___________________
[Local Time 06:37:24]
(Perspective: Lee.)
____________________
'Testing out your Magick Aptitude?'
'That's the idea, why, what's up?'
'You remember what I said earlier?'
'Depends on which thing…'
'The bit about how you haven't used Enigmatic Grasp in a fight.'
'Oh… I haven't forgotten.'
'Arduen will likely demand you keep your EFA disengaged in order to properly assess you. That said… he doesn't know about EG, and you have a premier opportunity to learn from an Archmagus without him even knowing he's being used as a template.'
'That's… rather underhanded for you to suggest…'
'Save me the semantics, Lee. This will be good for the both of you. He gets to see what you are capable of doing on the fly, and you'll be able to read his arsenal like a play-by-play script.'
I sighed wearily.
'You better know what you're doing.'
_____________________
[Present Time]
_____________________
"Here's what's going to happen, Lee," Arduen's voice was being projected from several stretches of the barrier, and all at me, with the source of the voice beyond my vision, "By the end of the hour, you're either going to have found me and engaged in combat with me, you'll not have caught me but you'll be less worse for wear, or if you end up taking a number of attacks past a certain threshold, you'll have failed this test. You are to do this without making use of your Exceptionary Function Actualizer or you also lose. I will not use my artifice, only my animus Are we clear?"
There was no point in trying to argue with him or reason against it, but I suppose this is exactly what I needed, so how else was I to respond?
"Crystal Clear, I hope you know what you're in for!"
A bemused chuckle echoed itself throughout the barrier.
"I'm looking forward to it. Bookmark One: ACTIVATE."
Oh; well isn't that wonderful, this is going to be a little more difficult to analyze. It'd be one thing if I could see his 'Bookmark,' unfortunately that's not an option. If the spell is wrought by an anchor-point, I'd have to trace the chain, and something tells me he's not about to let me do anything of the sort without working for it. And yet…
Why was grin widening further?
I raised my left arm above my face. If my memory of the books I had read mere moments ago was to be believed, then the Magick Circles Arduen was spawning with his 'Bookmark' were a form of light-based magick practiced by the Priests of Stelluo for combat. And if that's the case, I had something I wanted to try…
'What is he doing,' Arduen seemed to wonder to himself. 'Sure, you could read the structure of my spells to brace for them but-'
His eyebrow flinched.
'Oi now, Lee, don't tell me you think you are already capable of improvising-.'
"If you're going to put on a light-show, then I suppose it's a good thing I can visualize a Visor!"
In terms of making effective use of spell activation, it is usually helpful for something to act as a symbolic trigger of sorts alongside the visualization of the desired effect. If you link the trigger to a gesture or an action, the activation of the spell generally suffers less from latency and processing lag and its efficacy improved. For this reason, while verbal activation is the general baseline for teaching optimization; the goal is to aim for physio-logical activation; above that is a level few practitioners of magick ever reach: non-effectual activation, breathless and motionless, activated at will with otherworldly efficacy. Magick is a language of the mind, world, reality and (if you want to put in the effort, which is often worth it, allegedly) mathematics. The human body has its own bio-electricity, and though it's a sequence of chemo-electric reactions, I should be able to make use of Arduen's attack to my own benefit, all he has to do… is activate it.
'You tricky little shit.'
"Looks like you have something up your sleeve," Arduen's voice reverberated in the air, as he traced the direction of each path of light his magick would take with a series of deft gestures from somewhere unseen. "Even so, I wouldn't recommend trying to tank this! BEGIN."
Perfect.
I had already brought my left index finger and thumb to my forehead. I let myself close my eyes, and envisioned myself drawing a ward of lightning from out of my head. I felt a crackle of static, and visualized it warping around my body, as every hair on my being stood on end right as Arduen's attack made contact.
I could feel it, both the force of the attacks, something I initially thought and felt as odd, and the diffusion of the energy behind the force, being reabsorbed into my improvised full body ward.
'Well I'll be a son of a witch…'
"Hahaha! Ahahaha! Ah, you actual fucking madman. You realigned your own fucking Bioelectricity to create Electro-Magnetic Armor that amplifies itself using your opponents own attack energy; Full-Mail at that!! Do you have the slightest notion of how difficult AND Dangerous that is? And you mean to tell me you improvised that?"
"Whether you believe it or not is irrelevant; fact of the matter is, it just happened. On that note, Arduen," I responded curtly, "That was a hard-light attack, wasn't it?"
"You could tell? Bravo. Alright, I suppose I can give you a little extra credit. Just know, I'm going to make you work for it. Jump to Bookmarks 4 and Five; ENTANGLE."
'Oh… I may have gone a bit far with my bravado.'
Jumping straight from the end of basics and straight into high-intermediate studies, eh? Well, here's hoping I still perform as well under pressure as I did back in my home world…
______________________
<1st floor of the Library, present time>
"Ah, they're really going at it."
Archatae and Rythie could tell through the tremors being absorbed by the walls and shelves.
"That drifter, Lee; he must've upstaged Master with something truly uncalled for."
"You already saw that ornament he was carrying. Master likely told him he was not permitted to use it. Naturally, it wouldn't be much of a lesson if he was able to end the fight too quickly. Else…"
"Well, as long as he doesn't go overboard with it-."
"Archatae… You know what the master said about your aptitude for foreshadowing…"
"That it's like an anti-Oracle…" Archatae sank against the walls. "Just like he told you about being a killjoy…"
"Oh shut the front door, you already know that the barrier is only suited to withstand up to Bookmark Nine or three Entanglements at once. More than that, you already know about our Master's faith, and how it was soured 30 years ago. If you go around treating a magical voice like a megaphone for your inner monologue, you can't be surprised when reality itself responds in contrast."
Archatae sighed while Rythie glided over to her side.
"But your mind is a beautiful thing, even if I've not the liveliness to be in awe of it. He acknowledges it, otherwise he wouldn't have vested his Authority over this place in you."
"Rythie…"
"Don't give me that look, Archatae," Rythie confided. "I'm content with my purpose and the occasional exchange with visitors. What I have, what is left of it, is enough."
The Library shuddered in response to the mock-battle on the roof, but the two observed a moment of solemn silence. Rythie rose slowly and glanced over at one of the books that had been returned after Lee finished studying.
