AuthorSME
patreon
ATM Rewrite: B2 — 4. Lady In Black Thorns
🕑 Added 2023-06-16 06:43:27 +0000 UTCPoV:
1. Sora Moore (Our Fox Girl Has A New Problem!)
Google Document (In-line Comments)
--------------------
Trying to ignore HAREM’s hostile face in the displays and her army of pink-haired robots, Sora kept her drawn-back ears on Aiden and Kari. The Firebird explained what she’d told him regarding their current situation. Kari seemed numb, lethargic, and lost, but Aiden powered on.
Sora’s shoulders were low while staring at the seat in front of her as Devlin drove them out of the containment zone. Her mind kept telling her to toss Kari out of it to focus on more important things, yet her heart kept punching itself. Eyia kept giving her concerned looks, possibly sensing her discomfort.
It was frustrating that Aiden was basically invisible to the wolf; then again, it also made sense as Sora learned more about her life. Kari saw Aiden as an extension of her brother or his pet bird, and she couldn’t allow herself to be vulnerable to anyone or get beaten; he was too close to the person she most feared, so she had to push him away.
Now, what did she have? Her whole world fell apart for the second time. As a thirteen-year-old, she’d tried to build something up again, only for it to be groomed and corrupted by Jenny and the bullies that saw her as a free meal ticket to get what they wanted.
Jenny gave Kari exactly what she wanted, control, and then shattered the illusion of it; Kari was so broken that Sora wanted to cry just thinking about how manipulated and terrified she was. She couldn’t fit in as a wolf and not as a human. She’d clung onto Lori out of desperation, only to discover the girl hated Kari in every way. What else was there for her to live for?
At the same time, Sora’s felt sick while glancing back at Aiden, who was doing his best to keep this family together. He was locked between trying to support Kari and Eric, who were so contrasted that he was in an impossible position; a life between fenris wolf and human wasn’t possible. It had torn both siblings apart in their own way, and something had to stop.
Puffing out her cheeks to let the air stream out, Sora ran her fingers through her hair as they came to the third gateway out of the confinement zone. Devlin exited the vehicle to open the doors, leaving them in the cart while the soldiers kept their weapons on the sea of angry robots keeping a reasonable distance behind them.
Wendy had been more fixated on the dangerous metallic girls making rude gestures and attempting to draw their attention while Hinote actually seemed to be enjoying himself in the chaotic atmosphere.
Still, despite the powerful and frightening AI consolidating her intense hatred on them, Sora’s eyes were on Kari; her impenetrable spiritual walls were laid open as if begging for death, having lost all feeling and hope. The last fumes of Sora’s hatred were escaping with every passing second.
Just… hold on, Kari. Just a bit longer…
The first door opened, allowing them to enter the barrier and leave the robots behind the thick metallic seal. After two more uncomfortable walls, they were outside of HAREM’s containment area. Finally able to speak openly, she told Devlin about the state of the AI’s growing power.
“She’s breaking free?” Devlin whispered, rubbing his neck and shivering as he looked back at the curved hallway back to Maximum Security Site: Black IV.
Eyia was swift to zero in on a far more nuanced take that made the hair on the man’s arms rise; Sora twisted around in horror to stare at the wall, shocked at what she had missed, but Eyia was an extremely trained Primordial warrior.
“This HAREM entity, as you call her, is far more active than you have illustrated, Devlin the Gatekeeper. She is currently funneling a significant amount of its energy into a singular point further inside the facility.”
“That… shouldn’t be possible,” Devlin whispered. “She can only grow attention points organically from those that haven’t entered the Matrix; our readings don’t show—”
Eyia’s free-flowing hair shook at her back. “Not all are trapped within this spiritual and magical cage that binds the entities to HAREM’s collective spiritual framework. A corrosive entity is engaged in dismantling its surroundings as we speak. A prisoner is free, and HAREM does nothing, which means she is supporting his escape.”
