The Forgery Breaks

[MacThorstenson]

Mac, in his own head. And the Cognitive Realm.

"Yes, everything is ready. Mac? Keep everyone else safe."

Mac gave a short nod, and he watched Voidus pierce the realms with a spike. That simple description undermined what was the culmination of millennia of experience, mountains of power, and the force of will of a god, but it is no easy thing to describe reality splitting before ones eye's.

As the door opened into the spiritual realm, the urge grew to see what he could glean from stepping in for a brief moment. He knew it was stupid, he knew that it would jeopardize Lita, Laurelai's, and Vivica's life's, as well as the city. He knew that abandoning his post, if even for a moment, would result in his inevitable disintegration. But desires are fickle things, and the hunger to know the future grew with each passing moment. There were other things, too, that could be done with direct physical access to the spiritual realm, and who knew the next time he would have access to it?

But no, there were people in front of him who would need him. He forced his attention away from the whispers of godhood and power, of knowledge and secrets beyond his comprehension, and instead looked on the beginnings of the fight between two gods, pale as it might be in comparison.

The fight was beginning, and it seemed they were going to at least talk about things for a little bit, but one could never be sure. He readied himself, and drew the alleys close, waiting for someone to make an actual move. 

Any yet despite his efforts, parts of his attention slid to a ring made for an opportunity like this. 

[Ashbringer]

Cassandra Adama, the Metallurgic Emporium

Cassie knew the look in NullBlade's eyes. It had been the one in her own eyes just a few days ago. "May I know what this way is?" he said, taking the tea but seeming to take little interest. "More importantly, is there any way I can help you with it?"

Cassie took a small sip. The tea was still bitter, but she knew how to make it well. Hopefully it was just her mouth and not the drink itself.

"I think the skin was the last thing to really turn. The inside had been more metal for a while. But I've also been working on the project, which led to more Soulcasting. Not a lot more, but... enough to do this." Cassie gestured vaguely at her own face.

Well, here we go.

"What do you know about Cognitive Shadows?" Cassandra asked. "I don't know much. Just that a lot of Investiture can make the soul of a person continue beyond the death of their body. Like making a spren of a person. And if a body can be brought back to life, or isn't really dead, then something that can connect the spirit back to it. And some of my contacts found a plan to make that connection."

The words were flowing easier now. "Because as much as this is killing me, it's not really me dying, is it? A heart of iron, yet a heart that still beats. Metal skin that still moves. Metal eyes that still see. It's still a body, just one that's becoming less and less... habitable. Less of a home to my soul. And the idea is to use a gemstone to make the home better. So I can live in a body as metal as can be, but one I'm connected to stronger, one that can move and speak and live."

It sounded so much nicer, put that way. No talk of finishing the path her Soulcaster had set her upon before she could progress. No talk of implanting a gemstone the size of her fist into her head or chest with some macabre blend of scalpels and smith's tools. No talk of the mere handful of people who had successfully done what she was attempting, no talk of the thousands who had tried and were never seen again. No talk of the scale of energy that would be needed to work such a transformation. Although it seemed as though the last problem was solving itself. Perhaps the penultimate one could too.

"It's... not likely to work. A lot of people try to make Cognitive Shadows. Not a lot of people succeed. You need a big energy source and willpower," she said, lowering her teacup. "But the Alleystorm is here tonight. That's all the power a mortal could dream of. And... the other thing. The changes, you've seen them. Something is changing within the soul of this world, making them unstable, adding something new or peeling something away, I can't tell. But it makes them unstable. Harder to Soulcast things into something entirely different, but easier to make a small shift. They're... something is changing reality. Changing what a soul is. Maybe I can follow along."

Cassie looked at NullBlade. "I remember now, NullBlade. The Hospital, something we could see, the dark things that took my worry and my memory. There was a break in the wall, a break that made the world not what it was. Something important is falling apart."

She took a deep breath. That had been a lot.

"I don't know what I can do. I don't know what you can do. But... if I try this, it has to be tonight. It has to be." If she could still make tears, she would have them now, but that ship had sailed a long time ago. "I... am I doing the right thing?"

