED-AS-SELF."
CRACK.
Finally himself—concentrate-FOCUS—"I-AM-SELF."
CRACK.
The coating settled over all four of them—shimr-fade-INVISIBLE—and imdiately the immune response changed:
The phagocytes stopped pursuing.
The T-cells moved past them, searching for threats that no longer registered.
[CLEVER,] the Spire’s voice carried sothing like approval. [BIOLOGICAL-DISGUISE. UNPRECEDENTED-APPROACH. IMMUNE-SYSTEM: FOOLED.]
[HOWEVER: EFFECT-TEMPORARY. DURATION: 11-MINUTES. THEN-DETECTION-RESUS.]
Eleven minutes.
147 ters vertical.
That’s— Yoo calculated quickly—13.4 ters per minute required climbing speed.
Doable if we move fast.
"We climb. Now." He moved to the shaft’s wall, examining the pulsing veins. "Use the veins as handholds. They’re sturdy enough to support weight."
He grabbed the nearest vein—SQUEEZE—and felt it pulse beneath his grip—throb-throb—warm and disturbingly alive. But it held his weight.
Start climbing.
Pull-reach-pull.
His asymtric arms made it difficult—the seven-year-old right hand reached farther, creating unbalanced ascent that threatened to spin him off the wall. His seven-year-old left leg provided more push-strength than the two-year-old right, creating rotating torque with each movent.
But he climbed.
15 ters.
30 ters.
50 ters.
Behind him—below him—Han and Corvus climbed with better coordination. Kairos used his claws—CRUNCH-CRUNCH—to grip the walls directly, creating small punctures that imdiately sealed—close-heal—the Spire’s flesh regenerating instantly.
[MINOR-DAMAGE: 1-POINT]
[ACCUMULATED: 2/12]
Kairos’s claws count as damage.
Need to be more careful.
They climbed faster.
70 ters.
90 ters.
110 ters.
The heartbeat grew LOUDER—THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP.—until Yoo could feel it in his teeth, his bones, his asymtrically-aged body parts vibrating at different frequencies—rattle-shake-discord.
And then—
WHAM.
Sothing hit the shaft’s wall from the other side—massive impact—hard enough to create shockwave that nearly dislodged all four climbers.
Hold-GRIP-hang.
Yoo’s fingers went white-knuckled around the vein—SQUEEZE—barely maintaining purchase.
[WARNING: EXTERNAL-COMBAT-DETECTED]
[ENTITY-ENGAGING-SPIRE-EXTERIOR]
[IMPACT-FORCE: EXTRE]
"What’s attacking?" Corvus shouted up the shaft.
[UNKNOWN-ENTITY. POWER-SIGNATURE: CATASTROPHE-CLASS-PLUS.]
[IT-APPEARS-TO-BE: TRYING-TO-BREACH-MY-EXTERIOR.]
WHAM. WHAM. WHAM.
Three more impacts—SHAKE-SHAKE-SHAKE—each one creating seismic event inside the arterial shaft.
Sothing is attacking the Spire.
From outside.
While we’re inside.
If it breaches—
—we’re directly in the path of whatever cos through.
"CLIMB FASTER!" Yoo shouted.
They did.
125 ters.
135 ters.
142 ters.
WHAM-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM.
The impacts intensified—RELENTLESS—whatever was attacking had found weak point and was exploiting it.
[EXTERIOR-BREACH: IMMINENT]
[ESTIMATE: 37-SECONDS-UNTIL-PENETRATION]
37 seconds.
5 ters to go.
Co on—
PULL-REACH-PULL-REACH—
Yoo’s muscles scread—BURN-ache-STRAIN—the seven-year-old parts of his body handling the load better but creating dangerous imbalance that threatened to tear him apart internally.
Don’t think about it.
Just CLIMB.
THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP.
The heartbeat was deafening now—so loud Yoo couldn’t hear his own breathing.
145 ters.
146 ters.
147—
The shaft opened into chamber—MASSIVE—and Yoo pulled himself over the edge—SCRAMBLE—collapsing onto floor that pulsed with the heartbeat.
Made it.
Han erged next—SCRAMBLE—then Corvus—wheeze-gasp—then Kairos—CRASH-THUMP.
And before them—
The Heart Chamber.
It was—
Beautiful.
Terrifying.
Impossible.
The Spire’s heart wasn’t biological organ. It was conceptual engine. A sphere of condensed reality the size of a building, floating in the chamber’s center, connected to hundreds of arteries and veins that pulsed with energy-blood.
And with each beat—THUMP-THUMP—the sphere compressed—SQUEEZE—then expanded—SWELL—pumping power throughout the entire Spire’s structure.
This is what keeps the trials running.
This is what maintains reality here.
This is—
CRASH.
The exterior wall exploded—SHATTER-BOOM—as sothing massive broke through.
Debris rained down—tinkle-CRASH-scatter—and through the breach—
A claw.
Enormous.
Scaled.
Radiating power that made Yoo’s Omniscient Observer scream warnings.
[BREACH-SUCCESSFUL]
[EXTERNAL-ENTITY: ENTERING]
[CLASSIFICATION: PRIMORDIAL-BEAST]
[DESIGNATION: THE-DEVOURER]
[THREAT-LEVEL: CATASTROPHIC]
The claw withdrew—SCRAPE—and sothing looked through the breach.
An eye.
Reptilian.
Slitted pupil that focused directly on—
Yoo.
And a voice—ancient, hungry, AMUSED—spoke directly into his consciousness:
[FOUND-YOU: LITTLE-HYBRID.]
[THE-ARCHITECT: SENDS-GREETINGS.]
[AND-ORDERS-: TO-TEST-YOUR-WORTH.]
What—
The breach exploded wider—CRASH-BOOM-SHATTER—and The Devourer entered the Heart Chamber.
It was—
Dragon.
But wrong.
Corrupted.
Ancient beyond asure.
Primordial-Beast-class that made Kairos look like a housecat.
And it was here to—
[KILL-YOU,] it finished. [OR-BE-IMPRESSED. ARCHITECT: IS-CURIOUS-WHICH.]
ROOOOOAAAAAR.
The Devourer lunged—CRASH-CRASH-CRASH—directly at Yoo’s position.
43 minutes remaining.
Enemy: Primordial-Beast.
Location: Heart Chamber (damage here = instant trial failure).
Objective: Survive and complete trial without destroying the heart.
Yoo’s asymtric body tensed.
This is going to be bad.
Reviews
All reviews (0)