He rubbed his arm and cleared his throat. “No, HAREM is designed to keep them trapped and with her… If they stay willingly and interact, then… No, we have two observation teams, one that controls the system and a monitoring team to watch them. Unless…”
However, the blonde had more bad news. “There has been a significant loss of life within two sections adjacent to this holding area within the last twelve days; their spirits have yet to be passed on, yet their bodies remain active. The attack came simultaneously and from an outside source within the void of space by the dimensional shift that occurred during that time.”
Devlin pulled out his phone, motioning for them to keep moving. “Let’s continue back to the LS-04. Thank you for the warning, Sora, Eyia. It sounds like we’ve been infiltrated by A-428, possibly by another organization. This is serious…”
Wendy spun her fingers. “Unless? Don’t tell me more things are going to get out because that would be, like… just our luck. Right, Sora?”
“Yeah… Do we need to walk everywhere here; why did we have rides in the danger zone and not—Kari?”
The black-haired girl went to the wall and dropped against it. “What’s the point… Just throw me into space or something. I’m just… done.”
“C’mon, Kari…” Aiden desperately mumbled. “Mmgm.”
Devlin apparently wasn’t having it. “Pick her up; we’re leaving—”
Director Vondoom answered the man’s call; everyone went silent at his change in cadence. He pointed at one of the soldiers escorting them. “What’s the emergency?”
Sora crossed her arms at Devlin’s serious tone, looking at Wendy as they increased their pace. A golden spear appeared in Eyia’s hand as she took up the lead. Aiden tried to encourage Kari that things would get better, but the girl didn’t struggle as the soldier swept her up surprisingly easily into a princess carry to jog after them.
“Whiskey-Four Bravo Alpha, W4BA, initialize. Confirm.”
Vondoom didn’t hesitate as he repeated the phrase.
“Whiskey-Four Bravo Alpha, W4BA, confirmed.”
“Black-4 Alpha Breach. Red-12 Level-5 HAREM Alpha-1 scenario. Dragon’s Claw. I repeat: Assault scenario one. Dragon’s Claw. Known Breach: ‘Happy People’ and ‘Living Corrosion.’ I hope to see you on the train, Director.”
“As do I… Good luck.”
The lights around them turned red, and a feminine voice echoed across the hallways only seconds after he spoke the words. Their guards were moving in a formation that left no blind spots as they followed Devlin, listening intently to the frightening conversation and the apparent AI that had initiated the protocol over the loudspeakers.
“Black-4 Alpha Breach Protocol initiated. Red-12 Level-5 HAREM scenario. Sigma Platoon Six ‘Hell Raiders’ granted Security Breach Access Omega. All non-security personnel are to relocate to the appropriate locations. Unidirectional Network Protocol activated; all network data links successfully terminated. All lunar facilities are on Level-5 quarantine. AI-7 Delta ‘Black Zone’ given directive control. Self-termination initiated. It has been a pleasure, Senior Director Vondoom.”
Sora’s tail bristled as she looked back at Jin, still in her hibernation state. Devlin explained, tossing his phone to the side as a powerful electromagnetic pulse rippled through the space and their guards discarded their own useless equipment.
“The only explanation is that the Dragon’s Claw planned an attack to cripple the Lunar Sites in order to steal something.
“They used something to release a Black-Alpha anomaly that they knew wouldn’t attempt to break free once understanding how HAREM’s containment conditions are met since she only keeps them inside the facility and not the Matrix.
“The Matrix was an addition we gave her to absorb in order to bypass her attention point affinity that the anomalies could trigger, and if she’s now building power—if they knew that and where to strike the monitoring software engineers—then multiple levels of security have already been compromised.” Devlin’s fingers tightened into a fist. “We have a mole.”
“What does that mean for us?” Wendy choked, looking everywhere. “Didn’t it say level-5 quarantine—what even is that? Woah! Woah!”
Sora grabbed Wendy and pulled her to the side of the hallway as everyone else scooted to the edge with them. Eyia was front and center, though, ready for combat, but Devlin swiftly spoke up as black rifts punched through space.
