| There Are Other Worlds Than These [9467]
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| “Chairman!” The crimson-eyed man jolted back to attention, only to realize that entire room was now staring at him. He paused for a moment, attempting to recall exactly what he was doing. Sitting in front of him were roughly a dozen suit-clad individuals around what appeared to be an oval shaped meeting table. Identically colored and labelled folders were in front of everyone else with a mountain of strewed papers in front of him. “As I was mentioning Chairman, we’ve expanded our available supply of Cybercell-D in the Emerald Jewel. The newly restructured Alchemia division has made great strides in the variety of inventory they carry now. It’s safe to say that Kerberos Incorporated will be seeing truly staggering profits this upcoming quarter,” a pantsuit wearing woman continued to explain. However, the Chairman was still rather out of it, still attempting to piece together what was going on. “Did I not give this job up years ago... twice?” he mumbled under his breath. “Is that acceptable Chairman?” “Err, yes of course. That is truly wonderful news Miss Faye,” the crimson-eyed man replied, “I for one say that in order to appreciate these above average predictions, we should call this meeting to an end early!” The gathered individuals stared blankly back. “Now if you excuse me, I have a previous engagement that I must attend.” Almost instinctively, he reached back, grabbing the brown cloak that was draped over the back of the cushy chair he was sitting on. Wrapping it around himself, he quickly attempted to exit the room. “Wait Chairman! You received a new letter during the meeting, I’ve placed it on your desk!” his aide shouted behind him. The disheveled man nodded before approaching the room exit. The door was surprisingly ornate for what was a simple office. Though on closer inspection, it appeared to have several skeletal beings etched into the wood. He paused for a moment, an ominous feeling coming over him, before pushing the door open. Walking down the hallway to his office, he entered the odd looking room. A complete mess, newspapers, various eclectic objects, and what appeared to be cards were strewn haphazardly around the room. He paused for a moment before looking at the back-left corner of the room, as if half expecting someone to be standing there already. Shrugging, he walked over to his desk, grabbing the black envelope, wrapped with a white ribbon. Opening the letter, he pulled out a small piece of paper with a few words scrawled on it. Written on the piece of paper was an address which he immediately recognized as a cafe in the ritzier part of the residential district and a time that he quickly realized was two hours from now. “Hold my meetings for the rest of the day,” the Chairman shouted before grabbing his bag and leaving the room once more. As he walked past his secretary’s office, a visitor entered. The brown-haired office worker answered, replying to the man in a cordial tone. He looked at departing Chairman before looking back at the visitor. “I apologize but Mister Martelli is no longer available for the day. "May I take a message?” There was a crash as bottles, papers, and terra regia hit the ground. The relic whose wrinkled hand caused the commotion stared blankly at the mess on the floor. “Two hundred options and not even a quarter work,” the aged voice sounded more exasperated than anything. How long had he been trapped working as an enchanting consultant? How many eons had it been since he had an actual job before that? You worked for a corporation once. The thought hung there for a moment and the relic was not entirely certain whether the idea was his own or if it belonged to another. That was a good sign. After a moment to prepare himself for the ordeal, the old man reached toward the bamboo walking cane leaning up against his desk. Out of habit he opened a desk drawer and saw in it the white spider mask he had paid no small amount to be commissioned. It seemed like a lifetime ago, long before he had settled into this place he regarded as Hell. The time was almost here though, men could change their names but in their core they remained the same. At least the relic hoped so anyway. His gait was uneasy as he wandered out of the warehouse that served as his workshop. Stylized above the door was a simple word, Historia. His grey beard was trimmed neatly yet still hung about halfway down his neck. A ratty robe covered his hunched frame as he shuffled along. He gave a simple bow to a couple who was strolling past him, of which only the woman returned a smile. “I don’t know why you talk with that insane old enchanter,” her husband sighed. “He’s pleasant enough, besides I heard he’s an army veteran. Served for years,” the woman replied undeterred. “He did give himself a weird title when I asked him what his rank was, said he was an Imperator. Must be one of those funny ranks the mercs on Paludis use.” When he arrived at his destination the cafe was pleasantly empty. A waiter moved over to the relic and seemed prepared at once to remove him as someone’s lost grandfather, “Can I help you sir?” “I’m meeting someone here in a bit,” the old man replied. “At my age I can’t trust these old bones to move very swiftly so I appear to have arrived a few minutes early. A table for two if you would be so kind. And your finest tea.” With a small curt bow, as if the waiter was unsure if the old man was leading him on, the waiter lead the way. As the relic took his