"Odd... Archatae, did you gather this one for him to study?"
She cocked her head in confusion and slowly strode over to where Rythie's gaze was held.
"Oh my…"
"Well, if he read that…"
"I'll begin augmenting the barrier," Archatae groaned dismally. "Me and my big mouth…"
__________________
"Are we under attack!?"
"What's with these tremors??"
Since Arduen's duel was given on a whim, the rest of the facility was feeling the effects of our battle without advance notice. I later felt sorry for these guys, being woken up at the crack of dawn to a fake earthquake by proxy.
"STAND DOWN MAGGOTS."
Lexo's booming voice quickly overcame the barracks.
"It's nothing to worry about, Arduen would appear to be sparring with our guest."
"That's… what you guys consider 'sparring', Captain?"
The Lycan sneered.
"If this was serious, we'd be in deep shit. Can't you tell?"
The rest of the guards gathered near a window looking out to the Library. They couldn't directly see the roof itself, but the barrier was easy enough to see, as well as the flash of spells being thrown like a cascade of energy harnessed by two masters.
"That's a Modular Containment Field they're duking it out in; there's also several dampening matrices integrated into its base structure; it's been here as long as the Library this facility was built around, which just so happens to be Arduen's."
"Sir," One of the guards nervously spoke up. "Isn't that information classified?"
"Only to level-two access, it's not a grandiose secret, Lygrost. Just don't bring it up and you won't be written up. Point is, you don't need to worry about it. If we're feeling it out here, there's almost no way She wouldn't take notice. Meaning, if Arduen is meaning to actually teach our guest a lesson… he's going to have to make it quick. She really doesn't like having her beauty sleep interrupted."
The guard by the name of Lygrost didn't mention it, but he could have sworn he saw Lexo shiver from his spine. Must've learned what he just mentioned the hard way…
__________________
"I really don't like disciplining my subordinates."
She walked with a fervent and aggravated pace, her toned legs breaking distance with each step taken. A solid black cloak was hastily thrown over disheveled clothing that covered all 2.25 meters of her figure from the neck down. She put the cuff of a knuckled, fingerless glove in between her teeth and slid it onto her right hand whilst she creased the knuckles of her left using her left thumb. It wasn't more than a moment before she was at the door to Arduen's Library. The walls were still shaking from the onslaught, despite how the barrier above was holding up.
'They may be sturdy, but I prefer to stress test these things while we're not busy with a task.'
She rapped the back of her right hand gently against its doors while attempting to maintain her restraint.
___________________
"Rythie, I'm sorry but could you please get that?"
Archatae was still modulating the barrier when the knock came.
"I don't mind, no."
Rythie glided over to the entrance, and stopped. She recognized the presence on the other side of the door.
'Ah, seems like their little bout is about to be left on hold. This should be amusing.'
She beckoned the door to open and her intuition was confirmed.
"I would say 'Good Morning,' but given the time, I assume my Master is in it deep… Would my assumption be correct, Administrator Analia Sirius?"
"That depends," Analia was quick to respond, putting her left hand against her forehead, "Upon whether or not he can justify the undue wake-up call. Rythie, tell me truly; is it not too early for this shit?"
"I won't disagree that this is certainly no way to set off an alarm clock-," Rythie was interrupted briefly by another tremor. "However, if you're inquiring if this was scheduled… no. It was on a whim."
"A whim…"
'Sorry, Master; actions have consequences.' Internally, Rythie was smiling deviously.
"My apologies, Administrator; I would have advised against it, alas I was busy with my role of tending the books, and was out of earshot."
"I see. Well, I suppose he's on the roof?"
"Correct."
Rythie noticed Analia was looking down towards her chest.
"Is something wrong? Your gaze would suggest something rather slanderous."
"Oh, you think I'm looking at your assets, adorable. Is that book you're holding against your abdomen something I should know about?"
'Wait, she had her Sight active?'
"Ah. You know that's confusing when you do that without letting us know, right? This book, though… It's not something I was *intentionally* obfuscating. Why has it got you curious?"
"I'd like to see it."
"Certainly," Rythie handed the book over to Analia. It had no designation on the cover. No Author, No Title, No Edition number. The Administrator traced her left hand over the hardback cover, and grimaced before she handed it back to Rythie.
"I'm going up. Pardon me."
"Administrator, one last thing," I called out as she stepped towards the carved inlet. "He's currently in the middle of a lesson."
"A lesson?"
'Oh, I see. Arduen, you really should have given me advance notice. At least then I could have issued a drill notice for the grounds.'
Analia sighed.
"So that's how it is? Very well, I've been meaning to meet this… Exception, as it were, so this is an opportunity I can't pass up. Thank you for your cooperation, Rythie."
They smiled, nodding curtly towards each other, and Analia stepped into the air lift and began her ascent to the roof as Rythie returned to her work.
"Archatae, you owe me one."
"Hm?"
__________________
I was being assaulted by multi-layer spells coming in at delayed intervals from every percievable angle inside the barrier. I was adapting, but it was not an easy task by any measure. Ah… I really just had to open my big fucking mouth. But I was still grinning that stupid fucking grin, and I felt for some reason that Arduen had a similar look on his face, wherever he was.
'So this is what it's like to be able to spar with an archmagus, and he's still holding himself back! I can only wonder how long he spent studying this craft, such feats surely aren't naturally acquired at birth without a degree of causal favor. This is learning from the best!'
"It's certainly something to behold! You've already struck me four times since we began, and even I can't deny that I am literally on my toes with this. This is quite the learning experience!"
A sneer of recognition was heard, followed by another whole-hearted laugh.
"Indeed, this has been fun. Maybe you'd like to learn about expanding your perception?"
He said that, and something pierced my left arm from an angle I couldn't recognize- no, one I literally could not perceive.
'EG should allow you to trace the flow of magick even if it's from an orthogonal angle, one you can't physically perceive yet. Just think a command word!' Jan'ros advised.
In spite of the pain of having my EM ward and arm penetrated, I felt my wounds close in an instant and visualized the word 'Trace' in my mind. I'd no sooner visualized the word, when a semi-visible, non-tangible thread began to unravel across the path the magick had taken to reach me. That was indeed orthogonal, and it traced back to…
"Five Times. Five times you have struck me. It has been glorious, Archmagus Arduen. Permit me, this one show of arrogance in return; as thanks for your lesson."