@mathiau

Edited November 3, 2022 by Ashbringer

[kenod]

~The Fox; The cognitive realm~

The fox stayed a step behind the others, not interested in placing herself in the firing line, but from her hands she started shedding cells. Invisible except to those who could perceive even the microscopic they floated through the area, preparing it for if she herself needed to fight.

"You aren't the only one he needed to acquire information on," she muttered softly, a warning, perhaps unnecessary, for Voidus and the others. "And he rewrote the laws of this world. I'm sure you know what that means."

As she spoke she studied the Stranger. He looked the same as he always had, she thought, though, unlike the others, she couldn't perceive the energies that'd allow her to truly tell. Something she'd need to correct in the future, at some point. If they'd get a future at all, that was. Perhaps something from Roshar could function as a basis, one of the Investure eaters.

~Aylitha; Beneath the city~

Beneath the city Aylitha stirred, the last of her own preparations complete. Dimensional spaces isolated, spiritual paths redrawn, mental connects severed and reconnected. She paused slightly as she studied the conflict, the girl with the three tails stirring something in the back of her mind, though other mental routines made her dismiss it, preprogrammed commands embedded deep into the core of her consciousness taking effect, as they had before, while the fox went about their work.

A slight shudder ran through the Underground, and then she started forming a body of her own, seeking to accompany Voidus, all while rechecking her safeguards and fallbacks, not wanting to get erased from existence if Voidus realized her own complicity in this, and decided to take offense to it.

[Rushu42]

~Aln, the Alleycity~

Aln's memories were slipping away, like water through a sieve. Like the rain that had begun to fall on the Alleycity, dark clouds now obscuring the previously clear sky. She'd wanted this. She'd risked her life for this. But now that it was here, now that the Forgery was really breaking, Aln felt a deep, sudden grief. Years of dinners with her brother and his fiance, watching him proudly display his mostly-functional new fabrials, of staying up into the early hours of the morning with Folorian, mugs of tea cooling at their elbows as they laughed at what passed for statistical analysis in the latest oculatory research papers from the Free Kingdoms, of watching her fledgling guild build itself into a real community, were fading, replaced with... what? A mostly finished thesis and an emptiness in her soul?

How broken I am, she realized with a building desperation. How long as it been since I've called someone a friend? Since my university advisor? My brother? My long-lost sister returned from the dead, and all I could feel was panic. For how long have I been ignoring my own loneliness?

She knew the answer to that question. Suddenly she was on her feet, in the rain, running as fast as she could back toward the Alleyverse Post. Energy crackled in the air around her, filling her with storm and power. At each step, the world around her was different. Buildings were shifting places, roads were rerouting themselves, and she even saw a young man simply blink out of existence - but she hardly paid any attention. She had a horrible fear that if she were too slow, she would forget the Forgery entirely, and would let herself fall back into her still little world. She would let Folorian drift away.

The Alleyverse Post building was still there, stubbornly unchanged. At least, she thought it was unchanged. Had the font been different before? It was like trying to remember the details of a dream. She knew she didn't have much time before that life was gone. She yanked open the door and burst in, eyes searching immediately for Folorian - her best friend, a stranger - but she stopped. In the middle of the room was a tall, very grey figure. A Lifeless, it looked like.

"Um," was all she had the composure to say.

@mathiau @18th Shard

[mathiau]

NullBlade, the Metallurgic Emporium

NullBlade did not, in fact, know much about cognitive shadows, mostly the fact that most of that stable had been created by Shards.

"Do you know what happen when two identical twins become epics?" He said as he started sipping some tea, "They end up sharing the same power and are able to feel when the other twin use their power. I'm told it's one of the worse pain a human can experience."

He marked a pause, trying to keep the memory of mangled faces of Mene and Peres out of his mind "Many twins go to great length to even get a chance to solve this issue, I heard for Calamity Epics it often end up with a twin killing the other. I only know of one instance of twins really solving this issue, an accident during the procedure cost each each of them half of their skin" he traced a line in the middle of his body with his finger, "They had to be hospitalised years until they found someone able to heal them, and their power ended split up in two much weaker parts. They told me they had never regretted for even a moment." His voice trailed off.