seat, the employee gave one final curt remark, “And what should I be looking for in your friend?” “He might not know, but if someone shows up slightly confused ask if they’re looking for Mr. Adich. I’m sure he’ll understand.” A few moments later the Chairman arrived at the cafe. It was a small establishment tucked away in the corner of the shopping district. The tables inside were glass, adorned with metal furnishings and cork placemats. The walls were a dark burgundy with white spiraling embellishments. A mahogany bar was adorned with various devices and ingredients for the shop’s fare. “I take it you’re looking for someone?” The waiter approached the Chairman, before gesturing to the old man sitting at the table. “Mister Adich said he was expecting someone.” The brown-haired man paused for a moment before looking at the waiter. “Of course he is.” He walked over to the table, taking a seat across from the relic. He placed his elbow on the table before placing his head on his hand. “Mister Adich? Of all the monikers you used in the Corporation, I do not recall that one!” exclaimed the crimson-eyed man. It was if several repressed memories were bubbling back to the surface. “Regardless, Terminus was becoming quite boring. Though, I for one did not expect to see you here Imperator. Though, is there not a saying about this? Hell is other people?” “Hell is in the company my dear friend,” the relic said with the first genuine smile in what seemed like an eternity, “and lord knows the two of us are damned. I thought for a moment I had ended up in this god forsaken place alone. You wouldn’t believe how boring it is to actually work for a living. And the way I hear it, this place is so archaic in the way it treats the magical arts. This terra regia crap... I’m certain even the Corporation could have found a better solution than this dribble the people here claim as the epitome of magical arts.” Rolling his eyes the relic took a sip of tea before speaking again, “However unlike our usual song and dance, I did not come here to gripe at you. I came to ask you a question Mr. Martelli. Are you happy with your Kerberos Incorporated? And before you answer that, let me say that I do applaud the name. It must have been so difficult to come up with something so unusual.” There was a laugh that managed to escape the old man’s throat that held none of his usual venom or derision. “That being said if not for your creativity, or in this case lack thereof, I wouldn’t have batted an eye at seeing a news story about a Martelli in the paper. The two together lead me to believe I was not on this accursed rock alone. But that last question has an addition to it. There is something else I need to confirm, have you had dreams lately?” There was no need to go into further detail. If the old man’s theories were correct there would be no need. With bated breath the relic awaited the Chairman’s answer. The business man rolled his eyes. It had been quite a while since he had heard the old man’s “wit”, though it was a rather refreshing change from the usual attempts at flattery he found himself having to deal with from his underlings. He paused for a moment, reflecting on the older man’s question. “I for one attributed such dreams as simply a byproduct of this whole ordeal. After waking up here, I assumed that whatever the force that created Hell was simply playing a practical joke. I still have two sets of memories, one distinctly relating to Terminus and one to...” he trailed off for a moment. “Anyway, I have always had a fantastic memory, so while I still remember it all, I assumed those dreams were just some side effect of the two mixing. I saw a city, filled with many humans, or I suppose laicar, and a rather peculiar spire in the center,” explained the cloaked individual. He sat upright in his chair before continuing, “However, after the initial influx, the dreams stopped reoccuring until recently. While this world is rather mundane for my tastes, it still was suitable for my endeavors. I had spent enough time in the other world building my empire, doing it again here was muscle memory at this point. I grew fond with the name, though I admit Kerberos does not have the same ring to it. Furthermore, I toyed with the name Cyrus here... though Ciro does sound better.” The crimson-eyed chuckled. “Though, since you too have had dreams as well, it most likely refers to the exact same thing. I think you and I have gotten far too familiar with how these things turn out to think otherwise. And, if I am correct in remembering how our meetings tended to go when esoteric matters are involved, I take it you have already done your research?” “I’d stick with Cyrus, you wouldn’t believe how difficult it is to find names these laicar can pronounce. Who’d have known Adachi would give them so much trouble, before you know it everyone is calling you Adich and you deal with it because they don’t know any better,” the old man said with a sniff. “But alas you know me far too well Chairman,” the relic said with a shrug before reaching into a pocket in his robes to remove a small pile of black and white photos. “It’s called The Pinnacle, discovered by explorers in central Paludis.” The first photo hit the table. Luckily the landscape was still enough that even the film's long exposure had not done much to obscure the subject matter. The twisted landscape spread out in all directions with sharp spires of metal, stone, and wood taking the place of functional buildings. “They’re saying that it must have been built with the inspiration