IV-32 Anticipate (II)

Listen, kids, the easiest way to claim a high-tier Pathbearer as a prisoner is to blackmail them or to bribe them into surrendering through asymmetrical means. Trying to overpower them usually requires you to be much stronger than they are, have a lot more resources than they have, or be willing to throw lives until the job is done.

I strongly recommend against the last option, because lives matter. There are commanders and soldiers who don’t give a shit, and that’s not going to be any of you. You kids are going to be good Pathbearers, and you’re going to be serious Pathbearers who don’t waste the lives of their comrades.

Besides, throwing lives usually ends up pointless and wasteful a lot of time anyway. Especially if your target kills their way out. Seen that more than a few times myself.

If you absolutely have to snatch a high-tier, you’ll need surprise, speed of violence, and exploitation of vulnerabilities to bring down them down. Killing them is far easier because you don’t need to hold anything back. Capture? That’s precision, control, restriction, and more. Against a foe that’s outright more powerful than you, no less. It is my experience that if you're dealing with someone at master tier, you have approximately five seconds to figure them out and drop them before everything goes to hell for you.

Think of it this way: we've been doing hypotheticals in this class, but hypotheticals usually pale in comparison to real encounters. There is no Pathbearer that has Master-Tier Physicality and Sub-Adept Toughness, for example. It doesn't work; they'll simply die. It's the same reason why you're likely not going to run into a Master-Tier path bearer who doesn't have options to handle an ambush or to immediately reposition themselves.

You have to live and accumulate experiences through battle to reach master tier. And that means that straightforward ambushes lacking intensity typically don't work, and they know about their vulnerabilities, hence why no one has killed them yet.

So to put it plainly, your odds—and specifically I mean this class's odds—of bringing down a Master-Tier opponent and taking them prisoner is low. Not impossible, just low.

If you want them to fold and go with you, give them a reason. A carrot. A stick. Or just find a way to fool them.

The goal of war is to win, not to fight. Remember that.

-Captain Harry Irons, TacStrat 101, Phoenix Academy

IV-32

Anticipate (II)

"Alright, one more time: we're going to do this quick, we're going to make this chaotic for the avatars, and we’re going to be constantly moving so they don’t manage to triangulate our position.” Adam’s voice echoed out from inside Can Hu as Cripple’s extraction force made their final preparations.

Before Adam was a small group of thirty orcs aside from Shiv, Kura, and Gone. They were surrounded by approximately a hundred golden shadows. Ninety of which were spawned from Kura’s Chronomancy, but nine originated from Shiv’s Vitae Golem, who stood amongst Kura’s time clones as the odd one out.

Not far away from the extraction force, a dimensional pathway slowly shrank. Five, Candles, and all the other orcs remained within the warded guard cube that Udraal had commandeered earlier. Soon there would be no tunnel connecting the guard cube to the prison cube the extraction force currently resided in.

That was part of the strategy, after all. Move. Reposition. Hop from once place to another when running high-risk missions within the prison. Adam came to the conclusion they wouldn’t be able to avoid the Ascendant’s Awareness for long, but they could constantly break contact to make themselves harder to track. This also had the added benefit of cube hopping. So far, Harlock’s darkness flooded the crawlspace between the cubes. Anything moving in the blackness was known to the Ascendant of Midnight. Inside the cubes, however, with the mana flowing through the mithril bones engulfing prisoners and guard stations, there were places beyond Harlock’s touch.

Places that Adam would exploit to the fullest for their coming assault on the mana core.

“We’re going to move from this cube to the next one after I fire the shot,” Adam continued. “Shiv. Vanguards. You blunt anything that comes across pathway. Once that’s stabilized, the time clones will go across and grab Cripple. We keep moving right after that for the next cube—and we keep going, so there’s no trail they can easily follow, even if they do manage to find where I fired from. Are we clear?”

A chorus of confirmations came from the extraction force.

“Good. I’m going to prepare to loose the shot now. Prepare yourselves and look out for each other.”

Some of the orcs made eye contact and leered at each other. Shiv rolled his shoulder and called out to his Vitae Golem. “Move fast. Stay hidden using Kura’s shadows. Do everything you can to reach Cripple.”