“Woah! Woah! Don’t provoke them. The Hell Raiders are the ECC’s Left Hand and are given full authority during these types of breaches!”
Eyia stepped back, still on high alert with Sora, as fully armored men and women stepped through the many gateways. They didn’t say a word while passing at a walk, wearing capes of crimson light and releasing unholy waves of negative energy; the metal they wore reminded her of the hellish force around the coliseum and Succubus she’d faced.
“Armor and weapons forged in Múspell…” Eyia snarled, glaring at the intimidating figures as they walked by them.
Each one had a different design to their intricate armor and various weapons in hand, moving toward HAREM’s containment site. A field of defensive energy radiated around them, and Sora felt like the powers they wielded were more fundamental to reality, similar to the artifact she’d sealed not that long ago.
Tongues latched onto the roofs of their mouth, they focused on one of the Hell Raiders that stopped in front of them. A woman in a battle-scarred suit of spikes, chains, and only a single, glowing, crimson eye; a wicked horn jutted out of the right side of her helmet, where her ear would have been. Behind her back was a demon-bone ax mixed with hellish symbols.
Sora wove her Desire Magic to protect them from the corrupting and horrifying waves the Hell Raiders’ items released; it would take time, but it was clear these guys were one of the Foundation’s heavy hitter platoons sent in to handle special cases. Luckily, Eyia held her blade after Sora squeezed her shoulder.
She found Wendy’s trembling hand as the woman addressed Devlin. Her voice was a low, ashen whisper. “Follow me…”
The Hell Raider’s cloak flickered as she turned and walked the opposite way of what Sora could only describe as intense, otherworldly knights, marching to face whatever else had broken out of Black-Alpha Containment.
They didn’t speak the entire way back to the shuttle, where they met Senior Director Vondoom, hands behind his back and two Hell Raiders by his side with over three dozen dangerous-looking advanced soldiers. Only twenty other researchers appeared to be in the entire top-secret facility.
Once they were in the bullet train, the woman that guided them inputted a specific command into the local terminal, sending it away while her comrades returned to the hunt.
Eyia explained that the energy Sora sensed was Negative Universal Force; in a 7th-dimensional sphere, whatever that meant, it was among the most potent properties one could use, damaging the very fabric of a universe. Naturally, it wasn’t as effective against those of similar properties, which was where the ECC’s Right Hand apparently came into play.
A tad overwhelmed by the sudden escalation, Sora squeezed Wendy’s hand as she’d been trembling the entire time. Reports seemed to be coming through the speakers of Lunar Site-04 when they arrived, and a hardened security team was waiting for the Senior Director.
Devlin took them toward the area her father was in as Sora looked back to listen to the hushed and private conversation Vondoom was having with the security chief over the site.
“A-106 has evolved… It has to be the Dragon’s Claw now that it has taken on the property to corrode the fabric of the Matrix and the data itself. A-8233-2 is prioritizing its confinement over expanding, so the Little Devils are managing it, but we can assume its target is to release A-2521 next door to shift our priority.”
“That’s… unfortunate,” Vondoom whispered, rubbing his chin and looking after Sora as he responded. “We need to prevent the Black Mantle from breaking free of the Matrix at all costs. Once 106 is incapacitated, prepare it for the Violet Extradition measure.”
The security detail nodded without hesitation and guided him to a more secure location. Sora was at a total loss as to what to do, and to further agitate her, she discovered Diane playing with her tablet outside of her dad’s room.
Looking up, the woman’s lips curled into a smile. “Eventful morning you’re having, Sora. We have most of the medical wing to ourselves now! Your warning has saved countless lives. You must be pleased. Shall we visit the Moon Wizard now?”
“Really?” Wendy growled, releasing Sora’s hand and glaring at Diane; Eyia was on the same page. “Is this all a game to you? This is insane!”
“A witch that utilizes the knowledge of the Fae,” Eyia huffed. “You have been touched by a Founder.”