I did not blink, I did not move, his attacks did not cease. I simply uttered a whisper.
"Trace Complete."
If one could describe what I was moving like before, it would probably have been akin to dancing on live coal. This… even I could only describe such a method of evasion as… acrobatic contortionism. But, it was working, somehow. His Orthogonal attacks increased in number, but this… abnormal method of movement was somehow working. If this were my old body, I'd have probably dislocated just about everything important attempting this, seeing as I had no practice nor constitution for it in my old life.
"Hmm, I suppose your constitution isn't your EFA?"
His attack stopped for a brief moment, and my grin also fell flat.
"It is not. Why did you halt your attack?"
"Would you have preferred I be interpreted as asking you a question to catch you off-guard?"
"That's not what I'm asking and you know it, Arduen."
"I suppose it would be because I was earnestly curious, and thus wanted an answer that was not forced or cut short. You aren't the first Exception I've met, but you're the first in a long while… and the most unorthodox for the short time I've known of you."
"I… don't figure I am a good baseline for any metric, so… thanks?"
"It wouldn't be wrong to take it as a complement. That said, you-."
"Before you fail me for not gaining the sight, teacher, I should point out something."
"Oh?"
And that was when the stupid fucking grin returned.
"My show of arrogance… has been successful." I re-visualized the shape of my ward, every last thread of electricity jutting out and running along my pores, being focused into a single point on the tip of the finger I first used to harness my own bioelectricity, without any loss in energy capacity. I was turning my full mail electromagnetic ward… into a finger-point tazer gun. "If the point of this lesson, Arduen, was to teach me to see as you guys do; then admittedly, I've failed. However…" I turned approximately 50 degrees to my left. "I don't have to see as you do, in order to see you. You gave away your position."
'Oh that cleverly conniving little-.'
I had figured it out. He wasn't in the barrier with me, he had interwoven himself into a space between layers of the barrier. If Jan'ros hadn't tipped me off to trace, then that Orthogonal attack would have definitely capped my efforts prematurely.
I began to shout a name for activation.
"TERA-WATT TA-." I was cut off in that moment by a voice with yet unbounded authority and domineering intent.
"EMULATION OF THE SECOND DEGREE, NULL." And Everything that brought me sensation fell to black for the briefest of moments.
_______________________
'I have… none of my senses… what just hap-.'
Apparently I still had my sense of mind, but as soon as the thought ran across it I was returned to my senses on my feet, in the same position as I had just been in, except my ward… and the point of energy at my fingertip was gone. I hadn't disengaged it… so, was it overwritten?
I blinked and then I saw a little more. It wasn't just me… The barrier had been disengaged as well, and Arduen was… standing on the other side of a very tall woman with her hair braided into a jet black ponytail, standing over him with her back to me.
"Arduen. What have I told you about unsanctioned dueling during quiet hours?"
Her voice conveyed a dangerous degree of annoyance.
'Lee, it would appear as though the Head Honcho has arrived.'
'So she's the one who sent me senseless?'
'That would be the case; I can't be entirely sure, but I think I heard her declare Emulation and Null.'
'Meaning, she's an emulator of emptiness?'
"Administrator?" Arduen squeaked. I shook my head in disbelief. I did not know he could make such a noise. "My apologies, I appear to have-."
"Gotten caught up in the groove and funked my with circadian rhythm? Yes. You may very well have done Just That."
'Jan'ros, do me a favor and don't let me mouth off in front of her.'
'Are you giving me permission to swap places if you do?'
'You mean like last time? Just… leave the fucking handholding out of it, would you? People will get the wrong idea.'
'You're no fun. Fine, I swear by the name you've bestowed upon me I will not make use of my time in the driver's seat to be indecent.'
"Administrator Analia?"
"Arduen, you Know I don't like disciplining my subordinates, but do you know what I dislike more?"
"I am very since-."
Even I didn't have time to process what happened, her fist blurred into contact with Arduen's cheek, and he went flying over the edge of the roof. If I could unconsciously contort my jaw, I think it very well might have hit the ground in that moment. He landed in the common grounds with a much more solid thud than I expected, three whole stories below.
"Having my beauty sleep interrupted! Were you so busy enjoying yourself that you conveniently didn't hear the entire facility thinks we're under attack for your little stunt!? Unbelievable…"
'On second thought, maybe you'd prefer a woman who could kick your ass?'
'I'd prefer not being in a position where one would want to, if at all possible, actually. I'd much rather appreciate it for the art it is as an outsider looking in.'
'You know I was going to make fun of you, but that's fair. You do prefer strong women though, don't you…'
'Who in their right mind doesn't like a strong woman? Can't say that I have a specific type though.'
'That's oddly indecisive of you.'
'Oh come off it. It's reductive on your part as well. Are you really a reflection of me?'
'…'
'Jan'ros…?'
'That is my basis, but it would also be reductive to simplify my existence to that extent.'
'Fair point.'
"… And you must be the Exception, Lee Kühren."
I had to tilt my head up slightly to meet her gaze. She had very rich, nearly flawless dark skin which somehow almost impossibly accentuated her jet-black bangs. Her green eyes glistened in the morning rays in spite of her fatigue. I almost didn't notice the scar on her jaw, though I paid it no mind on purpose. Her hair came down over her ears, so I couldn't make any inferences. I silently inhaled through my nose.
"That I am… is, uh… is he going to be ok?"
She tilted her head barely, and chuckled.
"Oh him? That won't kill him. He was really trying to pummel you though."
"I… deserved it, in all honesty."
"Hm. That so?"
She took a step back and I could swear I saw a magick circle flickering in her right eye, integrated around her pupil.
"As far as Exceptions go, you seem to have a steady sense of accountability." She glanced down at Time's Keeper, and I shuddered as a wry smile creeped onto the side of her face with the scar, "Especially for a Chronomancer."
'Did she really just bypass my fucking wards?'
'SHE WHAT!?'
I suppose she noticed my shock.
"Cool your jets, hotshot. I didn't know your other half would take offense to being seen. However, the fact of the matter is that you are in my domain, so it would be bad for my reputation if I couldn't analyze the goings-on of everything in it."
