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End of DRR Book 3, Epilogue 5 — Once More Unto the Breach
🕑 Added 2025-02-06 16:33:44 +0000 UTCI sit in the corner of my cabin, breathing.
We’re due to leave in a few days. I can sense it in the air—the Temporal Firmament fueling this place is slowly running out, and nothing’s quite as real anymore. I’m grateful that Hestia has bought as much time for us as it has, and I’ve made it a point to take advantage of every ounce of the time given to me.
According to Guard, I’m now passable with the Threads. I still don’t prefer them, but they’re a lot more versatile than the Amplification Gauntlet. The Threads are a weapon designed to take control of a battlefield, and even more importantly, they have functions outside of cutting and slicing.
They carry Firmament. The color of the Thread binds to the Firmament that it carries, but that’s a benefit, not a weakness, as long as I use it correctly. Like Inspirations, they can modify the results of a skill, but they can also just create a link between two sources of Firmament.
If I lend them to Guard, for example, he could use them to make a skill circuit—not that he seemed particularly inclined to try.
“They are yours,” Guard says when I try to hand them off to him. “Firmament-bound, remember?”
Well, he’s got me there.
What I’m doing right now, however, involves an entirely different kind of Thread—the kind that bind into the Web of Threads and form into Concepts.
…I should probably rename the Chromatic Threads, now that I think about it. I open my eyes briefly to look over the Interface, searching for an option to do so. It’s kind of a surprise to me when I actually find it—I’d been mostly looking for a distraction.
[Chromatic Threads have been renamed to Chromatic Strings.]
There. Much better. No more letting myself get distracted.
What I’m trying to do right now is to touch on the Threads of a Concept. The Life Concept, specifically, since I’ve worked closely with it already; it might be useful to be able to infuse more of my skills with it. The past few days have been me doing this, for the most part: meditating on the Concept, trying to tease out its constituent Threads. I’ve only been partially successful.
[You have touched the Thread of Genesis.]
[You have touched the Thread of Evolution.]
Those were surprisingly easy to grasp. I’m no stranger to either one, in large part because of everything involving the Knight Inspiration and the way it basically takes apart and reconstitutes my biology. The last part, though? That’s a little harder.
Life isn’t just about how it exists. It’s not just about evolution. Those two Threads are pieces of the puzzle, but they don’t capture the complexity of it, the beauty of it. The chaos that emerges from nothing.
I think about Ahkelios.
I’m not sure the little guy knows it—not that I can really call him a little guy anymore—but I’ve come to appreciate a lot more about life because of him. He puts effort into making me smile, even if he’s just being silly. I haven’t had a friend like that since…
Well, since my brother died. I’m not sure I’ve had much of a life since my brother died.
It’s odd, I think, that I now find so much more meaning in every moment. Surrounded as I am by danger and violence, I would have expected it to go the opposite way. But maybe that’s just what life is.
The third Thread settles into place.
[You have touched the Thread of Purpose.]
[You have learned the Concept of Life.]
For a moment, an absurd thought strikes me: I’m glad the Interface doesn’t call Concepts Meanings. I would have been a lot more skeptical if the Interface said I had learned the Meaning of Life.
I snicker to myself. It’s a little ridiculous, and I’m pretty sure Ahkelios is just going to scoff at me, but I’m going to tell him later anyway.
Having all this time to train and get closer to my friends has meant a lot to me. I’m grateful for what the Heart has done.
Which means it’s about time for me to return the favor.
—
A few days later, when I feel the Temporal Firmament around the Quiet Grove finally fading into nothing, I call the others in to speak to them about what we’re doing next and why.
“Hestia’s Heart knows something about what’s coming, or she wouldn’t have brought Gheraa back,” I say, giving the former Integrator a nod. He nods back. “We know the Heart is linked to the nature of Temporal Firmament itself. If she’s unable to directly warn us or speak to us, then we have to assume that the Fracture—and what happens at the end of the loop—has something to do with it. If we can find out what’s causing it, we may be able to speak to the Heart again.