“Fae Touched… I like that.” Diane’s smile widened before pointing down the hall. “This is only foreplay, dears, and something Sora and most probably this stunning Valkyrie has the capability to handle with ease. That is… if she knew how to use her abilities properly. Oh, did you know Howie and Daisy are a few doors down?”
“Trying to make me feel guilty?” Sora snarled, peeking inside the room to see her father still resting soundly; she had one of their guards bring Jin into another nearby room that was empty. “Aren’t we in lockdown right now? How are we supposed to get to the Moon Wizard?”
“Hmm-hmm. You, silly,” Diane mused, still playing with her tablet. “I see you released the wolf you so hated—oh, I see that look, Eyia. Interesting. But… I don’t see her brother. The Firebird and Dragon are here. I wonder if… Never mind! Interesting choices…”
Hinote listened in the background as Aiden scrutinized the detestable woman.
“Well, she’s a charmer. Sora, is there a chance we can talk?”
“Gggrgh!” Sora scratched her head and folded down her ears in frustration; everyone wanted a piece of her. “I know what you’re going to say… You!”
She pointed at the man carrying the listless wolf, dull amber eyes shifting to her. Sora didn’t buy the coping mechanism Kari was employing. She could be pushed into caring, but this was out of her league. “Take her in there.”
She marched to Mary’s door with a confused Aiden. Eyia and Wendy were both on the same page, agitated and bothered for various reasons Sora was too exasperated to think about. The soldier followed her orders without question, which was nice. He was careful with Kari’s new mane of black hair that fell down her back while setting her on a couch.
“Lazy wolf,” Eyia grunted, bright blue eyes daggers.
Kari rolled her eyes. “Kill me. You’d be doing me a favor.”
“Agh! You are the most infuriating fenris wolf!” Eyia yelled, surprising Sora a bit as she stormed into the hallway to fume. “You are nothing like I believed!”
“Sorry to disappoint you, princess,” Kari grumbled, showing there was still some level of fight and snark in the wolf.
Mary was in a more appropriate set of clothes than the medical gown she’d worn before, and her husband sat next to her by the window as they filed in. He smiled at Sora, kissed his wife on the forehead, and promptly left for the hallway, surprising Sora a bit.
Aiden puffed out a stressed laugh. “Well, this could be better.”
“Umm, yeah… Sorry to barge in, Mary,” Sora said, apologizing with her smile for the noise and outburst.
She shook her head and looked at Kari, who turned her back to them, still dressed in the tight elastic outfit they’d put her in. “It’s okay, and my husband has been given the room next door since I figured this would happen. I’ll be fine alone. Thank you for bringing her, Sora.”
Aiden appeared to understand what they were doing there and who Mary was since relief spread across his face. He wasn’t alone now in trying to help Kari. He made a gesture to talk outside, but Mary seemed to want some clarification.
“Umm, what about the warning message I heard?”
“It is being taken care of,” Devlin sighed, standing beside the door.
“Haha. That’s a relief,” Mary chuckled. “Might… we have some clothes for Kari and… Aiden, I assume?” He showed a grateful smile and thumbs up. “Wonderful!”
Devlin scratched his temple. “We could work on that. I need to get a new communication device anyway; so I can stop by a supply station. And I apologize for all the trouble since you’ve arrived, Sora. I’d suggest you relax and not push yourself further. You have helped us avoid a catastrophe.”
Sora saw the tight expression on Wendy’s face that gave her opinion of Kari, but her best friend hadn’t seen what the fenris wolf’s life had been like or all the twists and turns yet. She knew some of it, but empathizing and knowing something were two different things.
“Yeah, clothes would be good,” she said with a strained laugh and trying not to look at Aiden’s tanned, mostly bare skin. “I do want something to distract me, too,” Sora whispered, brushing out her hair and walking to the door. “Let me just do this real fast…”
Holding up her hand, she wove a spell that radiated a protective invisibility charm and tossed it toward the ceiling.