His golem held up a large fist, and its nine other temporal clones repeated the action. As they did, Shiv felt an odd sensation. It was like he was the one raising his fist instead of them. With each golem he made, it felt like his connection to them was growing deeper…

Golemancy 22 > 25

Vitaemancy 112 > 114

Adam drew his bow back. He shaped two hydrokinetic hands out from Can Hu’s spine and took aim. The Penitent stared up at the Orichalcum ceiling looming high above. They were the only people left in this prison cube. Bodies littered the ground, blood painted the walls, and along the floor were hollows leading into vacant cells. A faint stench in the air told Shiv that Daughter had been through here, and he kept his eyes open—glared at every shadow around them as he waited for the nightmarish Ascendant or one of her Waifs to jump out at the last moment to cut him and the others down.

The sudden assault never came. But the anxiety never left Shiv. It probably wasn’t going to leave him for a while.

"You got a shot?" Shiv called out. His Voidmantid armor had been regrown thanks to Helix. Some of Kura's golden shadows were crawling into his cape as well. He didn't intend on going across, but if Kura managed to get her hands on Cripple first, she could have one of her time clones swap places and transition the Ascendant's Avatar into his Forest of Alloy.

"I do," Adam said, "but I'm just waiting for an opening."

"An opening?" Shiv asked. “What do you mean?”

"I mean it’s bloody chaos out there," Adam gasped. "Udraal’s casting spells through a massive flood Animancy. No idea how he’s doing it. He’s currently trying to bury Cripple’s avatar beneath a barrage of magical attacks. The avatar is large—it looks like a cargo container with arms and legs. You can’t miss it—and even if you can’t see it immediately, the sheer amount of divine mana spilling out from Cripple will show you were he is. The other Ascendants are coming up behind Cripple. They have a strange translucent dome, they’re hiding inside. It’s prismatic in color and looking at it is tearing at my senses.”

The Gate Lord let out a slight groan of discomfort. “No idea what kind of device that is. But I don’t want to find out. Udraal’s another problem. Bastards hitting with Cripple with an endless flood of mana. I can’t even tell what kind of mana. The colors are all strange and ashen.”

“He as powerful as Sullain?” Shiv asked.

“He uses a lot more Animancy,” Adam replied. “He’s not throwing as many spells as Sullain, but like I said, I have no idea what he’s casting half that time. But every time one of those spells goes off, a section of the prison just goes faint blue or ash-gray. Gods, he’s powerful.”

“But Cripple’s taking the hits?” Shiv asked.

“Yes. Most of the—Oh, godsdammit.” Adam growled.

“What?” Shiv asked, alarmed.

“Udraal. He’s using your Vitae as well. He’s casting new spells. The mana is red and white. I think Cripple’s left arm just went missing. Ah, I mean his avatar’s left arm. It dissolved into a spray of vitality and vanished.”

Shiv blinked. “What? My Vitae can do that?”

“It appears so,” Adam said.

“Shit,” Shiv grunted. “Felling Udraal’s figuring out my skill faster than I am.”

“On the basis of Animancy,” Adam said. “He already has a notion of what soul magic might be able to do, he’s just using your Vitaemancy to achieve the same ends, I think.” The Gate Lord paused. “Hold… Hold… Almost… Cripple is pushing forward. He’s pulling apart from the other Ascendants. When I fire—Kura send some clones to distract the Ascendants, make sure—”

“I know, boy, you’ve already repeated this request seven times,” Kura snarled. “I am not short of memory or lacking of experience.”

“I’m just trying to make sure,” Adam muttered.

The elven Chronomancer sneered. She flicked her golden eyes and Shiv. As she channeled a bit more Chronomancy, her body came alight in a mess of golden scars. “Keep your golem close to my clones. But know that I will not stay and fight your pet Ascendant if this goes poorly. I have come too close to freedom to risk myself again. It is only because of my debt to you that I remain.”

“Debt, and a chance at revenge,” Shiv added.

The elven Chronomancer sneered even harder. “If it is allowed. I learned my lesson in this place. Will and want is not rewarded. Only calculation and caution. I tried striking down an Ascendant before. I managed to slay an avatar, but they are replaceable. The Thief-Gods themselves? They were beyond my grasp. Remember this when you play your dangerous game, Deathless. Do not become a fool like me.”

Shvi gave Kura an affirming nod. “Yeah. Thanks. But I don’t think we really got that many good choices ahead of us. We need the Ascendants to counter Udraal. Need Udraal to get away from the Ascendants. We’re just using them to get more breathing room.”

Kura fell quiet for a beat. “Understand that the more time you give Udraal, the more dangerous he will get. I have heard things about He Who Walks Beyond. I have seen the aftermath of some of his experiments. This is only a temporary measure. You may be able to gain some autonomy if you can gain this Ascendant’s aid, but Udraal will manipulate you and strike at you with methods and powers you cannot imagine. There is only one kind of safety, young one. It’s power. Your power. Your knowledge. Your mastery. Anything else will betray you. Friends will betray. The world will betray you. Only skills. Only that.”

