Monsoon117
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370 Words Uttered, Laws Made
🕑 Added 2023-02-21 18:01:49 +0000 UTCA dark blue aura enveloped the room, saturating everything.
"When you signed that contract with Shalahora, you sold your soul to an Old One."
The emanation pulled me down as Schema said, "I will give you this opportunity out of grace. Answer me."
Schema's voice hardened.
"Why shouldn't I kill you?"
Chapter Begin
I smiled, "Can you?"
I pressed out with my dimensional wake, pushing Schema's aura back.
"I will warp you into the center of a black hole where time will be stretched to infinity. It is a kind of death and easily done."
I stood tall.
"Alright, enough messing around then."
I cracked my knuckles, each pop like a grenade detonating in mercury.
"I'm probably harder to break than you imagine. Try me."
"Do you believe your status and skills will save you from an inevitable failure? Do you think your success in a fistfight can determine the outcome of the Old Ones? You are a fool. A prideful, arrogant, and ignorant fool."
"Try me."
Schema's voice oppressed the room but not me.
"Then you will be taught a lesson. Dwell on it for eternity."
The tugging sensation passed over me. My surroundings blurred before I let go of my physical form. It fell into some unknown place, likely Leviathan or some other blackhole.
Schema murmured, "It is a shame."
I materialized from the ether.
"It is?"
I stood the way I had before my body was sent away. Schema and I faced off for a moment.
The AI said, "You have learned incorporeal recomposition. Was that learned before the lottery as well?"
I pointed a thumb at myself, "Schema...I'm not the same scared boy that escaped from Bloodhollow. I've changed."
"That is evident."
"But not with how you're treating me. Yeah, I signed that contract with Shalahora. You wanna know why?"
I scowled as Schema's aura pressed from all angles. I pushed it further back.
"I signed it for survival and because I know what's coming. If anyone else knows, it's you. You're holding an entire society together. Of course, you know they're coming. If I survive for 30,000 years, I think I stand a chance to pull us the hell out of this situation. If I can't by then, I won't be able to. Ever."
"The Old Ones cannot be destroyed. You have given them another powerful avatar. 30,000 years may seem like an eternity to you, but it is a moment to them. It is a moment to me."
I narrowed my eyes.
"And I was told that Yawm couldn't be killed. That Lehsion was an unconquerable god. Hell, people told me Valgus was invincible because an Old One made it so."
I grimaced.
"I killed him. I can kill them too."
Schema's aura maintained its pressure, pushing onto mine. I peered around.
"If you're going to oppress someone, you must condense this. It's too disparate. I'm like a ball of iron in an ocean. Wrap around me all you want; it won't make me budge."
Schema ceased applying pressure.
"You genuinely believe in your chances?"
"Believe? Who cares what I believe? What other options do I have?"
"Hm. None. A position I understand all too well."
A screen notification appeared in the corner of my vision.
"I will send the purging team to Mt. Verner to inspect your personnel. Leviathan-7 is your planet, and you will be granted 3 days of uncompressed time to go there, 4 months total of your planet's time yearly. I will personally ensure future system bugs are no longer an issue for you."
I put my hands on my hips.
"Ah man, thanks-"
"I am not finished, Harbinger. You will be rewarded with 5,000 levels to your cap and current total. You will be granted a legendary skill compendium and sovereignty over the Solus solar system. Your guild, the Harbinger's Legion, has been elevated to empire status and gains the rights of such."
I nearly fell back.
"Do not disappoint me."
I collected myself and spread my hands.
"Of course not. You know me. I've got no problem with a little overtime."
"That will be the minimum. I anticipate your progress. However, there is one last condition you must accept."
"Oh, come on now. What does it involve this time?"
"You have shown a willingness to sign contracts that warp the fabric of reality. Here is another."
In front of me, a black page burned into existence, along with a quill floating with white ink.
"Read the cipheric contract and sign it."
I pulled the page out of the air, reading the cipheric runes. It took about an hour to parse the legal jargon, but Targask's lessons on legal mumbo jumbo saved me. I could almost see the guy grinning at me with satisfaction, and that burned. I shook that off before peering up.
"So you want me to sign a self-expungement clause under certain conditions?"
"Yes. It is the only way I can be certain."
I shook my head.
"This is ridiculous."