of the Vis. There’s not enough natural resources for something like that and the design is utterly unique. Though I think our unique perspective on architecture would argue against that point,” the old man said bluntly. “They may be ruined but you should still be able to discern a bit of original intent from them. But that isn’t what drew me to this particular find.” The next photo hit the table and the relic refused to speak for a moment. The shot was pointing toward a raised platform that seemed to serve as the epicenter of the hellish land, atop which sat an impossibly huge tower. The entire structure seemed to have been hewn from a single slab of obsidian. The floors of the building stretched upwards as if against the advice of the gods themselves. Each window shone against the black background illuminated by something from within the tower itself. “That is what sits at the center and gives the area its name. The structure appears highly advanced running on technology I believe even we would struggle to comprehend. Any attempts to climb the building are limited by individuals with unknown skills. Though descriptions may have been exaggerated there are multiple reports of laicar in black robes with swords.” There was a long pause before the old man spoke again, “Even that I would be willing to forgive but there was one more picture which made me decide that I am going to go there. I do not believe I need to introduce it.” The final damning picture hit the table and even though the relic had stared at it for what surely had amounted to weeks to try to find a flaw or trick of the camera that could have produced it, he was still enraptured by the subject matter. Two figures were the subject matter of the final piece, the first was what appeared to be a laicar male simply walking and which was largely irrelevant. The second was a figure that appeared to be three times the man’s height carved in shapeless black basalt. The thing was animalistic but lacked the definite features that would have placed it easily as a beast. What was more disconcerting and relevant to the pair at the table was the bone-white featureless mask that obscured the beast’s visage. “I am going there Martelli, and for some reason I do not think that I will be back here again,” there was a longing in those words, perhaps even some sort of relief. “My talents are wasted and despite everything I try, this world is not my home.” There was a melancholy wholly unlike the usually witty if irritable Imperator. There was a gnawing inside of him, of something being not quite right in this hell, and it seemed at last he was so close to finding an answer. “I wanted to give you the information and a chance to come along to see the place should you desire. I will not ask you to give up this life to follow a wild tale. I know I have made you do it before… I simply wanted you to have the information to make your own choice. I will say this Chairman, should you desire it I would not mind your company. So what say you, once more unto the breach?” Ciro Martelli’s expression betrayed a mix of muted excitement and a genuine interest in the old man’s proposition. “I do have a company to run...” he seemed to start, “Though I suppose it is just a cheap imitation. The people here have a very archaic understanding of science that makes it rather difficult to get work done.” He picked up the pictures, flipping through them rapidly. “That being said, creating immensely powerful companies, only to leave them is almost a hobby to me now...” He placed all but the final picture back on the table, before looking at it closer. “The existence of alternate planes of existence is well understood here, so if these pictures are exactly what I think they are, perhaps...” Ciro trailed off again before placing the picture back onto the table. “Though I gave up the title Ikikami years ago, it appears as if The Fates are insisting otherwise and a return is in order.” The crimson-eyed man quickly got up, a renewed resolve that he had been sorely lacking returning. “Very well Mister Adachi.” He grabbed his cloak once more, wrapping it around himself. “My company has access to a few personal, high-quality, airships. I will charter a route to the closest landing area, regardless if it is a sanctioned on or not. After we can make our way there on foot. We will leave in three days so make whatever preparations you desire and say your farewells. The details of our departure will be sent to you, simply meet at the landing strip at the outskirts of the city at the scheduled time.” Turning to leave the cafe, he added a final message. “I do believe that our stay in Terminus has gone on far too long and it is due time that we return!” The old man finished his cup of tea before rising. That had gone exceptionally well, not that the arcanist had really thought it would have gone poorly but that it had been a rousing success was a little unexpected. Martelli was always a fan of the occult, can’t say I blame him. A voice that didn’t belong to the old man rumbled somewhere deep in the back of his mind. The other voice, the one that rang empty in his mind, had waxed and waned throughout his time in Araevis. More often than not the small council the man relied on in his mind had largely been silent. How the times had changed. With a personal smile the relic got up, leaving his money on the table. As the arcanist passed the waiter feigned some slight politeness, “Please Mr. Adich visit us again any time.” With a bravado the relic hadn’t felt in years he simply