“I’ll make one of these in the other rooms, too. As long as you remain in here, it should repel anything that wants to hurt you and make you invisible to anyone I don’t see as friendly, which means… Devlin, you’ll probably be the only person that can interact with them…”
Sora’s eyes narrowed as black thorns the size of railroad spikes with vine-like tendrils eased out of the walls; everyone seemed totally oblivious to them, including Aiden. In the corner of her vision, she thought she saw a figure, making her vision dart toward the corner of the room; now, there was an all-consuming, single eye of violet shades—she’d seen it before—the blonde woman cut out of reality in her hotel lobby.
She blinked, and it was gone.
“Sora?”
Wendy squeaked as a rush of fog brought Eyia into the room, scanning for danger. “I sensed your surprise, Sister! An attack?”
“Huh? Woah! Heh. Uh… did any of you see anything weird?”
Eyia’s frown deepened. “I… do not sense anything, Sister?”
Devlin straightened, brow furrowing as he followed her gaze. “What exactly did you see? Describe it as best you can.”
“Black thorns—an eye,” she whispered, causing Kari even to glance back as Sora searched for it with her magic; just like Eyia said, nothing set off her senses, and the oddest part was she didn’t feel threatened by it. “There was this… this pale, black-haired woman in a dress, and then an eye covered her? I… don’t know if the black-haired woman had a face…”
Eyia’s big eyes and attitude had taken a 180. “I… I do not sense any threats or thorns?”
“Ugh! Why is this place so confusing?!”
Sora finished her spell and went to the other rooms with Wendy and Aiden beside her. Eyia still ran around, looking for the thorny woman. Devlin was reporting what she saw to Vondoom, but Sora stopped in her tracks outside when he paused mid-sentence and hung up.
Huh?
He asked Mary if she wanted anything else before leaving to get clothes for Kari and Aiden as Eyia’s armor vanished, and she jogged over to engage her.
“We may be safe now, but the dangers from the other buildings pose a threat to those injured and recovering. Should we not evacuate further, Sister?”
Diane watched her ears twitch and her tail swipe to the left as the man exited the room. She hesitated since the strange event happened in Mary’s room; this wasn’t right.
“Devlin, Eyia, what about the black thorns?”
The man took on the same serious expression as he’d done before as Eyia re-engaged her armor and weapon.
“Black thorns…”
“Where, Sister? I do not sense any dangers.”
“Right… What exactly did you see, Sora; can you describe it as best you can?”
Sora looked at Aiden, who looked as confused as Devlin and Eyia. “You don’t remember?”
He scratched the back of his head. “I don’t remember you talking about any black thorns—Eyia?”
“No… You have not spoken to me once about these thorns of blackness. Is it a likely threat we should—Sister, is there something wrong”
Hinote tilted his head, scanning the floor for what she described. “Thorns, huh? I can’t see myself forgetting that—what’s the next play?”
“Yikes!” Wendy hissed, glancing around the hallway. “So… we’re going to see the Moon Wizard, right?”
In real-time, she saw those around her completely dismiss the topic, yet this time, there was a new level of alarm ringing in Sora’s mind. Aiden and Eyia didn’t remember her talking about it as a Primordial or Founder, and the Firebird completely derailed the topic a second later.
“Hey, I’m going to stay behind to make sure Kari’s okay. Umm. Eyia can stay, too? I’d like to get to know you better. Is that cool?” The blond boy gestured to his nearly naked body. “I, uh, also wouldn’t mind wearing some more clothes the next time we meet. Haha.”
Frosty blue orbs drilling into Aiden, Eyia set her ground, looking down at him. “I will remain by Father Jarlath’s side as he slumbers and… defend Jin until she awakes to explain herself.”
Devlin nodded. “That seems appropriate. We have all your measurements—SCC protocol—so we can get you proper outfits. Will you be okay alone, Sora?”
“She won’t be alone,” Diane chimed, stepping forward and studying Sora intently as she stared right at her. “I get the impression Sora has something to ask me about. Haha. No need to glare so menacingly at me, Eyia! I’m on Sora’s side.”