He marked a second pause to calm himself "I can't tell you whether you're doing the right thing, but I can definitely tell you that doing it isn't wrong."

@Ashbringer

[Fatebreaker]

~The Stranger, the Cognitive Realm~

The Stranger stared at his friend for a silent moment, punctuated by lightning and thunder. "My old friend, I will not bore you with my plan, for I would hope you would have more respect for me than that. And you are not saving the world, if anything you are jeopardizing it, putting it all at risk. This world hangs on a precipice, at the brink of a new era. And you would tear it down, take back the old world of chaos and disorder, of strife and apathy. But that doesn't matter to you."

He gazed at the world around them. "Did I do all of this for me? The premise of that is flawed. I didn't do this for me, I didn't do this for you. My motivations have always been the same. The core reason I did this, was for Science. I followed the Light, the glowing beacon around which I have built my existence. Look around you, look at my work and tell me it is not beautiful." He gestured at the glowing pattern that surrounded them, tracing one of the lines close to them with a claw-like finger. "Look at the pattern, look how it synergizes with the worldspike. It is perhaps my greatest work, the largest scientific breakthrough in a millennia. The Light of Science shines through the very fabric of the world, as it once shon through you. Do you remember what it feels like? The fervor, the exhilaration, the potential! Your mind aflame, lightning in your veins, a hunger unchained! The Light beckons, and I answered." He swept his long arms upward and a burning light appeared above him. It shone with such intensity that eyes burned to look upon it, as around them the veins of the forgery blazed in response.  Then as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished in a flash of lightning. 

And the Stranger looked back at Voidus, "But you don't care about that either. Think back to you life before this, to the lonely office filled with regret and apathy. Think about how long you sat there wasting away in restraint while the world you built hated you for it. You were like a fallen oak, rotting away where once you had stood tall. You rejoiced not in the ruling of the world, not in the pursuit of new works, not in anything was there a glimmer of light. There was only, the Void." as he spoke that last word, the Stranger tapped his dark eye, where the Void pooled and swirled like a subterranean sea. "Until, one day, a young woman appeared." And he turned his gaze to Laurelai. "A lost child, a miracle made flesh, a glimpse into another life. And so I expected you to change, to find new meaning or purpose, something. But all you did was hide from her the true nature of your relationship. I looked into your eyes and saw a longing and regret like I have never seen. I saw fear and anger and sorrow war within you. And yet you returned alone to your empty office. And so, when I sought to remake your world, I thought I would give you three things."

His long, gnarled hand rose between them. "First, I gave you the life your longed for in your eyes. A life with your daughter, without the pain that had torn you apart. Secondly, I gave you a world of order, where balance was maintained and you were free from the yoke of responsibility you had worn for so long. And lastly, I gave you a chance to rediscover that Light. A chance for knowledge to be something sought, rather than a burden carried. For power to be something to be gained, not a chain that bit into your heart. I freed you from the Void that was consuming you. And it broke my heart to do so, for I knew I had lost the last friend I would ever know." His voice was sharp and jagged, and his grin no longer spread across his nightmarish features. "I didn't do this for you," he said, gesturing at the weave around them, "but I sought to do you kindness within it. And that, whether you believe it or not, is true. I chained myself to your inferior shadow to preserve peace, I placed restrictions and limits on myself so I would not just rip the world asunder. I became the dark god the world fears, so that you could become a man who knew the daughter he loved, and not the monster she now knows you to be."

The smiled slowly crept upwards, growing like ivy cracking an ancient stronghold. "And still I failed. I fell short of perfection, and in doing so have turned my only friend against me. And you are doomed to return to the slow climb towards the Void, towards emptiness entire. And so I will ask you Voidus, what would you have me do?"

[Voidus]

The wind began to whip up around them, a faintly ominous keen in the distance the only sound it gave. The storm overhead began to open up and thin droplets began to soak the ground in the distance, encroaching the distance slowly, almost respectful of the conversation that was being had as it closed in a circle around them. The lightning flashed both overhead and underfoot. Storm and Forgery both flickering with barely suppressed power.