nodded his head before adding, “Please, Hisao is fine.” “Hey you know what I’ve always wondered?” a perky voice echoed through what otherwise was a barren room with a single terminal in the center, save for another individual behind her. “You can just let the thing decide where you go right? However, you can also type in someone’s name and it’ll take you there! What would happen if I typed in my own name? I’ve just fought my way back each time!” The room was made completely out of obsidian, with the illuminated terminal projecting a series of names. The inner-lighting was bizarre, clearly illuminated to reveal the entire room, but with no visible lighting source. A cold draft could be felt blowing in from the entrance. The girl stood in front of the terminal, appearing as if she was moments away from trying just that. She was dressed in a bizarrely modern looking black jacket with a pair of what appeared to be dark-blue jeans. Her shoes were similarly black, though splashes of light purple added some needed color. Her hair was a similar lavender, hanging down to the middle of her back. A peculiar white, sleeveless garment was draped around her. It appeared to be somewhat like a robe, and fit loosely around her. On the back was an odd symbol drawn in thick black brushstrokes, encased in a similarly black colored diamond. A long sheathed katana could be seen fastened to her left. The lavender-haired girl followed up her original question. “I mean whenever I try to leave I end up right here, but I can pretty much go to anyone I know. So, what would happen if I entered the name of someone who was like, completely dead?” “You should know more than anyone that electronics and what I’d assume to be metaphysics were never my forte.” A callous voice responded. Pacing behind the woman was a man who appeared as alien as the room the pair was in. His entire body seemed covered in bandages as though he were the victim of some horrid accident. In places it looked as though the linens had already begun to become soaked through by some dark substance. The man wore baggy solid black pants, however the bandages over his chest were exposed with only what appeared to be an old lab coat to cover them. This outfit, much like his companion’s garment, bore a different odd symbol. A single gunmetal eye warily assessed the computer screen. “If you enter your own name you just end up back in your own room. Seems strange though, it looks like we’re the only two who actually don't just want to sit around waiting for people to show up.” With a shrug the scientist walked over and moved a wrapped hand toward the monitor. The machine perked up with his attention scrolling through what seemed like hundreds of names. “As for putting in the name of a dead man, I recognize at least a few of these as killed in action,” the mummy said bluntly. “This one in particular I don’t believe I’d forget. Even among assassins the girl proved herself horrifying.” In his mind he could still see the recordings. The woman with the pale blue band across her eyes in a jacket that appeared much too large for her. He could see her revel in misery and death as that naginata danced across the battlefield. Each poor soul who fell victim was churned up becoming raw material for the weapon every soldier mentioned with hushed tones. The piece of equipment which earn a title as the most horrifying in the army. While the biologist’s own weapon had later taken up the title, he always had viewed it as inferior to the pure nightmare the woman with a rotten soul could wield. “Do you wonder,” the man began attempting to put away the horrible image, “if any more people will show up? We seem to have terrified the last set pretty well. Pity that they didn’t put up more of a fight.” “Well, it’s not our fault that they didn’t actually end up doing anything interesting! Though, their faces when you and I both summoned were really hilarious. I don’t think that they were expecting that move. I think it was pretty lucky that I managed to pick up how healing works here. The healing spells are familiar, though having to incant them fully is a bit annoying,” explained the lavender-haired woman. She looked up, the spiraling stone structure appearing to continue without limit. Even though the outside of the building appeared to show the tower as having a finite height, from the inside it appeared as if they had entered a new plane. “Well, to our credit, I’m pretty sure we’d be the first to go exploring anyway. After all, the boss can’t use anything technological to save his life. You should have seen the time I tried to teach him how to use an Athena!” explained the girl. She sighed in an extremely over dramatic fashion. “That being said, I was kind of hoping for a bit more excitement here. I spent all that time training with that glasses wearing gardener dweeb after all... That last group made it pretty decently far but I bet the boss would have crushed them even faster than we did!” Walking back to the terminal, she began to scroll through the list of names. “There’s still gaps though, not everyone can be reached from here. There’s a few people I know are still missing! Do they just teleport in here later?” “I’m sure the commander would have sent them running,” the scientist said plainly, “he was nothing if not efficient at that sort of thing.” Looking over the list of names two names immediately stuck out, “Two of them were reported as KIA long before even I had access to their records. I find it odd that they’d not already be here with the others...” The