Wait, in her domain… You mean to tell me this entire facility is in a field she maintains subconsciously?
'I believe that is safe to surmise. I have detected a liminal conceptual membrane stretching outward from her for an approximate radii of 10km'
Un-fucking-believable.
"My name is Analia Sirius, and my role here in this place is to serve as Administrator of the facility and its occupants. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lee. Seeing as you do not serve me in any official capacity, I will disregard your self-alleged part in this disturbance, given I expect this will not become a routine. You also should refrain from sneaking around, especially with your abilities, on these grounds. You nearly gave me the wrong idea before I saw you knock on Arduen's doors."
I nodded sincerely.
"I'll commit that to memory, and thank you for not having me request an introduction first."
"Ah, yes. We had an issue with some rogue fey a while back, became a real headache for a hot minute. I had meant to see you the day before for a proper greeting but I hope this hasn't sullied your image of us."
I sighed with a hint of relief.
"If I'm being honest, it was off-putting at first, but I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that I'm out of my depth."
"Good. You're aware of this. Let me give you a piece of advice that may help."
"Advice?"
"Quit believing, and Suspend your Disbelief instead."
I can only surmise that she had invoked her Emulation again, because my senses faded to black once more before I had a chance to ponder it.
_________________________
[Akiva__Inversion_Quotient: 9.1^e!]
{The Perspective Changes Ever So Subtly, as though gazing upon the wrong side of a mirror and seeing you through the other side instead of your reflection, and suddenly you are on the other side looking into a self-iterated Ship of Theseus}
[Xoris-class_Artefact "Time's Keeper" _requesting_Subversive_MetaFilter]
{Error:// Request_granted_yet_unapplied\Appealing_for_Interjection}
{You find yourself blinking closer to this self-iterated actualization of identity metaphysics. You aren't moving, you don't have to. The Only thing that is changing is the where and when of your consciousness, but not your form, not the anchorpoint from which you gaze upon the mirror. This cacophony of self-recognition and iterative dissonance calls to you, and appears closer each time you re-open your eyes.}
[Appeal_Authorized/Narrative_Injection_Pending_Verification]
[Warning:// Whitelisting_has_deviated_through_Greyshift\Verificative_viability_has_decreased_by_3%]
[Status:Off-White\Remain_Calm\You_Are_Not_In_Danger\Please_verify_your_bodily_faculties_by_demonstrating_autonomy]
-/-
-\-
-/-
[Autonomy_Verified_Standby_for_Whitelisting_Authorizational_Override]
{This amalgamation is cherry-picked from you, and not you; and through the fractal refractions you see your source, the you that is of The Origin. You who is not the original beholds the Definitive Iteration. But you are kept from gleaming detail, as from beyond the wall upon which the mirror stands, you hear an omnipresent scream, and the breaking of a chain. Suddenly, you are back in your original body, and everything, including you, continues on as it always has… without anyone noticing. Without Remembrance. Without… (Redacted)}
[Akiva_Inversion_Equalized/Deviancy_Nullified/It_Is_Safe_to_Proceed_with_Reimmersion]
________________________
"Arius-?"
"I am not going to apologize for adopting your methods, Nobody."
"Call me a hypocrite then, what the fuck-."
"You know exactly what."
"No, I don't. I'm not your precious exception, I'm your bloody warden; your keeper. So you have an Obligation-."
"Nobody, don't."
"No! You owe it to them! Tell me what you just did."
"And cast away the shadow of intrigue? Ah, but that is how you used it, isn't it… back when you tried to kill me."
"I didn't-."
"Of all the memetic kill agents, the cognitohazards, the info-threats, the deities, above all of them, there was a singular story you weaponized against us from when I walked among them. One which you, and various other iterations of you set as a trap in the database. Do not act like it has been forgotten, seek it out in the lower wings of the Archive if you want to let your curiosity be the death of you again."
"Arius… just tell me you didn't use-."
"You're finally catching on."
"… Where in every rendition of hell do you get off calling yourself what you do?"
"I don't, Nobody. This isn't for kicks. This is my Singular Obsession, for which I gave my life among them."
"THEN WHY DID YOU-."
"For redirection."
"…"
"Go on, check the records. Though this domain is mine, I can't obfuscate the information that courses through from my own warden."
"Then… excuse me."
___________________
"… Ok, the archives do indicate a redirection of causal disruption. So then what was being redirected?"
"An influx of narremes, constituent information, data that comprises a narrative; you already know about those, I take it you heard it from… P.H.D. was it?"
"Yes, truly a polymath among polymaths. A wee bit stubborn at times, dude flew a time machine into a bunch of extra-dimensional sludge once or twice… or a few hundred times..."
"I remember that."
"Of course you do, so then the target was…"
"Exactly who you think it is."
"I've told you, you spoil your children."
"Save it, you and I both know you're also curious to see how far he'll go, but he doesn't even know about you. Why do you hide?"
"Well Arius, why don't you tell me; what would you think of someone playing Jailor to The Ideal Hope?"
"So quick to write off people before you become acquainted with them. And which of the 128 archtypes you believe humanity is generally confined to, do you think I fall into?"
"… No Comment."
"Flattery will get you everywhere."
"That wasn't-" Nobody groaned defeated. "CAN WE GET BACK ON POINT?"
"Fine, fine. Nearly forgot you hate being teased. Let's just say, he almost inherited something of mine that would've come a little too soon for him," A Black Vinyl Binder containing a few tens of pages in laminated sleeves, around 42 (but I couldn't determine a final count) materialized in Arius' left hand. "This is what the Proteus-Engine injected into the Narrative."
"Did you just inject the screenplay into-."
Arius howled with laughter.
"By my Paragons, that was hilarious. Imagine, forcibly breaking the illusion of free will by literally putting the script for this story right in my archives. No!"
"Then… what is it, Arius?"
"This, Nobody… is the Grimoire I wrote back on the other side of the Divide between Fiction and Non-Fiction."
__________________________
[Re-Immersion commencing]
-/-
-\-
-/-
___________________________
I came to, groggy and unfocused. Something had shifted in how I processed information, something… incorporeal, but undoubtedly… real on some level. I was in an office, on a carpeted surface lying in front of quite an impressionable desk. There was a window stretching almost the full length of the room's width at the far side, right behind the desk, which appeared to be carved from a redwood tree around the grounds, by hand.