“Even if we can’t, we need to make sure this anomaly doesn’t happen if and when the Trial ends. I’m not optimistic about our chances of evacuating the entire planet, even if the Intermediary were fully functioning, which it isn’t.
I hesitate. “I have the feeling that by the time we face Kauku, the Trial is going to pretty much be over. The more we wait, the more Tears are going to consume Hestia. It’s now or never, as far as the Fracture goes. If anyone’s got any concerns, now’s the time to raise them. Otherwise, we’re as ready as we’re going to be.”
There’s a series of affirmative noises. Ahkelios gives me a thumbs up, Guard nods, and Gheraa leans on his cane with a confident smirk. I give them all a grin in return. We’ve talked this through plenty of times over our time in the Grove, and we’ve come to the same conclusion each time.
If Kauku created the Interface, or Firmament, or both, then he holds the key to freeing Earth from its grasp. With Rhoran infecting him, we don’t have to chase after him. He’ll come after me. After Gheraa. Something is holding him back, evidently, but it won’t hold him back forever.
In that time, I have three goals. First, figure out how to save Hestia. The Fracture, hopefully, will tell us why and how that’s happening, but I’ll have to make sure the Tears don’t get too bad and stay on top of keeping them sealed.
Second, find the Trialgoer echoes. I haven’t forgotten what the Heart told me about them, and all the glimpses I’ve been seeing into the pasts of each monster has to mean something. The artifact the Cliffside Crows gave me has proven it can help with that; all I need to do is wait for the right loop, if my running theory is correct.
Third, find a way to reach the other humans stuck in their Trials. I have some ideas on how to do that, but it’s going to need work; the temporal boundary around Hestia isn’t something I’m willing to mess with. That same boundary is weaker within dungeons, though, which means the Empty City might give me a way to finally get back in contact with humanity.
I have to admit: this is the first time I feel confident about what’s coming. About my place in it. After who knows how long seeking it out, reacting to problem after problem, I know what I need to do, and I know how to do it.
Defeat Kauku. Release Earth from the hold of Integration. Free the Integrated planets as a whole, if at all possible.
It’s all too clear what the Interface and the Integrators have done to us. The power the Interface offers is not, in and of itself, evil, but the leash the Integrators have on “their” planets has to go.
The path ahead is finally clear. And despite the loop—despite everything the Integrators have tried to pull—I won’t be walking it alone.
“Let’s go,” I say.
Just like that, we leave the Quiet Grove.
Soon, we’ll reach the Fracture. That massive crack in the continental shelf spewing untold amounts of Firmament into the atmosphere. The center of a storm of space and time.
I have a sneaking suspicion that when we get there it’s going to look very, very different.
--
Author's Note: I mean, what's your alternative, Ethan? Sitting in your cabin and not breathing?
All jokes aside: There's book three! I'm still going to go through some basic edits and refinement for the whole manuscript, of course. I'll get you guys an updated Book 3 epub when it's done, hopefully in a week.
I'm going to have to take that break, I think. Pretty close to burnout (either that or I'm just sick). We'll see where things are at next week! I'll have a more detailed author's note and probably the opening to Book 4 then.
Thank you, as always, for your support.
Author's Note (New): Editing to add that Book 4 has begun! You'll still get chapters one and two because of how my launch schedule lines up with things before I pause for about 1-2 weeks; that's March 12, and then I'll start updates again by the 26th at the latest.
Thanks again for reading--your support means the world to me.
Comments
Digit
I forgot this was book 3, mostly because this is only the second “epilogue” period I kinda saw the first and second books as the same thing? Regardless, These add a lot to look forward to in my week. Most books being written in this type of paradigm end up being posted once a week, biweekly, or even just every few months, so having 3 a week *for free*? I have no right to complain.