Shiv realized the elf was trying to impart some wisdom on him. “Right. Thanks. Listen. I didn’t really come by my Chronomancy the typical way—”

Kura gave a hissing laugh. She sounded like her throat was hollowed. Shiv cringed at the horrible sound, and several orcs shot her odd looks. “No one gains Chronomancy the typical way,” she said quietly. “We are all children poisoned by the absurdity of time. But we survived. Quest Reward or temporal anomaly?”

“Quest Reward,” Shiv said, understanding her question.

“Ah. Not the best way. You lack an education, then? You wish to seek my expertise? Learn from me after this is done? If we survive?”

“You’re pretty perceptive,” Shiv said.

“It’s obvious. It makes sense.” Kura fell silent, and her eyes went dead as she considered his request. “I want to strike a new bargain: There are people I need to kill. Powerful foes. They betrayed me. They allowed the Ascendants to capture me. I will share my knowledge if you will share in my vendetta.”

Beneath his helmet, Shiv frowned. He wanted to agree, but something told him she wasn’t offering the full story. “I want to know more about who they are and what they did to you. If we’re going to be killing them. Ah, the hells with that. What want to know is if you had it coming.”

Kura’s nostrils flared. “You accuse me of deserving my fate here?”

“No. I don’t know who you are or what your story is. I spared you. You saved my ass after. We work well together so far. That’s our relationship. I need more if we’re going to be killing anyone or teaching each other anything.”

The elven Chronomancer regarded him for a moment and breathed. “Then we can… talk after. If we survive this.” She sounded uncomfortable, like he was sinking a finger into one of her injuries. “I have more to offer than just Chronomancy. I know many other things. Many secrets. We can trade favors.”

“If we survive,” Shiv said.

“If we survive,” Kura agreed. She looked Shiv and down again. Something in her gaze softened. “You’re tense. But you are not scared. You are not worried about your potential fate?”

The Deathless considered her question, and he thought it kind of laughable. “What fate? It hasn’t happened yet.”

“You are a creation of Udraal Thann and an enemy of all who exist on Integrated Earth,” Kura said. “You will be used or hunted.”

“No. People will try to use or hunt me. A lot of them will live to regret it. I’m just going to be getting levels out of this. Udraal dangerous and powerful. The Ascendants are dangerous and powerful. Maybe I won’t succeed. But the system wants us to struggle and die anyway. There’s no retreating here. No way out. No point to bending. We’re going forward, Kura. Be scared. Be angry. Be whatever you want. But we’re going forward.”

The elf’s softened glaze turned to a sour look. “I harbor no fear.”

“Yes, you are. That’s why you’re still making small talk with me and going over everything in our way.” Kura went quiet. “I wouldn’t have been able to guess just on my own, but the orcs have been sneaking looks at you, and it isn’t because you’re pretty. They’re good at homing in on weakness.”

Psycho-Cartography 77 > 78

“I’m not mocking you,” Shiv said. “But you’re not that good at hiding your heart. You should know that.”

Kura almost flinched, and she stopped talking right after.

Shiv’s thoughts, however, continued to race. What Kura said about Udraal—and how Adam described his power earlier—both left Shiv feeling raw. It took Udraal Thann little time to copy one of Shiv's Unique Skills. And now he was learning its nuances. Something told Shiv that Udraal would be using Vitaemancy better than he could in a relatively short time. That offended the Deathless. It was his skill. He got it through sacrifice, death, and constant pain. And here was Udral, coming back and simply copying it without paying any dues.

Psycho-Cartography: He did create you. Technically, everything you've achieved is partially attributed to him.

Yeah, and I would be completely fine with giving him props if he wasn't such a sociopath.

Psycho-Cartography: Psychopath. Between the two of you, you are closer to a sociopath, though you are slowly veering more towards becoming a slight psychopath in terms of behavior. Our capacity for incredible violence has been consistent throughout, but we’re getting much better at figuring out who people think and feel. But it’s also making us more empathic. And making you more mature. You do feel remorse for things you did wrong, and you wish to be more responsible for the lives of others. There is a balance here.

Shiv frowned. Why the hell was I a sociopath?