"What is it with me and blacking out…"
"Finally back with us, then."
So she was the one who brought me here. This… Administrator.
"How's your perception? Noticed anything different?"
I tried blinking a few times, but something in my vision refused to settle properly as I attempted to bring myself to a kneel. I felt as though I was going to vomit.
"I'll take that as a yes. You can take my word for it that this is the worst of it. Just aim for the bucket over by the-."
She didn't have to tell me twice. I popped open Time's Keeper and crawled to the bucket she indicated. My stomach, in spite of not having eaten of late, was purged of its contents. I closed Time's Keeper and slowly rose to my feet, when Jan'ros notified me.
'Lee, her eyes followed your movements.'
'Shit…'
"So it's true…"
"You… you saw that?"
"Mostly," she said, closing her eyes and putting on a stony expression. "I can follow your movements, but I wasn't going to burden you with watching you throw up. It's in how and what I Emulate."
"Null, you mean."
"And Void."
"… and you're telling me this… why?" My vision was still swimming.
"As Operatives Arduen, Daritz, and Vivye put it, you seem more receptive when we at least make an attempt to approach you on the level, so-to-speak. Take a seat and give yourself a moment to adjust." Analia beckoned to a… a beany-bag chair, holy shit.
"You seem to recognize this furnishing?"
"You could say that… didn't think I'd see one of those here."
"If you'd prefer a different-."
"No, that's not necessary. I was just surprised is all."
I fell back and let myself sink into the conforming comfort of this old-world furnishing I'd never thought to see again. I let out a heavy sigh.
"While I appreciate you trying to be on the level, isn't it unwise to reveal your hand to me?"
"Lee Kühren, formerly age 27, Corporate Jockey, met by the Author's Paragon of Thresholds in a synchronistic confluence of cosmic proportions, forcibly turned back the hands of Time on their behalf, and stopped something unspeakable from breaking into your world by letting it destroy yourself."
Well now I was speechless. She shows her hand, then dresses me all the way down to my marrow.
"Is it really that surprising?"
"Ok, can you please just cut it with the telepathy?"
"I'm not like Vivye, it's my eye. You saw it, didn't you?"
"The… circle around your pupil?"
"The very one. It's… like a compound metadata parser and reader."
'So that's how she was able to bypass my warding.'
"We're getting off-track. As I said before, my name is Analia Sirius, and I am the Administrator and Chief Dispatcher for Damocles Division's Peace Officers. Now with regards to what I did to you…"
My vision had begun to finish settling.
"I meant to simply adjust your perspective, but I suppose I should offer an apology. This was an oversight on my behalf."
The way she said that didn't sit right with me.
"Did… something happen?"
"No, but something very well could have if I hadn't been more wary of your nature as an Exception, or acted a moment later. In fact, pertaining to what happened after you blacked out, there are portions of scrambled or unretrievable metadata that even I can't decrypt properly."
"That's not reassuring…"
"You shouldn't worry about it. Even my sight isn't perfect, just… absurdly keen."
She was averting her eyes. Was this humbleness or her being meek…? I wasn't sure how I felt about this.
"I'd prefer you take it as the former, but if it would put you at ease, I'll simply turn it off. First, however, I'd like to ask you something, and I'd prefer you stand up for this."
If it would put an end to reading me like a book while I'm bloody vulnerable, fine. I stood up from the beany-bag, walked in front of her desk, and turned to face towards Analia. She rose from her desk, slowly and solemnly. Then her stone-faced expression melted away with a… primal intensity as she peered into my eyes.
"Lee Kühren, Child of Farroneia, what is your intention in coming here?"
Her presence was like that of a great Celestial Void. It took quite literally everything I had and then some to not be drawn in.
'I'm sorry Lee, but this is for your safety! I'm taking the wheel.'
'… Thank you, Jan'ros.'
_____________________
"That's Uncouth Action for a Facilitator of Order to take."
"I will ask you instead, what is your better half's intention in coming to this world?"
"That's not what you want to ask, and we both know it. Stop wasting it."
"It's bold of you to act like you have leverage-."
"But we actually do. I'm going to go off on a whim, and work on the assumption that you already know exactly what Lee's Exceptionary Factor is founded upon. I would also assume that you understand that he has, in fact, been holding himself back. But Lee isn't the one who is in the driver's seat at the moment, Analia Sirius. So, stop wasting Time, reign your 'Patron' in, and ask what you actually want to ask, with your own voice, or I will reset everything back to Square. Fucking. One, and he will remember, ALL of it."
"… You really aren't bluffing are you, Jan'ros?"
"I don't know how to bluff, I only know how to raise the bet to a reality check; and you are not worthy of using that name in my eyes. So stand. Down."
"If I stand down, will you answer the question?"
"… If you try to forcibly alter his paradigm further, I will not be merciful. Not even the cessation of cause and effect will distance you far enough from me to spare you from being Unmade. You would do well to heed my warning, it will be the only courtesy I give to you willingly."
"Untrusting as ever, fine. I will stay my hand."
"For your sake, you better."
"Happy now?"
"No, as a matter of fact. I was actually told earlier by my better half to not let him talk down to you, but you've quite royally pissed me off. Your actions could have lead to a Breach, and here you are, acting like it's all hunky-dory trying to fuck around with HIS RIGHT HAND."
"You're saying… wait, his what?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, have you gone deaf, or are you really just a locally omniscient defect? Is it your intent to give Emulators a bad rep for my charge?"
"I am willing to admit that I-."
"No, you can shut your mouth. It's my turn to give you some advice, Administrator: You were permitted a question, not the right to terrorize my charge. Unless you think your dying ghost of an enabler is capable of waging war against an Exception with an axe to grind, my advice to you is to choose your enemies wisely."
Silence.
"Your question, is irrelevant and has no answer. His fate is yet undecided. Thusly, I will not permit further transgressions against His Design. Have I made myself clear, Administrator?"
"Utterly."
"Then you can start by explaining yourself, no omissions."
"It began in the library. Your charge, there was a book that was as of yet not returned to its shelf. It was indistinctive, a featureless cover, and to the ordinary eye, not even worth opening. What did he see?"
"Everything."
"I… see, and he retained as much?"
