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DRR Book 4, Chapter 45 — Talented Dispute
🕑 Added 2025-05-29 14:03:30 +0000 UTCVersa was starting to regret her decision to fight on Ethan's side.
She was, of course, sure that her past self was correct in her assessment of the newest Trialgoer's capabilities. That didn't change the fact that fighting Teluwat was terrifying, and it certainly didn't help that he was displaying abilities she'd never known he had. And that was with multiple loops spent essentially spying on him and taking notes.
It didn't also help that he seemed to have a literal army of converted agents. Some of their faces made her feel sick—she could recognize them. Loyalists in one Trialgoer's employ or the other, according to her memories. That they were here meant that Teluwat's influence had gone a lot farther than she ever realized, and it also meant that Teluwat was quite deliberately targeting people close to them.
So perhaps regret wasn't the right word, exactly. Teluwat certainly needed to be stopped. Throwing herself into the line of fire before Ethan was even around, though? She was questioning her sanity when it came to that particular decision.
Versa had developed a number of skills she thought might be able to counter Teluwat. She'd detailed how each one was intended to work in her notes and rated her confidence in their ability to keep her safe. Every single one of them had either failed outright or been countered within seconds, Assimilated into Teluwat's own arsenal.
How in the Undergrowths was she supposed to fight someone like that?
Ethan's friends helped, at least. She had no idea how they'd managed to get here before even she did, but she learned to be grateful for their presence pretty quickly. The harpy's knives actually seemed to be able to cut through skills, somehow? And the robot kept constructing bizarre skill combinations that could, albeit only briefly, disable what Teluwat was doing.
But the three of them were still being pushed back, and Versa was running out of ideas. Fighting Teluwat in his own lair was a death sentence, and even a second of combat felt like an eternity. He seemed to be able to move and reshape everything around them at will, until Versa couldn't be certain where she was or what she was doing. She ducked beneath a pillar that shot out the walls, intent on crushing her; leapt over a sudden pit that appeared beneath her, ignoring the acrid stench that rose from beneath; slid between spears that struck at her head and legs...
And came face to face with Teluwat. He smirked down at her, Firmament glowing with intent.
Ghost shouted a warning. Lilia slashed with one of her knives, a fraction of a second too late. Versa saw Teluwat reach out with a fist, then gasped as she felt that fist close directly around her core. That should have been impossible—he wasn't using a skill, wasn't even channeling anything as far as she could tell—yet he was squeezing around it with impossible force.
Attacking a core directly wasn't supposed to be possible. Not like this. Teluwat was uniquely vulnerable to it, but everyone else...
Versa choked, debilitating pain arcing through her as the force on her core abruptly increased. She fell to a knee, and for the first time, she felt certain she would die.
Then Firmament flooded through the halls of Teluwat's lair, and everything changed.
—
I'm not exactly sure of what to expect when I activate the modified teleport stone, carrying Guard, Ahkelios, and Gheraa with me into Teluwat's lair. It's not whatever this is. The scene in front of me is one of absolute chaos—Teluwat's throne room has been utterly ruined, jagged craters rent into the stone along with the remnant Firmament of what feels like almost a hundred different skills. Pillars of rock stretch across the chamber, many splattered with blood or slime or both in a twisted parody of a broken spiderweb.
And then there are the bodies. Teluwat's agents, no doubt. I think I recognize the broken body of a crow in one of the craters, and Guard's hand tightens on my shoulder.
"Raskar," he mutters quietly, confirming my guess.
Not far from us, Ghost and Lilia are desperately trying to distract Teluwat, who pays little attention to either of them. Instead, all his focus is concentrated on Versa, who's on her knees and trembling, practically on the verge of collapse. I can feel the grasp of his Talent reaching out through the space between them. It's latched on to her core, almost like...
Almost like he's trying to Assimilate her.
It's different from what he usually does, but then his normal manifestation of the Talent is unusual to begin with. He's trying something new? Why now, of all times?
Because he's afraid. Because he needs the power for what he knows is coming.
The answer strikes me just as I reach out and leverage my own Talent, Anchoring Versa's core in place. I barely make it in time, too, judging from the feel of it—it's moments away from shattering under Teluwat's influence. She takes a deep, heaving gasp for air, her expression wild and unfocused for a split second.
Then she pushes herself to her feet, albeit shakily, slowly forcing her breath under control. I expect her to run, considering the circumstances.
She doesn't. She just gives me a nod of thanks, then settles once more into a combat stance, ready to throw herself back into the fight.
I'm impressed.
Teluwat, meanwhile, looks pissed. Just like I thought, though, there's a small flicker of something else in his expression—fear. "What was that?" he demands. He takes a step back, Firmament gathering in his core defensively. "You shouldn't have been able to do that!"
"There are a lot of things I shouldn't be able to do," I say, my tone flat.
And, of course, I follow up with an example.
Ghost's been able to give me a quick briefing about Teluwat's physiology—or perhaps more accurately, his lack thereof—so I know exactly what to target with my skills. I begin by activating Concentrated Power, allowing the energy from the skill to build rapidly within my arm; at the same time, an Amplified Gauntlet coalesces around my fist and forearm.
Teluwat watches me, his Firmament echoing with nervousness even as he tries to look unimpressed. "If that's all you have," he says. "This is going to be a very short fight inde—"
I'm next to him before he can finish the sentence. He doesn't seem to react, of course. All his reactions are carefully controlled, etched onto his own face with Firmament rather than reflecting his actual feelings in any way. I can feel the way his core flares in startlement, though, and behind it, I can feel the assured arrogance.