And Voidus listened.

He listened to the words of the man he had called a friend. The one who had, in all the many worlds, known Voidus the longest. The one who had helped him with so much, who had staved off the boredom for longer than anyone else.

"So after all this." Voidus replied quietly. "You still don't understand at all."

Another flash of illumination lit them from underfoot, throwing ghastly shadows over the Stranger's already horrific form. And it illuminated a man who now stood next to him, or the shadow of a man at least. Looking remarkably like Voidus but for the bearing and the eyes. Sudiov stared impassively back, simply allowing the conversation to unfold as it may. But it was clear that he had chosen a side.

"What would I have you do?" Voidus said, his eyes glancing between the two. "If you had cared about what I actually wanted then I think he could have given you perfectly enough information to realize that, you are exceedingly clever after all. What I would have had you do is what I always wanted you to do. It is what I became friends with you for and the purpose I had always hoped you would fulfil only to be bitterly disappointed. I wanted you to kill me."

The rain finally reached them, cool droplets that felt like they should sizzle as they touched his skin. The furnace that rested just beneath his skin was not quenched by the rains, only fueled further from it. And finally he let the anger enter his voice.

"I was a monster. One nearly equal to the one that once took everything from me. I would have sacrificed this world or any other to simply... end. But I didn't. I prepared the contingencies, I tried to find somebody who could actually do the deed. But you were unwilling. And then when my chance finally came, my own desire for destruction manifesting into a shadow, I resisted it. And I was never quite sure why, until this world of yours. Until I met someone, one who didn't fit into your perfect world. And one who eventually broke the whole thing apart. With a copper paperclip. So thank you, my friend, for showing me a light by which to live once again even if it is not the one you expected. Thank you."

The void tore from him as he fed his anger into it, without sound or light or sensation it destroyed all around him. All but the small area where those who had arrived with him now stood. The full force of the void began to devour the cognitive realm and the Forgery. An even deeper darkness settling into his hands to form an extended haft with one end turning into a curved and wicked blade.

"And goodbye." Voidus said, with a note of finality.

[Ashbringer]

Cassandra Adama, the Metallurgic Emporium

"I guess you learn something new every day," Cassie said, cracking a smile. It faded quickly. "But... I think I get what you mean."

It was a different concept. Losing control of your own motion and emotion versus living in pain. But a similar result. Anything that would give them a chance to live without it. For some, even if the chance was astronomically low. For others... well, Cassie had a chance.

"Thank you."

She said nothing for a while. It was... nice, sort of. Two friends sharing tea. Before Cassie would think it presumptuous to say she and NullBlade were friends, but... something about baring one's soul to someone, even if her soul matched her skin, made it seem right. It had been a while since she had a friend. And now she might lose it all.

Was it weird that she was more worried about him, about Poller, about the other few people she'd met and had company? She'd made the decision of not wallowing away into a statue, but was that just selfish? No, she had to hope this would work. It had to work. She had everything she needed. She just needed to believe in her own willpower.

"I'm... sorry it turned out this way. I know we never really focused on your own savantism and... I know you've lost people before. But thank you for staying anyway."

@mathiau

[mathiau]

NullBlade, the Metallurgic Emporium

"It's quite alright, your savantism was much more urgent than mine." NullBlade answered, trying to act as if he had not noticed the offer to speak about those he had lost "I'm not even sure I'd remove it if I had a way to do so."

He went back to drink his tea, simply enjoying the company of a friend, trying no to think about how he risked to lose her tonight

"So, I suppose it's time I stop distracting you and leave you to finish your work" he said jokingly as he finished his cup

@Ashbringer

[18th Shard]

Xanas Khaeverin - The Scholar's Guild

A young, bald Terrisman looked up at Xanas, squinting at him. As Xanas spoke, he inhaled in some Stormlight. 

"Is this about the Forgery?" he asked. 