Because previously you were guided led by anger and brutality in battle. You had almost no close attachments other than to Georges, Uva, and Adam. You cared little for what the law says. You lied constantly, and your aggression was your defining trait. All of these things are technically accurate. And you do have tendencies. But it is not the whole picture. Just as it's not the whole picture for Udraal. Do not underestimate him.

I won't.

"Shiv, Kura! We have an opening. Are you ready?"

Shiv shot a look at Kura, and she simply gave him a nod. Just then, her Chronomancy flashed out from her body, and her golden shadows sprouted curving fingers from their chests.

"What's that for?" Shiv asked.

"To clamp onto the avatar," Kura said. "It takes a few moments of contact for another to be pulled into one of my temporal clones. It won't be as easy for your golem.”

"Yeah, but Cripple will realize what my golem; he’ll probably just try to strike your clones down," Shiv said. "Either way, we just need to get our hands on Cripple and bring its avatar across. We do not fight him. We absolutely do not fight Cripple. We got that? I need its ass alive." The Deathless eyed the orcs and Kura.

“I will refrain so long as it does,” Kura said with a slight hint of disgust. It was about as much as Shiv could expect from her, considering the Ascendants were part of the reason she was in this hellish pit in the first place.

"All right," Adam said. "First arrow is about to be fired. A path will be opened up to where the Ascendants and the avatars are. We have five seconds to secure the target. Udraal’s stopped casting for a moment. The moment we go across, I'm going to fire another arrow to connect us to the next cube. We move—we keep moving, and we don’t stop moving even with Cripple secured. Not until we are certain our trail is clean. Is that clear?" Adam looked around at their assembled force, and a unified grunt of affirmation came from the orcs.

The Gate drew his bow back. Two orc Vanguards bearing large mana-infused shields stepped forward; Shiv followed in their wake. 

"In three, two, one,” Adam breathed. “Firing!”

His shot tore a gash open on the surface of existence. A pathway formed, and on the other end came scenes of disaster and devastation. Billowing waves of destructive mana poured down the dimensional pathway. Adam anticipated this, so the orc vanguards held up their shields and kept the blasts at bay. Magic of all variety came surging down—including more than a few that Shiv had never seen before. 

The air itself seemed to hiss as gray-colors spells cleaved and shattered other mana types it came in contact with. A chain of festering gray spells tore though the air. They slammed against the orcish Vanguard and burst apart in clouds of ash. The orcs were briefly driven back, but Shiv stepped in behind them. He planted his hands against their backs and circled his Shapeless Tides through their bodies. At once, the magic was stymied. Instead of driving the orcs back, it scattered apart like water dashing upon the jagged face of a hanging mountain.

Shiv felt a clinging sensation from the spell. It was like swallowing ash, or dragging his skin across gravel. But then, it was gone. The gray faded, and Shiv’s Magical Resistance prevailed. A gap was open, and on the other end, Cripple awaited.

"Go, go, go!" Adam called aloud. “Time clones! Cross! Golems! Cross!”

The orcs parted for a brief moment, and Shiv took the brunt of the spillover magic that seeped out between them. As he did that, his Vitae Golems splashed through his body and slammed into the crashing waves of destructive mana. They were lined with Shapeless Tides as well, and it took eighteen orc vitality donors to see them all created. 

Where once the dimensional pathway was bathed in clashing colors, there now were spots of shadow gliding in the mix. The golems were battered from all sides by leftover blasts of magic that the ashen spells didn’t destroy earlier. A few of the golem’s even lost chips of vitae along the way, but they didn't break. The shapeless tides kept them together, and as they moved, they formed an arc-shaped flight pattern that kept the worst of the magic at bay. Shiv and the orcs stepped away from the dimensional rift entirely, and Kura's temporal clones started flooding in.

At this point, Adam fired another arrow. This one tore a new rift open on the Orichalcum wall to their left. "Cross, cross now!" Adam called out.

The orcs all rushed along the dimensional pathway in short order. The ones with the highest Reflexes went first. They were followed by Kura, one of her time clones, a Vitae Golem time clone, Shiv, Whisper, and finally, the tail of the group consisted of Adam and the orcish vanguard. As soon as they arrived in the next prison cube, Adam already had a Veilpiercer drawn, and he aimed his bow high up at an angle, searching for their next potential cube.

Shiv gripped his knife tightly and felt his body grow taut with tension. Even though he wasn't in the fight himself, he couldn't shake the feeling that violence would be upon them soon, that the ascendants would suddenly appear and finish the job they couldn't earlier. They'd taken many precautions to avoid unnecessary risk, but the ascendants and avatars had proven themselves to be most dangerous foes.