researcher returned to pacing the room, he’d thought about leaving the tower but it seemed that getting beyond a few feet from the door instilled abject terror into his being. For now he contented himself to analyzing the exterior and seeing if there was anything interesting hiding in some of the other rooms. Much to his surprise being a resident of the tower did not grant him free reign of the place. He, like anyone else wishing to see all of the place, was required to defeat rooms to move upward. “I’m honestly more curious what exactly the point of this place is, and what is lying at the top,” the researcher said in a rare bout of honesty. “I can’t imagine this tower was transported and filled with all manner of interesting people for no reason. Pity we can’t just skip up there to see for ourselves.” “I don’t think anyone’s been higher than the boss’s room. I got there once but... well... do the words stun-lock sound familiar to you?” replied the lavender-haired woman meekly. Before the girl could continue, a peculiar beeping noise began to play from the terminal. This was a new noise, wholly unfamiliar to the two of them. The two profiles Feng just finished looking at were brought up on the monitor, as the beeping steadily began to increase in volume. “The Chairman and... the Imperator?” the woman muttered questioningly as she looked at the details of the profile. “What stupid titles.” Leaves and a shower of insects flew upward to greet the impressive airship as it touched down in a small empty field. Scouts had reported this semi-level area as the closest point traditional vehicles could make it toward the Pinnacle. The areas that lie closer to the distortion seemed to react with violent sudden weather and geographic changes. All of which worked to prevent a closer landing site from being feasible. The Imperator’s feet finally met solid ground and for that Hisao was immensely grateful. The nausea in his stomach was slowly subsiding though two months by air had irritated the man more than usual, if such a feat was possible. “I much preferred when I could walk on air,” the relic grumbled. “You would think that so many centuries of advancement would allow some quick transport but this place still looks so barbaric. No wonder they keep finding new ruins in this place.” Turning to face the Chairman the arcanist shrugged, “I guess now we trek inland. Would that I could still get us there quickly but sadly this world is far too traditional for that portion of my skills. Lord knows I wouldn’t even begin to know which kind of that stupid regia crap I’d need to mine a small tower of to use the ability.” As the airship took off once more, the Chairman surveyed the area around him. The flat landing site quickly dropped off with a sharp decline. On the horizon waiting The Pinnacle, the tower appearing to flicker in and out of sight like a heat mirage. The terrain of Palidus was notably rocky near this area. However, outside of a few tall cliffs such as this one, it was thankfully rather flat. Instead of the sheer cliffs found near the northern part of the continent, the terrain consisted of mostly rolling hills covered with brush plant life. Interestingly, there was no wildlife in sight, perhaps due to the uneasy feeling that engulfed individuals as they approached the tower. The morning sun slowly climbed through the sky, as the two had arrived moments past dawn. It would be at least a few days walk to reach the tower from this distance. Though after months of travel, not to say that the luxury airship was not befitting to a man of his caliber, further travelling wasn’t a burden. Thankfully, they wouldn’t have to walk. The crimson-eyed man cracked his knuckles and began to rub his hands together. It had been years since he had tried. “Laicar bodies, while hardy, never did reach the potentials of the old human bodies. So, while I have all but lost a large portion of my former skills... a few things remained. He reached into his bag, pulling out what appeared to be a deck of cards. Fantastic pictures were printed on each card with titles such as The Moon and The Magician labelling the figures with silver banners. As he held them in his hands, they were quickly engulfed with a dim red glow that slowly grew in vibrancy. “Augur. What an interesting title to give someone,” he muttered under his breath. Ciro placed his hand on the ground, the soil below him beginning to shift and warp through an unknown power. The ground below the two erupted upwards, raw material from the ground floating helplessly in the air. “I still remember the old things,” he said. From his fingertips appeared dozens of thin strings of energy, as if he were a puppeteer. Wrapping around the material, it formed a silken cocoon around the earth. With a bright flash, a loud clunk could be heard as a large object fell onto the ground. A peculiar vehicle for this world, it contained four separate wheels connected with long axles. The red colored vehicle had an open seating area above, four doors separating a front and back seat. The wheels were wider than normal, suitable for use off the streets. The seats were upholstered in white leather with wooden accenting throughout. Moving to the front, left door, he opened it, sitting carefully in the driver’s seat. “Imagine if I did this earlier! I would have either been treated as technological genius or a pariah.” He closed the door as the relic took a seat on the passenger side. “Not that I mind either way.” With a firm press on the accelerator, the vehicle launched forward at breakneck speed down the side of the landing zone towards the tower on the horizon. The wind leapt at the old man’s hair sending the already disheveled mop moving every which way. Outwardly the relic remained stoic, his grey bushy brows in a constant furrow. The creases Hisao had earned over centuries seemed to deepen even more as the pair continued their journey inland. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of silence, the Imperator finally managed to speak, “Speaking as someone who learned to embrace the title of pariah I can’t say I’d have envied you Martelli.” There was something akin to pity in the relic’s voice though what exactly it was touching on seemed as much a mystery to the old man as it was to his companion. “Sometimes the voices, the weird glances, and the constant death threats can become more than a little tiring,” Hisao said feigning a smile. “I’m sure even someone of your stature will find that after a while it becomes tiring having to deal with death threats. Not that you’d have anything to worry about. However, much like towers which explode every few months, even the buzzing of gnats can become irritating if subjected to it long enough.” Ciro initially responded with silence, preferring to simply dwell on the sound of the landscape. The tower on the horizon appeared to grow, as they approached it at blistering speed. As they travelled, the already arid landscape quickly began to grow even more lifeless. Cloud cover began to intensify, as if a storm was approaching. Regardless, there was no moisture in the air to even suggest a rainfall would occur. The ground appeared to grow more solid as well. What originally was a bumpy ride from the loose undergrowth and dirt began to solidify. It felt manufactured, and distinctly inorganic. Even the right earth tones began to fade into dull monochrome. The air felt stale as well, the wind dying down until the only air currents were formed by the vehicle. “I suppose that is where we differ Mister Adachi,” Ciro replied after an equally long time. “You are correct, they are gnats. Though, everything appears as gnats when one has ascended far enough. When faced with an insurmountable presence, what is a gnat to do except irritate?” A devilish smirk appeared on his face. “However, their attempts were always material. Destroy this. Demolish that! But what legacy do those actions hold when faced with the power of creation itself? To be honest, after a while I found it all rather charming. A petulant outburst in order to grab my attention!” The crimson-eyed man laughed loudly. “The irony is that these actions were often caused by those who called themselves gods! And yet, every time I rebuilt it all from the ground up and every attempt pushed me even further. I think our friend Raifuku phrased it to me the best. How the mighty have fallen... and bounced to the top! “Every attempt to tear me down only allowed me to climb further. In the end they called me the Ikikami! It makes you wonder who truly is divine.” Before he could continue, Ciro was forced to a sudden grinding halt. They had gotten much closer to the tower, an hours walk at most to the outskirts of the ruin. He felt a strength sapping away at him, the strings of energy that appeared from his fingertips began to fade away, reaching their limits. However, at the same time, a compelling urge to approach the structure overcame him. The two exited the vehicle, as he breathed out a sigh and relinquished control over his construct. The vehicle disintegrated back into the dust it originally was born from. Turning to face the tower, he muttered in passing, “Well then, it seems as we are almost home.” All around them the crumbling corpse of a city welcomed the duo into its decaying arms. The very air seemed tainted by an other-worldliness that the lands of Paludis could not stomach. The relic had read that the land here was feral, that it resisted every attempt to be tamed. This didn’t not seem true of the blighted town that surrounded the eldritch tower before them. The ground appeared ashen grey as though the life itself had been drained from it. There was a crystal clear line where the green vegetation of the paludian jungle refused to taint itself. Beyond this delineation of contamination there was only a sparse collection of weeds the same ashen shade as the ground they seemed to struggle from. All around Hisao twisted spires of metal, wood, and stone lurched skyward. They seemed, cast strikingly against the gloom, to be appealing toward the heavens for absolution. Whatever otherness had driven this place onto Araevis seemed to at once both repulse the old man and fill him with a deep nostalgia. This corrupted township the Imperator and the Chairman now walked looked as though it had been designed to be a major metro street. Aside from the twisted spires, the area looked like a modern city layout. Even accounting for the twisted structures which hid behind the sidewalks, if one assumed their twisted size and composition differences were the result of different modern buildings they could be rationalized here. A sense of ominous dread was beginning to well up in the aged arcanist. The more he walked down the empty street, the more his mind seemed to fill in the negative spaces with a vision of a city that would put Terminus to shame. The place Hisao knew in his heart to be his home. Something about the layout drove home the fact that if this area had been just a little bigger he could have mapped his way to the Sougi Towers. For the sake of his