"Whether or not he retains it is irrelevant as I can serve as a duplicate memory bank for him. Explain yourself."
"Ah, right… I almost forgot about how EFAs are able to mirror physical processes from inside their vessels through the use of hyperstatic data. Alright, well… no holds barred then. You've read a full record of Farroneian genealogy, all the way back to Shea. It's usually sealed in its own vault within the Library's Restricted Section, however it was in the pile Arduen gave you so I worked on the theory he was breaking protocol. And you, having taken in all of that information, in a world where information is power, are someone I have to be careful around."
"Careful enough to almost sign your own death warrant, eh?"
"I don't mind you mocking me. I signed it decades ago. That I've made it this far is nothing short of a cruel miracle. I suppose I've… become numb to it all."
"Cry me a bloody river until you weep yourself into exsanguination, would you prefer I make a house call to the reaper?"
"You can mock me, Jan'ros, but do not mock the other ghosts I carry on my shoulders. Even Time knows better than to speak ill of the lingering dead."
"I was only mocking you. Don't drag us into your tragedy, you'll die alone trying."
"Drag us into your- Alright. So you don't want me to mess with your charge's causality. Fine. But when you are you going to tell him that it's not belief that is King, but the other side of the coin?"
"He will inevitably learn, his pace is his own."
"In any case, I don't need you as an enemy, and he doesn't need me as his. This is truth. You'll have to do something about the contents of that book eventually, however."
"And why is that, Analia Sirius?"
"Because every Exception to date that has internalized the contents of that book has spirited away, fallen, gone insane, or destroyed themselves."
"You forget they all had one thing in common."
"Which is?"
"They were fated as such."
_______________________________
"… And why was it important that Lee not receive your Grimoire yet, Arius?"
"The reason is multifold. If you haven't noticed already, I'm not fond of writing Mary Sues into existence. You could say I have a gripe with the creative laziness of mainstream entertainment in my home world."
"So you killed our Home on a whim to show up a Mou-?"
"Nobody, no; believe it or not, I have told you the reason for that prior. The Grimoire, when this story began… was naught more than an infantile spark amidst a storm of information, contained within a perspective that could not emulate the data externally."
"You could have just said you didn't have the proper paradigm to properly connect the dots."
"So simplistic, but not inaccurate. My mind was collapsing under its own frayed weight."
"So this came after you experienced neurogenesis?"
"Everything came after that. Except for my Paragons; they were borne through that state of chemognosis."
"The First Three?"
"Correct. Entaria is rather fresh by comparison, as well as her Sisters."
"How about-."
"Before all else, just as it was upon the cornerstone of the First Kalpa, there were always Two."
"So then; the question stands Arius, though you gave its essence, the answer remains unseen. Why was it so important that Lee not receive the Grimoire now? I know, that you know, that I am all too aware you don't simply write things as you do to dissuade the creation of a catch-22 for a character's depth. What was the real reason?"
"It'd be easier if you went ahead and read it yourself, Nobody."
"I'm certain it would, but is it safe?"
"You are abiding by the Law of (the) Three Primes, the Rule of Three. It's not an issue."
"… I see, then, if you don't mind…"
"I don't, this would make it easier. You can skip Phase 001, it's just the baseline of general relativity being reinforced."
_______________________
I got up to Phase 003 when I noticed the warning.
"...Expression of a hypothetical mathematical value-based cascading failure, substituting the speed of light as a potential variable… violation of the identity principle…"
"Reads like the ravings of a madman, doesn't it?"
"It almost sounds like you're trying to account for- oh, there it is, denotation of a retrocausal alteration to the maximum speed of light in a vacuum."
"Mind you, it's hypothetical, and that's one example of the dark things I found in dark places. The next Phase, however, I couldn't develop on my own."
I looked up from the Grimoire to face Arius, but I beheld him splitting in two, before a flash of light momentarily blinded me. When I could see again, there was the likeness of a man on the edge of 50 at my right, but wreathed in the primordial fires of creation as a concept, and what I must assume was the rest of Arius to my left.
"Nobody, this is Vulhan; the one who gave me the idea to utilize the planck length as a workaround to Phase 003.1. The Architect of Phase 003.2."
My grip on the Grimoire tightened.
"How… many more of You are there?"
"And if I told you… that there were 34 others, exclusive of myself and Vulhan, who make up the Collective known as 'Arius Von X'el'… would you have a clearer understanding of just how much I loved the world from whence you came?"
I think that was the moment I'd first felt true terror since I first beheld the Collective in the 2nd Kalpa. It wasn't he had brought our world to ruin, it wasn't that he unleashed The Wretch upon it to restart the Universe, it wasn't how he treated existence, it wasn't even that he was, in this case, The Author…
No, what terrified me the most, is that my mind and gut where in perfect sync. I was standing before someone who had gathered together 35 other people with a similar enough mindset, a paradigm close enough to the original, to attempt the completion of a very specific 001 Proposal on the wrong side of the Divide between Fiction and Non. Rationalized and Reconciled Insanity playing at savantry, but what was more horrifying was that he had Actualized it in his favor, of his own free will, on a whim of his own. Everyone else knew, understood and agreed.
"As you thought, so it is."
I wanted to feel anger, I wanted to feel rage, I wanted to feel comfort in knowing that he brought me for a reason, but I could feel nothing aside from fear. My constitution failed, and the effects of the mnestic cocktail my brain naturally generated was overpowered momentarily with a spike in cortisol and adrenaline.
"T-the… The Thirty… six?"
I shook my head vigorously and immediately began rubbing my temples to induce the necessary physiological reaction necessary to jumpstart the mnestic cocktail once more. I couldn't afford to fall apart in this infospace.
Arius merely nodded his head with Vulhan doing the same in sync. I felt my cortisol levels equalize as the mnestics began working properly again.
"Even we were afraid of going it alone."
"What?"
"Wouldn't you have been? I'm sure you're much more well-versed in being your own worst critic than myself. I didn't have to head an organization of anti-heroes containing gods, demons, concepts, worlds, microcosms and a plethora of other unmentionables."
"I wasn't afraid back then, because I knew doing everything on my own would have only worked if I was given Oblivion Access."
"Ah yes, that was actually among my favorite backdoors you guys ever managed to save yourselves with."
"Because someone did it alone?"