“Your words twist like snakes, witch,” Eyia growled, prompting the vulpes next to her to laugh and agree, but Sora needed better answers. Plus, she did need to talk to Diane.
“Yeah… Umm, the Moon Wizard is supposed to help people that can pass his barrier… right?”
Eyia sighed and moved to hug her. “Be cautious of how you approach a wizard, Sister. They are wise, but everything requires a sacrifice. I shall protect those that are here… Mmgm. Including the infuriating fenris wolf.”
“Aww! You’re amazing, Eyia!” Sora cried, hugging her. “Thank you!”
Diane put away her tablet, eyes practically sparkling as her French accent became more pronounced. “Indeed, Sora, he has talked about supporting those who enter his realm. Actually, a party that makes it in, specifically.”
Sora gave her a dull look; yeah, she totally wanted something from him.
“Doesn’t this sound like an excellent time to have the wise wizard’s help?” The witch clapped. “An Alpha-Level Breach is happening, after all. Perhaps he can be of assistance! Wouldn’t that be interesting?”
“Uh-huh…”
Eyia gave one last pointed stare at Diane before disappearing into her father’s room. She smiled when the girl started to speak to her unconscious dad, telling him about their time together and how they’d become friends.
On the other hand, Diane wasn’t even trying to hide her aura that said she had other motives, but the woman also wasn’t wrong. Sora had to get answers. She only hoped having Aiden and Eyia here would be enough.
Aiden’s powers were supposed to be extremely formidable; it was enough that her mother mentioned it to her. Her issue was that even he, as a Founder, and Eyia, a Primordial, seemed to forget all about the black thorn woman, yet she had not.
To her surprise, Wendy even piped up, though. “Yeah! I want to ask him if I can learn magic. I mean, if Diane can do it, I should be able to, right?”
Diane snickered and tilted her head. “You can certainly try, dearie. Nothing is impossible when it comes to Sora, so… perhaps we can figure something out in time. Anyway, we should go! Are you coming, Hinote?”
“Why not?” He put his hands in his kimono pockets. “Right now?”
Sora finished her last spell and shifted her gaze to Aiden. “Hey… I’m worried there’s something you keep forgetting that might be deadly. I get your powers work instinctually, so… can you promise me you’ll try to keep Mary and everyone safe until I get back? Oh, and also Howie and Daisy. I’ll show you their room.”
Aiden crossed his arms and nodded. “Yeah, of course. We can talk about whatever you want when you get back. I, umm, I do think Eric can help us, but I also get it’s not the best subject to bring up right now…”
“Actually, about that,” Sora set her face and dug deep; she couldn’t be scared about all these unknowns. “I’ll make this simple. I will only release Eric if Kari gives the okay. Kari is in control of that, and that’s that.”
“Mmm. I do get it,” Aiden sighed. “And I can agree to that… It’s time Kari got to make her own decisions without Eric’s vision.”
“Fear, not vision,” Sora corrected. “Humph. In fact, I’d say Eric’s way of doing things has made Kari more vulnerable than anyone, and it’s because he fears she’s weak. Isn’t that crazy? Ugh. It makes my blood boil,” she steamed, feeling the heat rise to her nose just thinking about it. Hearing Kari sit up in the other room, she continued, “Eric implanted his fear into Kari by shoving her into a box. I’m not about that.”
Aiden’s gaze went to the floor. “Yeah… I can see that now.”
Wendy seemed to be considering her words as Hinote listened on, and after two steps toward Howie and Daisy’s room, she paused to add one last caveat. “Oh, and even if Kari tells me to free him, I have one more condition… Don’t be a dick!”
She smiled as she heard a short snort come from Kari in the other room; of course, she was listening, and Sora meant every word. Mary honed in on the action.
“Something funny, Kari?”
“It’s nothing…”
“Alright. We can sit in silence if you want. I can also tell you everything I learned from my interviews with many of the students regarding you.”