Silver Linings
Thank you! I did end up taking the break, but I try to position the break at the end of the book for everyone. I usually leave the original author's note intact so people can see what I was thinking at the time, but I'm realizing I should have added on a new one here. That's my bad--sorry! The break itself ended up being about two weeks (it was intended to be one, but chapters were kind of sporadic in the beginning when I was trying to get back into it), but because of how it lines up with my launch schedule I'll probably end up posting Chapters 1 & 2 of Book 4 before the break. If I can push forward enough I'll try to reduce the gap, so it'll end up being about one or two weeks. Basically the last update before the break will be March 12, and then I'll be back by the 26th at the latest!
Silver Linings
Gheraa talks about what he believes happened at the end of Chapter 67 (as he's somewhat familiar with the process Rhoran went through and it explains the "corruption" the Interface labeled the Hand with.)
Zipspratt
Take all the time you need. While I and many others will be upset by the lack of chaps, it's best that you rest, especially with how much you have been writing lately, though I do have a request if you do take a break: a rough estimate on when you shall return, so we know when to check back
ReversePiracy
When did Ethan discover Rhoran’s infection? That one is stumping me.
Silver Linings
Thank you for asking (and sorry for the late reply!) It's hard to pinpoint any one factor for burnout, but honestly it's probably just all the rewriting I've been doing trying to get things right. Gotta get those creative batteries recharged, haha. I appreciate the support though! As for helping, honestly, just following the Zon launches does a lot-I'm really hoping the series takes off properly with the next book.
NWOIT_93
Man, imagine naming something The Meaning of Life. Like, who on earth would do that?
Joeskine Sabbe
I cannot agree more, and have said so in previous comments and in pm to the author. The hope, the connections, the humanity in this story is just beautiful. I'm so sick and tired of the endless gratuitous doom thinking. That's an easy way out. This story confronts hope and has the courage to embrace it. Fighting to protect your humanity and kindness, your empathy. It's the only way I know how to live and still be able to look in the mirror. This story resonates with me so very much. I have nothing to gain from the endless apocalypse stories. These books though? Wow. Just wow.
Eric Ropp
You take the time you need. We will be patiently (well, let's go with politely) waiting for you to continue the story. I'm sure I can speak for all of your fans that we want you healthy and at your best. Don't feel obligated to us by some imagined deadlines. Those are only self imposed. We enjoy your story and are grateful. It would break our hearts to know you fell ill trying to keep up this incredible pace. Thank you for one of the most enjoyable reads I've had in decades. This is coming from someone who has read thousands of books. (The entire Star Wars novel collection @300+ entries for example). Your premise is refreshing and has an air of hope in it that is much needed over the despair and gloom in so many other stories.
Jason Gross
Amazing! I love this series (and especially this book). I'm curious what's generating the close-to-burnout. And if there's anything we can do to help. I mostly have experience with burnout around coding (generally from pushing through frustration, losing touch with why the task matters, or having too much responsibility and not enough power), and it sucks.
Silver Linings
As for a glossary: maybe! I do have a spreadsheet I use to keep track of things, but uh, it needs some cleaning. And updating.
Silver Linings
Chromatic Threads were mentioned back in Book 1 (but were lost in my notes, which is my bad); enough people asked about it that I just brought them back, but I'll add mentions of them earlier in Book 3 in edits. Chromatic/Phantom Roots I believe were the Interface vs crow for the herb needed to help bring Tarin back from his coma (also in Book 1). I'll clean that up!
Jaroslav Horák
I hate to admit it, but I am officially lost. Trying to follow as chapters release, its really hard to remember details about abilities and...is there any hope for a glossary of abilities or something like that? I just spent half an hour trying to look up what Chromatic Threads even do and the best way I found was to download the epub and search there (patreon search is so bad..). Even then, I couldn't find where it was mentioned, doesn't seem the words "chromatic threads" were near it. Now to figure out if Chromatic root and Phantom root were the same thing :D. Seems root was originally supposed to be used in the dungeon, which didn't happen? Please help 😢