"Not entirely; because someone did it alone, knowing they would become the soil in which the new harvest would continue. It's much easier to let the world go to hell when you're the last one standing, and I prefer to give credit where credit is due. I do not take self-sacrifice lightly."
I frowned as I felt my adrenaline begin to return to normal levels.
"And the regular kind?"
"Nobody-" I saw Arius frown; Vulhan stepped away and was no longer echoing Arius.
"What I don't get is why you even play at being kind, knowing you've set yourself up as Creator and Villain all in one, but settled for being a prisoner of your own design!"
"BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN TOO EASY."
Arius' voice echoed throughout the whole of the Archive. Vulhan wasn't echoing the sentiment. Even the orbiting proto-stars seemed to quiver at his rage. This was the original speaking on its own. And all had no choice but to listen.
"I Know… ok? I know damn well power earned without Effort and balanced without Ethos is a road that can almost only definitively end in one's own self-destruction. Maybe you forgot, but I still remember how the First Administrator left a path of least resistance for The Wretch to take, and that ended up being its downfall by being forced into a semi-corporeal state. It was enough for me to gain as much as I did back on that side with what little I had to work with! I REFUSE TO TAKE THE EASY WAY OUT WHEN I HAVE BARELY BEGUN! NEVER AGAIN! NO MORE HALF-MEASURES!"
I don't know what I was expecting. The proto-stars appeared to dim, as though weeping. A thread of light reached from Vulhan to Arius as he dematerialized and he returned to the Collective.
"I'm sorry, Nobody; but being Kind is all I have left to me besides my role and my children. And I am content with that."
"And what of my role? I am as much a prisoner to you as I am your warden."
"Yes, but is that really such a Paradox? You still persist in your role in spite of the absence of your Foundation. Has all that much changed about it?"
I paused, taking an infinitely short moment to consider, when I realized the truth of his words.
"… I suppose… only the setting has, in essence."
______________________
'Oi, you awake in there? I've managed to de-escalate the situation.'
I… hear you.
'I can give you a few moments if you need it.'
No… I think I'm… Yes, I'm ready.
'Standby for neural-resynchronization.'
Jan'ros…
'Yes, Lee?'
… You make… a good other.
'… Thank you.'
_____________________
I felt my awareness being sucked out of what I assume was Time's Keeper and coursed through my being, up to my head and back to the seat of consciousness. I blinked back to waking, and saw Analia sitting back in her chair, looking unbothered. Based on the height of the first sun off the horizon through the window behind her chair, I'd wager it was now approximately somewhere in the tenth hour of the day.
"So, are you my enemy, or are you not?"
"So long as you don't go threatening our existence with your actions," Analia stretched her arms, "I have no reason to treat you as one."
"Am I going to be subject to the same thing you did to me today in the future?"
"As your other half and I have clarified, I was acting out of turn with incomplete information." She closed her eyes pensively. "I will not be imposing upon you further without a reason for doing so, and I will not be tampering with your causality, bar none."
I sighed whimsically.
"Exactly how did you think that a good idea in the first place? You knew I was an Exception the moment you saw me."
"It was my impression I was dealing with a Mary Sue-."
"Oh? Oh. That's supposed to make me-?"
'Lee, don't-.'
'… Fine, I won't.'
"Alright…" I began again, "let's say you had viable reason to believe I was simply someone who plopped in knowing everything about anything and nothing. There's a bit of a misgnomer to address even with that: What did the metadata say about my vessel's forging?"
"… come again?"
"… You are saying… that your eye can parse all the pertinent information of my former place in my old world… but it's got nothing on what I looked like back then?"
"… Lee, I told you before, my eye isn't perfect. I am sorry for being overtly antagonistic, but I don't understand what you're referencing."
I paused for a moment.
"Give me a second."
"Don't mind me."
I lifted Time's Keeper to my face.
'Jan'ros, are you positive she's not a threat?'
'If she was, I would not allow you to be here in this when.'
'And… am I correct in assuming the metadata I'm referencing is being blocked from her vision?'
'Correct, are you proposing she be given read-only permissions?'
'I don't think she's going to fully grasp the weight of her actions unless she has the whole picture. Go ahead and lift the restrictions.'
"Alright, Analia. I want you to read it one. More. Time."
She blinked, confused.
"You're certain this is fine?"
"Look, you've put me through the ringer and I'm still talking instead of trying to fight. I understand that trust in this facility is something that has to be earned, but just like Respect, it's a two-way street. You want to know that you can trust me, and I would much prefer the same the other way around. So yes, I'm sure I want you to understand that I had to suffer for what I've got."
She nodded.
"Then, please pardon my intrusion."
_______________
This time, it was Analia's turn to feel sick.
"Yeah, it wasn't pleasant."
"… I've never heard of such dramatics. But, you're not lying…" I handed her the bucket I had voided my stomach's contents into earlier, seems it was enchanted/infused with self-cleaning properties. She wasted no time and wretched into it as soon as it was taken out of my hand.
"Not really something I was ever fond of doing. I hide what I do for my own protection."
She continued heaving for a good thirty more seconds, before trying to wrap her head around my circumstances.
"… So you spoke out of turn with what is effectively a Trio of Supreme Deities, and your marrow was reformed from the inside out… before you were struck with the daily energy output of your old world's sun at once…" She opened a small void and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth with, sighing defeatedly.
"Yup."
"Enemy or not, that's the story of the rebirth of a fucking menace." She leered at me with faux-suspicion.
"That would only be the case if I wasn't aware that it was my choice in action that led to those events." I rolled my eyes in annoyance.
"So I'm forced to conclude," The Administrator replied, perturbed, relenting. "Continuing on, you were then just dropped into this world without any clear goal?"
I nodded. "All that was said was 'All your answers can be found in Sybelia'."
Analia shook her head in utter disbelief.
"I don't proclaim to be capable of comprehending the mind of a Paragon, much less the Paragon of the Mind, of Time and of Death, Lee; it comes off as reckless to my… not-quite-so-mortal mind. But I suppose that was more of an implied hope than an explicit expectation. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if you unintentionally brought the mesophysical grudge to your plane in the past through your future words in the information-space-."