If something went wrong—

A cry came from Kura. Shiv flinched and saw that her abdomen was wounded. Blood seeped out from a deep cut that trailed from her stomach to the right side of her pelvis. Shiv wrapped her using one of his mana hydras and cauterized the injury in an instant. She gave him a thankful look, but an expression of focus clung to her features.

"What just happened?" Shiv said.

"We're trying to get to Cripple," the elven Chronomancer declared absentmindedly. "But I think... one of my time clones ran into Daughter instead. I failed to dismiss that one in time.” True to her word, Shiv saw a faint splash of blackness seep out from her now-closed wound. She gritted her teeth. “Daughter just vanished. We need to move. I see Cripple—I’m going… I’m… going after him.”

The tension inside Shiv spiked to new levels as Adam called out once more. "Firing! Prepare to reposition! Gone! On standby! Anything comes, intercept!”

The hyper-fast Gone came alive with golden lightning. And a second later, she vanished–just as Adam fired another shot. A new dimensional pathway tore open. Something tar-black and fast tore out from the dimensional pathway they just crossed. A clash shook the air as Gone slammed into something—something barely larger than she was.

Shiv launched himself into the fray. Gone slashed and tore at Daughter’s new Waif, but the girl was laughing, her wounds spewing black tar that tainted the dimensional pathway she resided within. Her laughter died when she saw Shiv tearing through the air like a missile, his blade coated in Vitae. A flood of fear surged out from her, and his power climbed.

The Waif’s eyes widened. Daughter let out a whimper—and her avatar promptly pushed away from Gone as she fled across the way she came.

Shiv struck nothing—found himself far too slow to catch up to the fleeing Ascendant. “Shit. Adam. It’s Daughter. She’s gone, but she saw me.”

“That’s fine,” Adam said. “They’ll be confused now. Udraal’s Vitae Golem has your signature too. They’ll still be scattered, but this is why we need to keep moving. So cross! Cross now!”

And with another dimensional pathway open, and the group moved again. Shiv held the rear this time with Gone, and as he stared down the last dimensional pathway, he waited.

He waited for the Ascendants to come for him and the others again.

Or for one of Kura’s time clones or his golem to bring Cripple back.

***

The system was screaming. Cripple could hear the world around him howling with agony and confusion. Tumbling gears and broken fragments slammed against his new avatar. Debris drifted in this ruined place, consumed by a faint blue fire engulfing the remains of countless prison cubes and even more prisoners and wardens. 

The screams were coming from the damned path-bearers. There had been no warning, no chance at survival for those unfortunates. One moment they were either trying to escape from the Rubik's Well or to quash the sudden rebellion. The next, a massive blast had been unleashed, a blast that consumed an entire portion of the nadir and continued spreading. 

Udral Thann unleashed his power recklessly, openly, and Cripple knew the Abyssal Lord was deliberately trying to draw the Ascendants to him.

There were many statements one could make about Cripple, but perhaps the most poignant right now was the fact that the other Ascendants raised no protest with regard to his participation in this operation. They knew he had performed an act of supposed betrayal by warning the Deathless and trying to provide him with means of escape. 

But now with Udraal on the scene and the Starhawk missing, the ruling council needed their strongest member. Needed someone willing to take the hits the others couldn't. To suffer wounds and indignities the others couldn't. To unleash blows that devastated adversaries the others couldn't.

Couldn't. 

That was the word that also belonged to Udraal. They couldn't keep track of him. They couldn't tell what he was doing, and they couldn't guess what he was about to unleash next. Through the burning sea of Animancy he unleashed came more spells. Spells born of lores Cripple didn't even recognize, composed of symbols he'd never seen before.

The machine Ascendant flinched as his avatar’s left arm fully dissolved. Carrier 202 was a good Pathbearer, despite not being an exceptional combatant. After it suffered a cursed blow at the hands of a storm tyrant while performing a logistics mission, its core was permanently ruptured. Only a timely pact with Cripple delayed its inevitable end, and even then, Carrier 202 was in constant agony.

Despite this, Carrier 202 had proven to be among Cripple's braver avatars—practically fearless for what was to come, for the end was always approaching for it, in a way that was far more present than for all the other avatars. Which made it all the more disturbing when Carrier shrieked in pain when he was hit by some of Udraal’s stranger spells.