"I suppose so, yes," Xanas answered. "Among other things. For the past few millennia, I have been the Head of the Department of Testing and Analysis in the Dark Alleys, though there have been some lengthy leaves of absence in that time. I want to help advance the knowledge of the people of the city using what I have learned in that time. Spreading knowledge has ever been my goal, but the Alleys have slowly drifted away from that goal toward the insular acquisition of power and control. The Forgery is merely the latest example. I once made an oath to seek correct questions before seeking their answers, so I've come here, to the Scholar's Guild, and I hope that those here are interested in seeking those questions as well. To that end, I will share what I know about the Forgery and the Alleys. Whom should I speak with?"

@mathiau

[mathiau]

Folorian - The Alleyverse post

"Is this about the Forgery?" Folorian asked. 

"I suppose so, yes," the man answered. "Among other things. For the past few millennia, I have been the Head of the Department of Testing and Analysis in the Dark Alleys, though there have been some lengthy leaves of absence in that time. I want to help advance the knowledge of the people of the city using what I have learned in that time. Spreading knowledge has ever been my goal, but the Alleys have slowly drifted away from that goal toward the insular acquisition of power and control. The Forgery is merely the latest example. I once made an oath to seek correct questions before seeking their answers, so I've come here, to the Scholar's Guild, and I hope that those here are interested in seeking those questions as well. To that end, I will share what I know about the Forgery and the Alleys. Whom should I speak with?"

...

...

What?

...

After taking a what he assumed had been a few seconds to take in the news that a millennia old member of one of the most dangerous organisations in the multiverse was casually offering them help

"Er... I... " he took a deep breath "The guildmaster, Alanis Sheneth, is currently absent. I do not know where she is but I suppose she'll be back in a few hours?" he said, unable to see or hear Alanis was entering the building

@Rushu42 @18th Shard

Edited November 7, 2022 by mathiau

[Ashbringer]

Cassandra Adama, The Metallurgic Emporium

NullBlade didn't take the little opportunity to talk about himself. He'd never really been open about his past, save for the one blunder Cassie'd made. Not that Cassie had ever talked much about hers. And that was fine, she thought. They were here for the present.

If she could have given up the Soulcaster and made everything fine, back to normal, back to being just a smith and Lurcher, would she? Before she'd been adamant she wouldn't. She didn't know what she'd say now. But it didn't exist. If it did, it was too late to try and find it.

"So, I suppose it's time I stop distracting you and leave you to finish your work," NullBlade finally said. And he was right. Rust, he was right.

"Yeah," she said simply. "Shouldn't let the storm go to waste."

Cassandra Adama took one last sip of tea. Then she started moving, slowly, and grabbed her kettle, holding it soft in fingers that for all she knew could crush it.

"... Goodnight, NullBlade," she said, taking one last look at her shop before turning for the door, unable to speak the final phrase she'd been thinking, I'll see you in the morning. For all the willpower, the belief she needed that this would work... that was beyond her. So she just nodded and walked upstairs.

 

The actual continuation of the project was simple. The main amethysts had been let sit in the Alleystorm for several hours, and shone bright with Stormlight. She didn't need to do much now - just connecting some of them to her body, giving her centers for motion, for sight, and the large perfect gem for her own soul. It would be easier to implant the full string of gemstone beads once her experiment was complete.

Still, it was strange to use her Soulcaster this way, liquifying a small part of the metal that had once been her flesh, dropping a small gemstone within, and re-solidifying the material. She couldn't do that before. She couldn't make heat with her Soulcaster, although she'd often wondered if she could make molten metal if she combined Foil and Flame. But she'd done mercury and gallium enough to shift between them quickly.

On a whim, she Soulcast her own dress, a strand of thread at a time, making a similar yet contrasting metal to that of her own body. It... just fit.

Was she stalling? She couldn't tell.

But that was enough gemstones.

So there was nothing left to do.

So Cassandra Adama laid down, folded her arms over herself, resting her Soulcaster over her weak heart. She took the last breath she'd probably ever take.

And Changed.

