Draith
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Chapter 106 - Not The First Hurdle
🕑 Added 2025-05-21 14:00:13 +0000 UTCIt probably wasn't a good sign that I didn't have a response to the overly aggressive question from the being that looked like it'd literally been born with the singular purpose of ripping out people’s soul to eat them. A trait I was certain it possessed, thanks to my interactions with Keeper.
That said, I wasn't sure there was an appropriate response to being asked why someone shouldn't kill you and take your stuff.
Not unless you were sure you could kick the stuffing out of them.
I saw Calbern take a step forward and open his mouth, presumably to say something, but whatever it was, I couldn't hear it, since the protection spells were still active.
The being's response was easy enough to make out though. "And why should I care what my brother has decided? His purpose has always been to preserve and exchange, even before we were bound to… their whims. Mine is different." As the being finished its sentence, its gaze shifted from Calbern back to me. "And I will hear the unrefined one speak for itself. Unless it is not capable of even that much. If that is the case, it would be in all of Aeternia’s favor for me to discard it now."
"Not much I could do to stop you from killing me, if I was foolish enough to fight you," I said, even as I considered how to get us out if this went wrong. I'd kept Dimension Step prepared when we were coming down, though I’d been anticipating using it to escape a swarm, not a Keeper-equivalent. It might not be perfect, but it'd get us to the gliders in only a few casts. It'd leave me drained, but as long as I chain cast it, it should buy us enough time to take off.
"Ah, so you believe you could at least escape. An unforged idea, but one that might not crack when cast," the being said, finally leaning back into its gear and blade chair. "Not enough to be worthy of my halls, and if I was still free, I would allow you to attempt it. However, the chains bind us both, and I find myself bored enough to indulge them. You shall be tested."
I saw Calbern shift, possibly to speak again, but I put my hand on his shoulder. Hesitating, he glanced towards me, then inclined his head slightly, taking a full step back. "Who even are you, to demand I prove myself? What sort of tests? And how long will they take? Kinda have a domain to run."
"Oh not entirely without fire, are you? These tests will not take long, especially if you fail," the being replied. Then he turned the hand that had been tapping upward, as if cupping something. At the same time, I felt the floor beneath us shift, raising us into the air. "My name is for those who do not break in the basest of forging, and as for the nature of the tests… well, we shall see what you are made of, unrefined one."
A clang rang through the room, louder even than the thudding. When I turned, I discovered the doors had slammed shut. And Dimensional Step required line of sight. I'd waited too long.
The metal didn't shift us far. It did separate us though, a set of heavy bars rising between me and Calbern, stretching all the way along the room. He didn't seem worried, though danger never did seem to phase him.
I was more than a little worried, myself.
Around us, the assembly line once more roared to life, though the sound was muted. The fact it was moving meant it had probably never been knocked offline, like I’d thought. The metal-clad brother of Keeper had shut everything down, just to lure us in.
We could've easily leapt off the metal platforms, probably joined up with a single cast of Dimensional Step. Other than the bars separating us, there was nothing else keeping us separated. Except… I knew that Keeper was bound by rules. Rules that it had to follow.
From what his brother had implied, he was the same.
And if not… well, better to deal with its test than to fight against it directly.
Nearly made the mistake of sighing in relief when another platform of metal moved towards mine. On it sat one of the Rollerbugs, the very same ones we'd spent the afternoon dismantling. If it had the same weaknesses, this was going to be a very short fight.
Then I realized just how close it was getting. And I was reminded of how sharp those limbs of its were. Rather not get skewered by one, even if I could heal the damage. As it rolled forward and back on its own platform, waiting for the metal sheet to get close, I took the time to channel mana into my grimoire for a regular Shield spell.
I didn't wait for the being to announce the beginning of my test either, letting loose with the weakest Lightning Bolt I could as soon as Shield was in place.
The protection spell I had running for stepping into the room meant that I was actually able to observe my Lightning Bolt as it struck a target for once, though the bolt did leave an afterimage. Watching the Rollerbug get smashed into the heavy industrial machinery behind it before crumbling to pieces was pretty rewarding.
Glancing behind me, I found Calbern had dealt with his own just as easily, though he'd leapt across and pierced it through the wheel.
“So you do not fall to the least of my horde,” the being said, waving its hand once more. “That is something, at least.”
“Not exactly the first hurdle we’ve faced since getting here,” I mumbled while shifting to see what he was sending at us.
This time, it brought out two of the Rollerbugs as our metal platforms shifted to the center of the room, one approaching from each side. Was it testing our endurance or our skill? I didn't even wait, deciding to test Spark. Unfortunately, without the guidance portion of Lightning Bolt, it simply shot into the metal platform at my feet, sending feedback into my Shield.