Behind even that, a hint of that fear again. A hint of worry that I might be capable of more than he thinks.
Time to prove him right.
His arrogance fades rapidly when I activate Phaseslip the moment before the Gauntlet would have made impact. Instead of striking his body, I punch his soul.
And I send him flying.
Bones and ooze collapse into a useless pile. A roar of pain echoes through Teluwat's lair, and I can feel his rage building as he realizes that I know exactly how to hurt him.
"You can thank Versa for teaching me that one," I say casually. Behind me, Versa makes a strangled sort of noise.
"Are you crazy?" she demands. "You're going to make him target me next loop!"
"You've already started fighting him. I don't think that's going to make that much of a difference," I point out. "Besides, there isn't going to be a next loop. Not for him."
"You're sure of that, are you?" Teluwat growls.
And just like that, something changes.
I narrow my eyes. He's done something—I'm not sure what. Not yet. There's a sudden, foreign force pressing down around us, and it takes me a second to recognize it for what it is. It's a pocket of... what, intent? Authority? Will?
Whatever it is, it has Kauku written all over it, and I can feel it strengthening his Talent.
Far away, in the many tunnels and chambers scattered throughout Teluwat's castle, a thousand locks click open. I feel soul after soul suddenly flaring to life, each one corrupted by Teluwat's Assimilation into an obedient servant. He's already been using them to fight, but up until now he's been limited to a smaller set of them at once. Now that he's activated whatever it is Kauku gave him...
"Ethan," Ahkelios says. "The rest of us will handle them. You and Guard should go kick Teluwat's ass."
I glance at Guard, who gives Aheklios a grateful nod, then turns to me. "Ethan?" he asks.
"Do you even have to ask?" I pull the bond between us wide open. If Guard is going to help me take Teluwat down, he's going to need to share all my senses. "Let's go take him down."
—
Teluwat didn't understand how any of this was happening.
He was practically a god. Kauku had even assured him of that! Anyone who gained the title of Heir was essentially in the running for godhood. That was the truth of Transcendence and of the Heritage Protocols, and though he'd been warned that Ethan would be able to put up a good fight, he hadn't expected whatever that was.
Assimilation was supposed to be the strongest of the Talents. He'd used it so carefully over the many, many Trials Hestia had been subjected to, preferring to hide it from the Integrators. Even back during his own Trial he'd known that the Integrators were hiding something from him, and he wasn't about to give away something so powerful to them. Not before he knew what they really wanted.
So it was no surprise that when Kauku came to him and gave him all the answers he'd been looking for, he'd immediately sided with him. Why wouldn't he? Kauku was practically a god himself. They were equals, in a way.
But if they were gods, then how had Ethan been able to break his Assimilation?
He'd felt that. Teluwat felt the force of Ethan's soul slam into him with a physicality he'd never felt before. Even the most resistant of his subjects had never been able to so cleanly tear through his Talent; even the other Trialgoers, who each had some way or another of countering his abilities, couldn't stop him completely like this.
Ethan hadn't countered him. He'd overwhelmed him. Attacked him in the exact same realm with something stronger, something more suited to do what he was trying to do.
Ethan Hill had a Talent.
Teluwat snarled to himself. Kauku must have known about this. Had he been lied to? Used as a pawn?
Or... no. Was this a test? Was he meant to prove himself against the only other Trialgoer that had been able to retrieve a Talent? If Ethan was an Heir just like he was, then surely they couldn't both inherit the throne. One of them had to survive.
That made more sense. Teluwat could work with that. Very well—there were plenty of tricks he still kept in his proverbial sleeves. If this was what Kauku wanted, then he could prove himself. He would prove himself—
Ethan rounded the corner, along with someone very familiar. Teluwat froze, staring at He-Who-Guards, blazing with Firmament that seemed to tear away every influence he had and everything he tried to do. Those blasted chains exploded from his back, and alongside them, a set of shimmering strings emerged from Ethan's fingers, all targeted at his core.
Teluwat finally realized what that strange feeling buried deep within him was. That feeling that glowed a sickly yellow and seemed to color his thoughts.
Fear.
--
Author's Note: I'm currently set to work on the final few chapters over the weekend. Wish me luck!
Comments
Catman
Time for Teluwat to get what's coming to him. Been set up for a fall, but the tricky bit is how they can make him fall away from Kauku... I suppose intermediaries are linked to the assimilation portion of the triumvirate, and Ethan has room for a bit more in his soul before his next phase shift doesn't he.
MrMurpleqwerty
"Teluwat uses a bastardized version of it to mimic a poor man's Anchoring, but in the realm of change... It's my Talent that reigns superior. Not his."
Digit
dipshit goop creatures when i hit them with a brick (anchoring) With talents repeatedly being mentioned as being things of authority. They speak on a fundamental level that can’t fully be explained in words but seem to effectively be commands on the BIOS level of the universe. Which can be extrapolated to mean that the interface is a proper operating system, and everything it provides can be interpreted as software. Makes sense. The deeper the skill, the lower into the OS the skill’s permissions go. Kinda implies the interface is a talent of its own that expanded into a system.
Mr.Turtle
YES! Absolutely love that Teluwat will (hopefully) finally get what's coming to him in what should be one of the worst cases of karmic justice! Thanks for the chapter!
BeanerOO
Been waiting for this confrontation for ages and the buildup has been excellent. Keep it up!