[18th Shard]

21 hours ago, mathiau said:

"Er... I... " he took a deep breath "The guildmaster, Alanis Sheneth, is currently absent. I do not know where she is but I suppose she'll be back in a few hours?" he said, unable to see or hear Alanis was entering the building

@Rushu42 @18th Shard

"That's alright; I will wait. I don't believe any information I have should be acted on urgently. Careful consideration is necessary for action on any sensitive information." Xanas stepped in front of a seat. "Do you have any paperwork or binding contracts I should sign? I can fill those out as I wait; then we could have a notary or a guild representative handle any business which does not require Ms. Sheneth's personal attention." Xanas started sitting down, then paused, straightening. "I don't believe I ever got your name, nor your spren's. My apologies. My own is Xanas Khaevarin." As he was sitting, a woman rushed in the building. She paused when she saw him.

"Um." 

Quote

I think we can move the remainder of this conversation and Aln's return to the Aftermath thread.

@mathiau @Rushu42

Edited November 8, 2022 by 18th Shard
Missed Rushu's post

[mathiau]

Quote

No longer relevant

 

Edited November 8, 2022 by mathiau

[Fatebreaker]

~The Stranger: the Cognitive Realm~

The Stranger laughed, as the void took form beneath his friend's grasp. "And you accuse me of theatrics. Very well, since you have set the tempo, I shall adjust the score accordingly." And as he spoke the lines of the forgery began to hum with growing intensity, a song of a million parts, and then it moved. Glowing lines pulled up from the ground, as reality itself tore, and lines of light began to twist and meld, forming glowing chain. At one end, a sickle with a wicked hooked point, long and curved. And at the other a stylized hand, crooked fingers ending in razor points. The weapon was pure light, burning like the surface of the sun, the power of raw creation, singing with untold potential. When the Stranger moved the weapon, the world seemed to warp around it slightly.

Silver light shon from the Stranger's eyespike as he stared at his old friend, "Kill you? That's all I ever was, a contingency plan? Then I never had a chance, for you had already become like the Void you wield: empty. And yet you say another has given you a new hope? A person will be your new light? HA!" He punctuated his sentence with a laugh that shook the ground, shaking his head with scorn. "I thought you wiser than that, Voidheart, but you appear even more foolish than I. love has failed us both, people are the fickle flowers that grow in the spring and wilt in the fall. You should know this better than anyone. It's a lesson we've both learned long ago. Love is a will-o-wisp, luring you to disaster with the promise of salvation."

He swept his gaze across the other people gathered there, taking them in with his draconic grin. "You were reunited with your daughter, a separation of untold time, but that is not the love that "saved" you. A denizen you've known for a fraction of your cursed existence has "cured" your apathy, become the new light by which you live. How tragic, it's like grasping an icicle and thinking it will keep you cool all summer." Rain dripped off of the crown of spikes, and he turned his gaze to Mac. "Ask Mac, did love place him at the forefront of the most powerful organization ever created? Or did hard work and sacrifice carve his legacy? Tell me Laurelai, in the dark hours of morning, when sleep eludes your grasp, is it love that occupies your thoughts? Or do you crave blue waters, falling steadily from above?" Thunder boomed, heavy in the air, as he turned to Lita. "Tell him Lita, has love ever given you one ounce of your power? Or did you gain what you have the way all being do," And the light from his eyespike was the light of the storm itself, wild and dangerous "through SACRIFICE?"

...

~Reshilore: Alleycity~

Reshilore strode into the lobby of the building, an austere and expensive looking space. There was a woman behind a desk, her uniform most likely cost more than all the clothing Reshilore had ever owned combined. She glanced up through stern eyes, taking in his unkempt appearance. "Please," Reshilore panted, "I need to see Lita LaPetit, it's urgent." The woman smirked, "I'm sure it is sir. if you would like to wait a moment I'll have someone escort you." She made eye contact with a large, uniformed man, who began making his way towards them. Reshilore felt desperation clawing at his stomach, digging a ragged pit therein, "No, you don't understand, I have a standing invitation, since the festival, she told me to call on her. Here, I have," and he began franticly searching his pockets for the card. A heavy hand gripped his shoulder, and he looked up to see the large man next to him. "Come on kid," the man grumbled, "don't make a scene."  Reshilore tried to wrench out of his grip, but with no success. "Wait, wait! I have a, a card, and invitation! Just let me get it out, please!" The man ignored him, choosing instead to haul him roughly towards the door. Reshilore tried to resist, but he was a fraction of the other man's weight, till he finally stomped down on the top of his captor's foot. 