Whoops.
Two low-strength Lightning Bolts later, I flipped my grimoire open as I considered other options. Calbern was still taking apart the second of his opponents. He wasn't injured, but he seemed to have realized the same thing I had, and was attempting to conserve his stamina. His refined movements were truly on form as he dodged each attack by bare fractions of an inch.
I didn't have any cheaper options in my grimoire for taking these things apart. Earlier experiments had already revealed that Flare was next to useless. They were more resistant to Fire than they were susceptible to Lightning.
Could always let them get closer, then use Spark. At least for the last of each wave. My Storm affinity was high enough I could toss out a lot of Lightning Bolts, especially at minimum strength, but they wouldn't be infinite.
Then again… that was assuming they were going to only increase in number.
That… seemed like a rather lazy sort of test.
I glanced towards the being, who had resumed its percussive tapping on his throne. It'd said this was a test, but… it didn’t seem particularly invested in it. If anything, I was under the impression it couldn’t wait for it to be over.
Turned out the test really was as lazy as I’d been hoping for. The next three waves passed with little fanfare, all but one of each Rollerbug destroyed before they could reach me. And while I took a glancing blow on my Shield when I let the very last of them get too close, Spark did shut it down. To my surprise, my reserves were barely touched.
That was mostly because Calbern was drawing out the fights on his side. I knew he could've finished much faster.
"Enough of this," the being said as Calbern finished his last Rollerbug.
I didn't relax. The factory hadn't been idle while we were fighting and there were now dozens of Rollerbugs waiting below us. They all sat idle, but that could change in a second. The bars that had separated us, rattled downward, shaking the metal platforms we'd been fighting on as they shifted back towards the being’s end of the chamber. It was only then that I saw how scuffed Calbern's had become.
Once more, he inclined his head in my direction.
I clapped him on the shoulder as I looked up.
Its orange eyes flashed brighter for a moment and then the room went silent. “You have proven that your destruction of my collection swarm was no accident. A rather unimpressive feat, all things considered, but one I am obliged to recognize.”
It… didn’t sound especially happy about that fact. In fact, it sounded upset that it wasn’t tearing out my spine and beating me with it.
No idea why I had that thought, other than it felt appropriate for the being in front of us.
"You may remove your protections, unrefined one.”
My gaze went to its hand, but it remained still. A quick glance over my shoulder confirmed the assembly line had come to a halt as well. Deciding we were already so deep in the mud, a little sudden deafness wouldn’t get us any more stuck, I let the sound shield drop.
The air was warm and heavy, thick yet dry. I could hear the constant whooshing of air moving, yet it was the only sound.
"Master Perth, are you well?" Calbern asked, his voice just shy of its usual perfect tone.
Guess he'd been worried afterall.
"Yeah, I'm fine. You?"
"Exemplary," Calbern replied, focusing on the being on the throne.
He'd shifted as we'd checked on each other, and the noise had echoed throughout the room.
"In accordance with the bargain, the path shall be open. Know that I do not find you worthy. This is not a sign of my approval, nor my favor. However… it is enough for you to know my nature, and the purpose with which I have been tasked.”
The being stood, and all the gears and chains of what I’d though had been its throne rose with it, rising into the air, the gears whirring like buzz-saws. The chains speared into the floor all around the stairs, spearing straight through the steel floor.
“I am Conflict. Never shall your entrance to my halls be one of peace,” the being, apparently conflict said, even as the steps where it had previously rested began to shake. “But return to my halls, you shall. For only here, within the Fires of the Infinite Furnace, can you truly test your mettle, unrefined one. And in passing through the Fires, not only will you find yourself reforged, you shall earn my Favor.”
It gestured to the massive factory behind us, which for a horrifying second spun to life before going silent again.
“Favor I am sure you will need, in the days to come.”
The number of things we could do with this factory… if only we had access for a day…
Conflict was right. If I thought I could survive whatever fires he had in store, I’d be back. I doubted they’d be as easy as what he’d thrown at us today. Not with how he’d reacted to his own ‘test’. Wasn’t looking to having to fly all the way out here, but if we could-
“The path is set,” Conflict said as the shaking steps gave out one last shudder. Then with a horrible rattling noise, they collapsed, turning into a set of stairs that led downward.
Perfectly preserved, sitting at the center of those stairs was exactly what I’d been hoping to find, to be able to take apart and study. One that was completely useless for coming back here. When I saw the Waygate sitting there, fully intact yet under the protection of a being somehow even more terrifying than Keeper, I couldn't help it.
I laughed.
