In a small cabin on a broken mountain in the Alpha Cosmos, the Patron of Feathers born within a mory looked at the wizen form of herself laid out on the bed. Her breath caused so little movent that the supine form could have been a statue. The mory version chewed on her lip, her insides in horrible pain from the decision laid before her.
The version from this other tiline continued to lie on the bed. The Aether around her had turned dangerously degenerative. In the confined space, the air quickly began to feel claustrophobic.
The mory version had also t the other Patrons when she had been brought here, those who had told her what it was like to live through the changes in Elhus behavior in the third Cohort. She felt simultaneously horrified and unsurprised by what was described. The erratic mood shifts, the ominous silences, the combative stances, the growing resentnt for Pine and they spoke of the betrayal, being locked away so they couldnt reveal what they knew.
At the mont, only the Patron of Blades remained in the cabin with her. He sat in the corner, drawing a finger across a hunk of wood and removing long and curling strips of shavings. The rest had left, for the mory version to make her decision.
The Patron of Feathers felt bitter as she sat in the pooled quiet of the room. First my father, now a version of myself does our family truly possess so little respect for the individuals wishes? That we would use them up to fuel our research
And yet-
And yet the mory Patron of Feathers couldnt abandon this unconscious version of herself and embark on her own journey. She couldnt just dismiss the request out of hand. If it had been her father who approached her with such a sacrificial role, who expected more from her after her soul had been so wounded by the temporal twisting, she would have just gone numb. She would have glazed over, incapable of moving or feeling or helping, allowing the situation to just slip past. A part of her would have died imdiately, squeezed dry past the point of existence. But the individual asking was Randidly Ghosthound, who almost seed apologetic about it.
Even worse was the other Patrons; they had been so delighted to et her, to see her so young. Their feelings were edged with their own inner bitterness, but they didnt bla that on her. They explained the situation. About how the other version of herself had been the only Patron kept liberated, in order to assist Elhu. While they understood their version of events, it was also worth knowing how this Nexus had developed.
Not necessary. But it would be helpful.
Across from her, the Patron of Blades continued to carve. His even strokes very deliberately liberated a carving of the Patron of Feathers from the wooden prison. She didnt dare look over, lest she catch the carvings expression and her heart break.
Would it have the hollow eyes she currently carried? Would she be smiling?
She didnt have the luxury of delaying the decision for too long. The Patron of Feathers could feel the impending war buzzing against her skin. With or without the context she would provide, the peace would soon be broken.
The mory Patron of Feathers, right now, wished dearly her na hadnt been stolen. She wanted soone to sweep her up in a warm hug, to whisk her away from this decision, from a life that seed characterized by her pouring herself into a series of other individuals before they finished drinking from her vigor and left her staggering and hollow.
You dont need to consider so deeply. We understand that this would essentially hasten your descent toward the sa end as her, The Patron of Blades said, interrupting her spiraling thoughts. He flicked the carving, knocking away a few stray bits. You do not need to do this.
For a long second, the Patron of Feathers just bowed her head. She drank in the silence, the lack of pressure and expectation. When she raised her hollow eyes, she found herself asking a question. What what do you think she would say if she knew the situation?
The Patron of Blades sighed. The lines of his face were sharp and aggressive, even in grief. ...I suspect you know what she would say, so I do not wish to reiterate it. Because your heart is too wide. This I know about you. Listen to : you do not need to do this.
The Patron of Feathers laughed, as bitter and crusted as a battery left out too long in the sun. Because she knew that if the other Patron of the Feathers understood the situation, that older version of herself would sternly tell her to stop considering endangering her own life in order to save her. She would claim that while the information would fill in so gaps, she had already had the opportunity to live out her own life. The mory Patron of Feathers deserved the sa.
And yet-
The Patron of Feathers looked at her own unconscious face, lined around the eyes with kindness and concern. Or at least, thats what she imagined was ant by the wrinkles. Tears ford in her eyes. In the end because you dont ask for it, because I know how appalled you will be when you discover what has happened I cant refuse you.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
And also heh, I am a coward I will not be able to live with the guilt of having the possibility of helping you and refusing. Maybe maybe your lifeti has given you a bit of strength.
Please. Bear all the painful things for . Im Im already so
A teardrop fell off and landed on her arm. It glittered against her feathers for the few minutes it took to work up the nerve to begin the process.
*****
When Randidly ca back from his visit to Solomon Rex and his devils bargain, he found a whole slew of familiar faces waiting for him.
Alana Donal and Raymund Ballast offered him sharp bows. Their images crackled up and down their arms, sniffing the rising montum of the mont. Behind them, the Vulpis Squad brought their weapons to their armored chests with a sharp crack. The air felt steamy with their bubbling images, mixing and rising with the anticipation of conflict.