"Wait, what do you mean!? I-…" I stopped mid-sentence. Oh fuck, I did say the name of something in the presence of the Triad. I suppose Analia saw how gaunt and harrowed my face became in the turn of the moment, because she immediately interjected frantically.
"No, no! Look, that's conjecture, and in the end even if it wasn't, you rectified your mistake; whether it was in your future or your past is irrelevant. Otherwise, you would not be here." She shook her head. "How about… we both take a seat, and a breath?"
"Yeah… I'll, take you up on that, I think. I am not used to becoming this light-headed this fast."
I returned to the beany-bag chair and she sat back in her own.
'Shit, I did not mean to be that on the mark; that wasn't anywhere in the metadata.'
"Look, Lee-."
"I know it wasn't your intention. But it's… a very real possibility, isn't it…" I buried my head in my hands and silently groaned with stifled anguish. "I've been careless, that much is undeniable."
"Acknowledging as much is already a step in the correct direction, but you shouldn't-."
"Analia, you have a clearly solid and thorough understanding of Null AND Void. I don't even know if I should be working on the notion that Time in this world is a straight line conventionally, if it's an Ouroboros, a sphere, an ocean of wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey, or-"
"Eternalism, Lee."
"… Wait… Eternali-."
"Eternalism. You know… uh-."
"No, stop stop stop. You aren't pulling my leg, are you?"
"Yeesh, I started off on the wrong foot; I'm trying to help you!"
"Sorry! I swear I am not asking because I actively doubt you. I just… well, if that's the case then… uh…"
'Hey, Jan'ros, when were you going to explain that I could have gone back with minimal consequences in this plane?'
'…The moment you asked, Lee.'
'… Jan'ros, we're going to have a talk later.'
'Understood.'
"… It would appear as though I've been operating thus far under several false pretenses."
Analia snickered as the first Sun momentarily fell behind cloud cover. "Don't worry, you are not the first, and you won't be the last. On top of all of that, you're in a rather… opportune position, shall we say?"
"What did you have in mind?"
"You've already gotten a taste for magick, haven't you? You dueled Arduen into a corner using a single Animus-Element. If I hadn't intervened, you might have made him desperate enough to break the barrier, unwittingly or not. He is a bit of a sore loser, after all; he was truly enjoying himself, though. I imagine you could either request him to spar once more, ask him to provide more insight; I imagine there are a few books that could help you with visualizing the inner workings of the temporal dominions, probably safely locked away. If you manage to pick up anything relevant to artifice, you might just be able to make a rival or friend of him; alternatively, you could request him to teach you."
"On that note, has he recovered, or is he currently?"
"He recovered approximately 13 seconds after our first encounter concluded and you blanked," She responded non-chalantly. "Continuing on, Daritz is a specialist in all manner of ranged combat, contrary to what his heritage and choice in arms would have you assume, should you wish to train yourself in such arts; he is also our resident Master-Tamer, and would be happy to assist in teaching you how to do the same. Lexo, the Lycan who initially came into contact with you mid-operation against the Numbers, is our BattleMaster; he prefers to brawl with wind magick, but he is also quite skilled in handling close-quarters-armaments of almost any kind. He's also got a knack for forging, but he's… rather hard-headed about smithcraft so you might find it difficult to learn from him."
'Oh, I don't think you'll have a problem there, I have an idea.'
...Well that's fucking ominous.
"And then, there's Vivye. Odd little abnormality, even among the rest of us. Empathic Synesthesia-adjacent clairvoyance; She's our Clerical Seer, and a dual prodigy of Alchemy and Enchanting; in addition to being our youngest addition. But there is something about her that concerns me."
"How do you mean?" I asked, the trepidation in my voice evident.
"Well Lee, it's not implausible that you and your EFA could obfuscate an amount of your own metadata from my magick eye. But, to the same eye, Vivye… doesn't even register. I can't reference any Metadata because I can only see her through my non-magickal eye."
"Slow down for a moment, you're saying that you-."
"Are half-blind to her entire existence, with my dominant eye, no less. What would you call that if not anomalous? Something that referentially doesn't even exist in half of your field of vision?"
"… Then she really wasn't bluffing when she said that not a one here knows the first thing about her Identity?"
"I don't like working under assumptions, but I would surmise that is correct."
"So then how can you be sure she isn't an issue? I don't have reason to not believe you or her, but how-?"
"Because we are all cut from the same cloth. Lee, everyone in this facility knows what war looks like when it is waged across dimensions. We've either faced it directly in the flesh, or we were informed of its effects and or cause. Between myself and Daritz's squad, we've seen seventeen Incursions begin and end, though most of them happened prior to our formal time as a protectorate of the public."
"You say seventeen like it's a light number, but your tone betrays your experience."
"… You could tell?"
"I think whatever you did to my perception is finally finished settling," I responded, resisting the urge to rub my forehead. "Is this a degree of depth the world has always had, or-."
"Unlike my subordinates, what sets me apart isn't my standing or my capabilities. I'm from the same side as you, but we were most definitely not from the same world, almost definitely not even the same era."
"The same side… So you… 'broke through' as well?"
"Is that how you refer to it? Well, in this context, I suppose you could say so, but it feels kind of… 'manhua-ish', don't you agree?"
"… They have that on your side as well? Intriguing, though I digress, I must agree."
"With that out of the way, here's what I can do for you: everyone else can help with your practical skills, but I can help you develop your Exceptionary Factor."
I paused for a moment to consider the offer, and the cloud cover broke its obfuscation of the first sun in the sky as the second sun of Sybelia also began to rise above the horizon's edge.
"Analia, what do you gain out of teaching me?"
"Are you really so in the dark of your own worth? You were chosen by one of Arius' favorite Paragons, and marked by its closest siblings. The proof is your EFA, your skeletal constituents, and how you effortlessly handle energy without the appropriate skills, experience and calculations. It's not about gains even if they are great, it's about what I can do for one of the few people who can appreciate what we both have lost. It's about being kind, when it would be so much easier to simply take advantage. This is about rectifying my trespassing earlier, Lee."
"You mean when you tried to alter my causality?"
"It wasn't my intention, but when I realized that was to be the end result, I ceased the process."
"So you gain an ally, and then what?"
Analia sat back in her chair, carefully considering the weight of her following words.
"If done properly… we can break Gris Astara's hold over this Strata, and reclaim our Home."