I signed the contract, and it disappeared.
Schema said, "If you believe it is absurd, why did you sign it?"
I rolled my shoulders.
"I'm no pawn. I'd rather die."
"Hm. Noble. Good luck with your cosmic goals, Harbinger."
I grinned.
"Hah. Same to you."
A similar sensation of being warped pressed over me, but I condensed my wake to its utmost, slowing down the pull.
"Naw, you'll need to have a Sentinel or Overseer warp me from now on. I want to see where I'm going."
I could almost hear a laugh.
"Such is to be expected after my threats. Maintain that vigilance, would you?"
I smiled.
"Of course."
A few seconds later, a Sentinel tore through the fabric of reality. I helped pull apart the dimensional fabric, and it stepped through. It tilted its head at me.
"You wish to return to Earth, correct?"
I nodded.
"Aw man, more than anything."
The Sentinel sliced through the veil, and I approached a tiny circle showing Earth. I gazed down at Mt. Verner before I gave the Sentinel a two-finger salute.
"Till next time."
Comments
Conor McGroarty
While he was at it, Daniel should have asked for a hint on entropy mana (that stuff can screw over the changed rules of Avatars and should have other uses). Specifically the kind of mindset it would require as the rest can be done with trial and error if you have the foundational mindset needed.
Monsoon117
I know a software engineer who worked in the backend of projects. Schema's approach was literally inspired by you guys lol.
rizen
Thanks. I love this story, and honestly schema is one my favorite characters. they are this jaded old orchestrator of a system that has to be brutally realistic about the expectations they have of their users. And seeing Daniel time and time again smash their expectations and seeing the facade on schema crack a little the past few interactions has made me deeply empathize with the scope of what they handle (overworked backend, infra, sre, DevOps engineer in a small startup over here so I really get it haha).
Monsoon117
It's very cathartic to have someone explain all the thought I put into this chapter and Schema's perspective here.
rizen
Imagine the perspective of schema. This eons old artificial intelligence written in a cypheric language that controls reality matter, space, time and much more. Your main goal is to keep everything together and stop the destructive omnipotent Eldritch gods from taking over the universe and all sapients inside. And this kid who was on a planet that was integrated and not just three or four years ago goes through this meteoric rise but ends up harnessing the power of these eldritch gods and starts turning it back on them. But you've seen this dime a dozen. So many more of tried and failed. Tried to push back the gods. They all fail. They all fall under the corruption. They all end up serving these monstrosities. But not Daniel. He just keeps enduring. Battle after battle god after god. Until even you start splitting at the seams and have a civil war with a competing system trying to fight back against you utilizing the same Eldritch gods to turn the tables. And this kid does not yield whatsoever. Keeps on pushing. Keeps on fighting. And now you realized you've made a mistake. You shouldn't have been ignoring this kid because he's different. He knows what's at stake. And most of all he isn't trying to be so self-serving about it or trying to accumulate power for power's sake. He's trying to win. He is trying to stop this madness once and for all. The sigh of relief that goes through schema must have blown down dimensions once they realize they had an ally in this fight. That this person wasn't trying to connive or steal or lie to get what they want. But just wanted to end the Eldritch gods for good. Finally I can let down my barrier. Not withstanding a couple contingency plans as you always will have. That's the feeling I got from this chapter. Schema finally understanding that. Daniel isn't the millions that came before him. Just trying to self-serve their own interests. But there's someone who actually cares.
Monsoon117
Daniel's perceived time while sitting still. He has quite a bit of time shenanigans if he's stationary.
Kemizle
I enjoyed the chapter. because of this chapter I like schema a lot more, he might not be falling apart like we think it could be all the old ones interference plus cold AI calculation
Kemizle
It took about an hour to parse the legal jargon, but Targask's lessons on legal mumbo jumbo saved me...do you mean he actually spent an hour of real time reading it or did he extend his time to give himself the time
William Christie
Aw, I’ve been spoiled with so many new chapters. I’ll never be sated now
William Christie
Thanks for the amazing writing one again!