Youve grown, Randidly observed, unable to quite believe how piercing the orange ray of midday sun that Alana released.
She shrugged, the movent producing small motes of gold from the edges of her armor. The holy aura she possessed had been refined into sothing gentle and epheral, like billowing silk curtains. You dont monopolize temporal anomalies. We didnt want to be left behind, so weve taken arrangents into our own hands.
My preference would have been to wait for orders, the Vulpine lifted his chin. However, I hope you will forgive us. The results speak for themselves. And the Vulpis Squad refused to be left behind in this matter.
Behind the two leaders, the soldiers grunted out their approval in unison. Their bristling intentions seed to be glowering at him, daring Randidly to refuse to allow them to participate in the fighting.
Their stance indicated they would just sneak along after him, anyway.
...Im not going to complain. You are free to lead the Squad as you see fit. I really doubt there will be much occasion for the kind of fighting you expect but I suppose one of the downsides of being on top is preparations like this. Randidly shrugged his shoulders, feeling the presence of all those images and appreciating what he found. At the very least, they had enough power to keep the weaklings away from him. For now, the Squad should prepare; over the next few hours, our assault will probably begin. Alana, Raymund, follow . There are a few matters on which we need to speak.
As they moved away, Randidly felt Neveahs consciousness brush up against his own. Her ssage felt tinged with sadness. In the end, the mory Patron of Feathers agreed to part with the Penance left for her by Yystrix. It will take so ti, but after the transfer was initiated already, the energy of the true Patron of Feathers appears to be improving.
If the mory version impacts our plans, shes true enough. Randidly cracked his neck; one more bit of information coming his way. He wondered whether it would be worth the sacrifice. When he had Alana and Raymund alone, he started by explaining a bit about his understanding of the current Nexus; specifically, about the current Elhu being truly Fiero, Raymunds ancestor. About the feud between Solomon and Elhu, about how Elhus body had been trapped in a mountain range of crystallized Aether. And also, about how the current Elhu about how Fiero probably had been seeking to possess Techetadores body in order to have achieved his liberty once again.
First ca the fury, blooming across Raymunds body like a wildfire sweeping through a dry grassland. His image crackled Randidly took the chance to marvel at the difference between the images. Raymund, more than his ancestor Fiero, deserved to be called the Patron of the Borrowed. His image was a gentler, but also more insistent force. Because it was truly only a borrowing, it was much harder to resist. In addition, it would inflict no true damage to the victim, aside from the temporary deprivation of the image.
Probably not a coincidence, Randidly realized as he watched the significance spiraling around his subordinate. Youve born so many nas, Fiero, the Patron of the Borrowed, Elhu it is only a matter of ti before soone cos along to take one of those nas away from you.
Wait a mont. Is that how curious. Raymund Ballast abruptly frowned, his fury ebbing as his mind caught up with the implications. We had believed well, we knew that the process affecting Techetadore was a thod of the Swacc Family. But they betrayed Elhu. Did not the Actus Suprem say that-
That Elhu personally hunted them, yea, Randidly nodded, his own thoughts proceeding along similar lines. Which likely ans the betrayal was staged. Or part of a larger plan. It is bitter but I think if the Vulpis Squad fights, it will be against the Swacc Family.
Shal, if I see you how can I best thank you for all that youve given ?
What now? Alana asked to pull Randidly back from his ntors situation.
Now Randidlys head buzzed with possibilities. Or rather than possibilities, avenues. He stood at the precipice of going to war with Elhu; his next concrete step would be to travel to the crystallized Aether mountain range, the one that trapped Elhus body and also had been shaped into his fortress, and discover how difficult it was going to be to kick down the door. But before that
He had his experints with liquid Aether and Nether bubbles.
He had his Fatepiece, which he wished to push up those last few Levels. So that when the final battle began, he could truly unleash himself and start harvesting all the gains he had earned.
He had the small book passed to him by Solomon Rex, which described a bit of history beyond the context of the Nexus.
Randidlys gaze andered over the sprawling Engraving maintained by the Upper Sonara Society, centered on those pillars. His eyes found Lyra, across all that distance, as she assisted the Eloises. Her expression was pained, but not too bad.
Shes probably the weakest here. When she begins to be affected in earnest we need to move. Randidly thought. For now
His mind found an answer. He nodded sharply, calling Charlotte Wick, Alana Donal, Raymund Ballast, and DiOrtho Vant to him. It was ti to fulfill a promise.
It was ti to test the efficacy of one of his evolved Skills, A Worlds Regrets Begets Serrated Insurrection.
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