The man swore, relaxing his grip as he stumbled mid stride. Reshilore broke away and ran back to the desk, searching frantically in his pocket with clumsy, bandaged fingers. his fingers closed on the card and he slammed it on the desk, "THERE." The woman was taken aback, but she glanced at the card, then turned it over. She let out an irritated breath, then held a hand up to the man who was angrily storming back over. He stopped with a huff, grumbling something unkind under his breath. The woman looked at Reshilore and said in a very dry tone, "Unfortunately, Madame LaPetit is not currently present. You may leave a message if you choose." Despair threatened to overwhelm Reshilore as he took her words in. It was all for nothing. His last hope had been nothing but a desperate grasp at the most ethereal of straws.

"I think you'll find that I am most certainly present, Jeanette."

All eyes turned to look at the striking figure of the woman who entered the room. Her dress was gold, like it had been the night they had met, but now it was more severe, sharp rather than slinky, severe rather than intriguing. She wore no mask, and Reshilore could see her entire visage, the smirking mouth, the slender nose, the green eyes that reminded him so much of Victoria. Reshilore once again found himself nearly at a loss for words, so unexpected and striking was her entrance. Behind the counter, Jeanette murmured rapid apologies, but Lita LaPetit ignored her, "I see you've finally decided to take me up on my invitation. Reshilore, wasn't it? Either you've come to your senses, or departed from them entirely. Either way, it's sure to be an interesting evening."

Words stumbled over themselves as Reshilore attempted to explain himself, but Lita simply raised a finger to silence him, "We'll have time for that once we've reached my chambers. But first, Jeanette, I need a replacement key, I left mine with a friend and forgot to retrieve it." Standing, Jeanette bobbed her head, "Of course, madame. Just a moment." She walked into a small room that was behind her, returning shortly with a key. Lita took it and began to make her way to where her rooms were, or so Reshilore presumed. He followed hurriedly, and soon they were situated within luxurious apartments with lavish furnishings. His host lit candles, then walked into the kitchen and emerged with two mugs of tea, one of which she handed to him. She took a slow sip, seeming to savor it's taste, then finally spoke,

"Now, what brings you to my door after so long? Based on your appearance, it seems unlikely you're in pursuit of a memorable night if excitement. Which means you must need something. Am I wrong?" The floor held Reshilore's gaze as he tried to think of a less desperate way to ask for help. He flet the warmth of the tea in his hands, but couldn't bring himself to drink any lest his nerves get the better of him. "I, um, I apologize, madam, but I've been beset by tragedy. Vic- my girlfriend has contracted some unknown disease. It's aggressive, faster than the doctors can account for. They've tried all manner of treatments, but nothing seems to have any effect." He felt tugging at the corners of his eyes, and rubbed away the starts of treacherous tears. Now was not the time for tears, he needed her to take him seriously. "I, uhhh, I have been studying the metalurgic arts, specifically the possibility of transplants of sorts. Taking abilities from one person and giving them to another." His host raised her eyebrows, "That seems, complicated, to put it nicely. Farfetched to put it bluntly." "No, well yes," Reshilore began pacing the floor, " but I've been working on this for years. The principles are solid, I've worked out most of the mechanics of it. I've figured out the vectors of transplant, the logistics of recovery, nearly all of it. It will work." He stopped pacing and looked to his host, sitting in her richly appointed chair. She smiled, "But you're missing something, a key piece." Anxiety was building in Reshilore's heart as he nodded. This was the crucial part. if she turned him away empty-handed, he had no idea what he would do. 

"Materials. In order for this to work, I need access to some materials and equipment that I don't have access to. Metals and medical equipment specifically. Lightning flashed outside of the window, the storm growing in intensity. Reshilore cleared his throat and continued hurriedly "I'll pay any price, do anything you ask. I may not have much in the way of resources now, but I'll give you all I have. I'll live in servitude if that's what it takes. I know this is too much to ask, but I have no other options. Victoria is dying, and if I don't do something soon, it will be too late."