Carrier 202 wasn't shattered by the spell. It wasn't singed. Lightning didn't damage its circuitry. Dynamancy didn't crack its chassis. Instead, bits of it simply began to flake away, turning gray and ashen, just like the color of the spell that struck it. It was the color of entropy, Cripple realized. Other such spells were tearing free from the faint blue that surrounded them. The entropy spells were connected by faint veins, veins that pulsated with flashes of white. The color was so pure that it hurt when Cripple beheld it.

"Ascendant," Carrier 202 cried out, its left arm entirely ash. The avatar became a void in Cripple’s soul. He could pour more power into it—especially now that Carrier mirrored Cripple’s own mutilation. "It is time. I am ready. Withdraw your power from my core. Let the wound finally arrive. I am ready. I wish to burn."

"Not yet," Cripple said to Carrier. "Soon, brave Pathbearer. But not yet. Not until we have our gaze on him.”

A new chain of entropic spells came, but they promptly dissolved as a pulsating wave crashed into them. Carrier 202 turned and saw the other avatars approaching. They were shrouded within their protective dome, and a swarm of Animantic drones spread out from the wards. They drained the magic Udraal unleashed so wantonly, and unveiled more ruined cubes hidden in the existential devastation of the blue flames.

“Cripple,” Maiden called from within the dome. “Do you see him?”

Cripple scanned fading Animancy, but saw nothing of the Abyssal Lord. Even his Divination was denied.

You have received a Divined message from Udraal Thann: Come now, Ascendant. It will never be that easy. Put some effort into your hunt.

“No,” Cripple said, burdened by the growing feeling that Udraal was just playing with them; distracting them from.

“Cripple! Ambush!” Enoch’s bellow shook the air as a dimensional pathway burst open beside Cripple.

Cripple’s frustration faded entirely, and was replaced by a feeling of purpose. Finally. No more hiding. It was time for battle. It flooded Carrier 202 with as much divine mana as the avatar could bear. Carrier’s missing arm was replaced by massive piston of roaring flame, and as it turned to strike at whatever was about to emerge from the pathway, one of Daughter’s Waifs burst into existence beside it.

A flood of golden shadows spilled out from the dimensional rift. Cripple recognized them immediately. These were time clones created by Kura, Exiled Daughter of Scar-Tongue Cult. Her actions were obvious—revenge. She sought to strike back against the Ascendants for caging her in the Rubix Well, and thought now was a good time to strike.

Her folly was thinking herself powerful enough to challenge gods as a mere Legend.

Daughter fully manifested over her Waif and drove a wicked blade into a golden shadow’s gut. All of them writhed—almost all of them. A few broke from the others, and Carrier drew back a fist to leave them in ruins. But then, Cripple saw it. Mana colored red and white, the feeling of heat and lifeforce.

Cripple knew those golems. He had seen them before.

Shiv? Cripple wondered.

The golems held up their hands as they drew closer to Cripple. They gestured at themselves, waving wildly instead of attacking.

“Face me, traitor to the Republic,” Carrier intoned dully. “Face me, and grant me a proper finish to my tale.”

All the golden shadows winked out, just as Daughter and a small army of her Waifs spilled across the pathway. But as the Vitae Golems drew closer to Cripple’s avatar, they remained passive, waved harder, and Cripple knew something was off.

This wasn’t an ambush. This wasn’t how ambushes proceeded. So then, what was this?

Carrier drew its fist back. Cripple made a decision to take a chance. “Carrier. No. Make contact but do not break the enemy. I wish to see what is being plotted here.”

Carrier hesitated. The flames of forming its new left hand flickered. “My Ascendant, the others—”

“Have made their choices. I am making one of my own. There is no point in waiting for a reckoning that is certain to come. There is only purpose in getting ahead. Make it look natural. Like we were surprised instead.”

“As you command.” Carrier lifted its fist and punched. A blast of howling fire tore over the Vitae Golem’s shoulder—and impacted one of Daughter’s Waifs in the side before she could take the golem from behind. In the next instant, the golem crashed hard against Carrier’s chassis, and a tearing sensation followed as the Shapeless Tides swimming down the golem’s body tore against Carrier.

Then, there came a burst of Chronomancy as the golem seized Cripple’s avatar with both hands. At the same time, a new flood of entropy spells slashed across the air like bolts of lightning, and came for Cripple from all directions.

“Not a moment too soon,” Cripple muttered, just as it felt itself grew drawn across space and time alongside its avatar.

“CRIPPL—” Daughter screeched in fury.

But by then, it was too late for second thoughts and regrets.

Cripple was across, and it found itself standing in an abandoned prison cube next to a Vitae Golem, surrounded by orcs, prisoners, an automaton, and Shiv.