“Hmm? What interviews?” Kari whispered, a lump forming in her throat. “Hah. Let me guess, they all feared and hated me.”
“Mmh. I think you’ll be surprised at how diverse people’s opinions of you were.”
“Like what… That I’m a bitch or an asshole? What’s the difference?”
“Hehe. Well, those two certainly are words that did come up from time to time. You know what other word people described you as? Loyal.”
“Loyal… How so?” Kari tentatively asked, shifting on the couch and likely hugging herself. “I’m just a coward… a weak wolf who tries to make people think I’m tough… My brother and Sora proved that already.”
“Don’t go putting words in my mouth I didn’t say!” Sora shouted, making Wendy and Aiden jump at her outburst. “Humph.”
Satisfied that there was at least a point of attack for Mary, Sora left the broken wolf to find some pieces to put together with the compassionate doctor. She swiftly awoke the engaged couple, congratulating them again but keeping her senses sharp and on the lookout for more unexpected phenomena.
After a quick exchange and hug, she left Aiden to explain the situation to the pair; he was now holding a sheet around his body to cover up.
Hinote, Wendy, and her followed Diane to an airlock. One Desire spell later, and a protective bubble circled them, complete with atmosphere. Diane didn’t even hesitate to open the door and point them in the direction of the fantasy-like tower in the distance.
“That’s the destination. Let’s hop!”
Sora stayed closer to Diane, creating a vocal tether between them so they could talk without the other two listening in. Wendy and Hinote appeared enthralled by the near zero-gravity experience as they did flips, although her best friend was a little conscious of where she did it since she wore a skirt. Of course, a little magic helped to keep anything embarrassing from happening.
Speaking privately, Sora glanced at the grinning witch, seemingly enjoying the experience. “Is it possible for a Singular-Existence, like me, to be subconsciously affected by something that makes me forget everything about it?”
Diane’s grin became thoughtful. “Fascinating thought experiment. That is less of a memetic and more of an anti-memetic. Hehe. Extremely dangerous things that are anti-narratives—destroying the bedrock of all things, transcendent or otherwise, so far as I’m aware—something I try to stay far away from.
“Things of this nature can be vastly more powerful than any gods since they are the destroyers of creation. I suppose you aren’t asking as a theoretical, though. Chills! To my knowledge, for an anti-memetic to affect a Founder, it would have to be of similar standing. Are you saying—”
The witch cut off and looked up at the tower, goosebumps breaking across Sora’s skin as thorns came out of Diane’s face; a blink, and they were gone again.
“Hmm. I am so excited about this. It’s why I fought so hard to have you safely brought to the Lunar Site. This is going to be so much fun!”
Sora’s thoughts were taken by this anti-memetic on the same level as a Founder, yet had no effect on her. Was it on purpose? Was something reaching out to her? Maybe the Moon Wizard would have answers if Diane was so hellbent on meeting him.
It didn’t take them long to reach the barrier, and with one simple desire, Sora’s weave touched the transparent shell and formed an old brass key. Holding her breath, she tentatively pushed it against the wall; it slipped through, and an actual wooden door appeared. Looking at Wendy and Hinote, she reached out and opened it.
Instead of stepping into the outer edges of the zone, she found a gray-robed figure sitting on a throne carved out of a large tree stump twice as large as a redwood. In the middle of a wild clearing, fog swirled around him as his frayed brim hat lifted to reveal deep-set globes of turquoise energy.
One of his gnarled and worn hands held a mystical staff with a moon hovering above its peak. His other stroked a fine white beard that fell to his lap. Trinkets of power and runes of all kinds covered his garments as he addressed them in an aged voice spoken with eons of wisdom from his sitting position.
“It’s been too long since I’ve had visitors, and it is rare I meet someone a second time, Adélaïde Bisset… I see you have given up the weave for a darker path. A shame you did not take my advice. Welcome, adventurers. How can I be of assistance?”
-----------------