Wind howled at the window, making the silence in the room feel all the more stark as the woman in gold gently swirled her glass of wine. She stared at him for a long moment, saying nothing. Finally, She stood and walked in a slow circle around him, looking at him from all sides. "Anything? Many people say they're willing to do anything, but few actually mean it. They want a miracle without price, a revelation without cost. But in reality, all great works require Sacrifice." The candles seemed to gutter at the word, before slowly returning to life, and she turned to face the window. "And you Reshilore, I think that you will learn the true meaning of Sacrifice in this endeavor. I can see from the freshly bandaged wounds on your hands that you already have some understanding of the nature of my words. But will it be enough? Can you reach for yet more? What leads your steps down this treacherous path? From where does your light come? Is it merely your own will, or is there something else which guides you?"

Reshilore swallowed against the growing unease he felt, these were not the sort of questions he had been anticipating. Potential answers swam in his head, until he finally coalesced his thoughts into something coherent, "I- I know that the word is cruel and cold, that men seek answers in words and stories, but all of that can fail. but in all of the chaos and pain I have seen in my short life, love has been the one thing that has seen me through. My friends, the woman I cherish, they have been with me through everything, and It's by that love that I am now moved. They are my light." 

Lita was silent again, bowing her head. In the the window's reflection, Reshilore thought he could make out her face, filled with unspoken emotion, but what exactly he could not say. At long last she spoke, in a soft voice, "I will give you what you seek, Reshilore, but there will be a heavy price. A price you are not ready to pay. I cannot tell you what it is, but that is the term of my aid. Do you still wish to continue down this path?" Reshilore nodded, "Nothing could dissuade me." Lita chuckled wryly at that, turning to look at him, "I believe it, though I wish for your sake it wasn't the case. Bring your beloved to this address, everything required will be waiting for you." Reshilore felt his heart soar on the winds of hope, "I, I can't believe it! You won't regret this, Madame, Lita, Ms. LaPetit, I'm sorry. After I save Vic, this technology will revolutionize our world. it will change the world of Science as we know it, I promise. Thank you, thank you!" Excitedly, he ran from the apartment, his mind awhirl. It looked like things were not as bleak as he had feared. Things might just work out after all!

Edited November 12, 2022 by Fatebreaker

[Voidus]

~Voidus; The cognitive realm~

Voidus stepped forwards. It was not a hurried step, nor the careful placement of feet that might be used by a war-hardened soldier looking for perfect footing. Instead it seemed simply to erode the space between them, ignoring such silly concepts as physics and distance and bringing Voidus directly into reach of the Stranger as the mad god hurled his final epilogue to a stunned audience.

Voidus spared no attention for any of those the Stranger had called upon, trusting instead that Mac would do what needed to be done as Voidus focused solely on the task that lay before him. Deicide was not a task one could accomplish whilst distracted.

The handle of the scythe of the void met the chains of pure light that the Stranger had fashioned. Stopping less than an inch from colliding with the Strangers body and consigning it to the endless nothing of the void. Where the light met the darkness a terrible cracking spread through the air, a pressure of two opposing forces that warped reality around them and left it shattered in their wake.

Voidus looked into the Stranger's eyes one final time, at this close distance. Searching, looking for each trace of the man he'd though he had known. They were there, all of them, and the proof among them that this was no bout of madness, no strain from wielding too much power. The Stranger was not some newcomer, no Vessel of a Shard broken by its Intent. He knew exactly what he wished to do and did it. That was all.

In a blurring motion of speed and darkness the weapons collided once again, shattering the air around them and the very nature of this place as Voidus wordlessly continued his assault. His gaze shifted from eyes to center mass, tracking every twitch of a muscle and every ripple of power as the two traded blows. There was no slow testing of defenses and capabilities here, neither were unfamiliar with their opponent nor inexperienced in the art of killing enough to warrant the careful measuring of capabilities. This was a quick and violent exchange of attacks, each with the ability and intent to kill.