Wrath
These rapid fire chapters are amazing. It's been so long since we've gotten so many chapters in one month it's almost unbelievable.
serguzzle
Schema has a wonderful depth to its interactions. In these few chapters you gave its mission appropriate weight and gave adequate credence to the scale at which it operates. By that measure, its effusive backing of Daniel here (and it was well-earned) is equivalent to them doing a fist bump over his oath to fuck up cthulhu. That shit was so cash. You handle this kind of scope well most of the time - the leader squad did feel a little bit like a gaggle of underclassmen in college, but that has been one of the most egregious exceptions. Loved the closer of this arc. When I find some time I'll try to share some more thoughts. Still, Schema grew a ton in these interactions, and I'm really into it.
Blake Richardson
Thanks for the chapter!
Monsoon117
Also, I just wanted to say your question was perfectly reasonable.
Monsoon117
A lot of this involves Daniel's changing position in the galactic hierarchy.
Monsoon117
So this is something I learned about from all my research into dialogue. One important aspect is to leave something for the reader to interpret. This allows the reader to actively engage with building the story based on what they think rather than being told everything. As an author, I show you guys what's happening without explicitly stating anything. It's up to you guys to interpret what's being shown how you will, which leads to differing opinions and a lot more to think about. I've done it before, but this was one of my first purposeful attempts. In this case, what kind of person is Daniel? Why would he sign an absurd contract? Why would this change his and Schema's relationship? You get to answer those questions based on what you've seen and the context. EDIT: Also, the most vital aspect of the contract was explained.
K
You've been on a roll! Schema feels much more like an actual character now rather than being a tool to steer the direction of the story. A lot to look forward to, I'm most excited to see Lehesion's reaction to Daniel's new abilities. I could definitely see him being humbled and returning as the figurehead of the Gialgathens if he's swayed over by Daniel.
drag0nreb0rn
Great finish to thr arc.
Joshua Little
Thanks for the chapter.
Kristopher Abraham
I take exception! This was obviously more than 370 words! I immensely appreciate it.
Brandon Daniels
This is every thing i dreamed of for this talk! Schema is finally working closely with Daniel! The power pairing the galaxy needs to survive! Dude your story is top tier in my opinion and I can hardly wait to see everyone's reaction to the new and improved Daniel.
Connor Alexander
This chapter was Was amazing! I found that daniel was much more forthright to his views to schema, and the confidence he built upon the Leviathan’s back is not leaving him now.
Chance Rose
Awesome work man. This is truly the team up we needed. Schema recognized Daniel, and I love he is finally getting the benefits of an actual patron. I am interested in seeing Daniels status going forward. The leap will have to be astronomical. Not only because of all the training he did, but his hours long fight with volgus literally had him pumping his cyphric runes to their breaking point. For HOURS. the sheer input is already infered by how much bigger he clearly is. I'm looking forward to his expansion. On that note, I am interested in the wake and golems that would be produced by entropy, which is what I'm guessing he is going to use the legendary compendium for? Im probably wrong there and I look forward to seeing what twists you throw our way. Thanks again man, and I'm genuinely happy to see you on such a roll. Keep it up bro.
the void
I love how much more lifelike schema seems now, less like a cold unfeeling AI and more like a calculating and uncaring person
Zachary Smith
Wooooh! Nice! Thank you for getting that out so soon :)
Allen Lea
I think if the explicit details are relevant to a story the author should include it. If a contract has loopholes that will be exploited later for example. In this case it's a message to us the reader of Daniels resolve, and mechanically it allows schema to not treat Daniel as a threat. So their relationship doesn't have to be as antagonistic.
crusty pickle
Eh, writers choice and it's easily infered. He also says he doesn't want to be a puppet, and he would rather die than be one
Ferco
I think so too, but shouldn't it be explicit? For clarity.
crusty pickle
I think it's a clause that if he becomes an avatar of an old one the contract will kill him
crusty pickle
Thanks for the chapter monsoon, really enjoyed how much Daniel has grown and the respect given to him by schema, really looking forward to random POVs of how much Daniel has grown, and the sweet sweet status screen
Ferco
The conditions of the contract aren't important?
Shin
Now he just needs to get a proper skill for primordial mana and finaly form his monarch skill and he will become a true eldritch entity
Owen Kaz
It was great man! A good wrap up to the arc.
Monsoon117
Fixed.
Justin Drake
Tyftc
Alex R
Can't wait to see what all of what he got entails.
Alex R
Beleive -> Believe
Monsoon117
Aye, short but sweet. Hope you all liked it.