companion’s sanity, and partially to save what shred of his own he could, the Imperator kept the connection silent. The crumbling silent visages of humans were crowding the sidewalks as the duo passed. In the reports visitors had described the statues as being in strange and sometimes awkward poses. However, the more the Imperator looked the more normal it seemed these statues were. He caught a few looking across the street checking for traffic, some just casually walking, and one he was sure was holding the ghost of a cell-phone up to his ear. Wordlessly the old man shuffled along, the air of this sacrosanct mausoleum preventing his usual slew of witty quips and verbal jabs. That was until he saw It. Before the pair the statue rose in the middle of the street, unlike all those of its other kin. The creation stood nearly fifteen feet tall cut from what appeared to be a single piece of basalt. The black stone seemed to have been hewn and carved by an expert sculptor as even unforgiving medium seemed to still ripple with the life of the beast it depicted. It sat hunched on all fours, each line of muscle gleaming beneath the sun's caress. Centuries of work had allowed Hisao to recognize the creature’s face in an instant. There weren’t many explanations for how that bone-white mask, which took away the biological nature of the creature, came to be. To many it would appear otherworldly, and Hisao knew it was. In all his time on Araevis he knew not of a single report from all the hosts of demons which appeared to mimic the creature he was sure was standing before him. In a mix of awe and disdain the old man could only mutter, “And with this all doubt dies.” The sense of building nostalgia washed over him all at once as he saw the beast in front of them. Most of the other rumors Hisao had mentioned could have easily been brushed away as coincidence. But this one... to see the beast that was in the picture in person. It caused an odd feeling to bubble up. Homesickness perhaps? The bone mask was shaped like an avian’s, perfectly circular with a large protruding beak. It was a weak one; that much he could already tell from experience. Years of dealing with these creatures had made him all too familiar with how strong they could become. He had ascended to such a level in his past that the weaker ones were simply inconsequential. That being said, to the ordinary, these beasts proved to be a dangerous threat. “I think our arrival is long overdue then,” he muttered before resuming the walk through the desolate city. The Pinnacle drew closer, the sheer majesty of the structure visible only from so close up. While many of this world would view this building as a mystic creation from the outside to him, it looked rather ordinary. He could have easily spotted his old office from this distance away. It was distinctly different in material though. Made of pure obsidian, it was a wonder that such a tall building was even capable of standing. Hundreds of windows lined the sides of the circular building, all glowing from the inside with an ominous, multicolored lights. A single thin spire capped the top, extended far up into the sky. This was further impressive as such a tall building was nearly impossible to construct with the means available in Araevis. However, motion near the front of the building caught his eye. Years of training had made him acutely aware of any potential threat. Furthermore, the desolate environment around them was stagnant, making any life an anomaly that was easy to identify. “Took them long enough. Too bad I’m about to win.” The lavender haired woman and mummified man were hunched over what appeared to be a prop table. A game of chess sat on top, the woman moving white. She paused for a moment, looking at the board before picking up a pawn in her hand. “And dut dut dut,” she intonated as she moved the pawn diagonally over several of her opponent’s pieces before it reached the opposite side of the board. “King me!” “Remind me never to wager that you’ll win a game of chess,” the researched muttered before standing up. The researcher’s eyes darted between the pair approaching the structure. After getting the Frey girl to stop fiddling with the console in the building, Feng had managed to get more than just the pair’s titles. There were few things that irked the former assassin more than the inability of the Court to bring humans to heel, and the principle reason for this was now slowly walking up the hill. “Ciro Martelli, or perhaps Chairman,” the bandaged man began with his usual condescending tone, “As much as your ability to resist your superiors irks me I have no cause to bar your way. However, you walk with a wanted criminal. A man convicted of treason and far worse. His head is mine.” “Always the irritating ones who know me,” the old man muttered to his partner. With a small sigh the arcanist actually looked at the pair before the tower. The girl he could place quickly, the number nine drifting in his head before deciding she was not the researching type. Her bandaged companion proved much harder to place, at first his demeanor stunk of the ritual doggishness of the number twelve, but that coat reminded him of a man he once knew. Horns and silver smoke clouded his vision before being dismissed. “Four and nine,” the old man called nonchalantly, “I’ve spent much too long in this hellhole of a world to be discarded at this doorstep.” Many assumed that Hisao’s limp carried over from his immense age. Rarely did that see that beneath the formless robes the man’s left leg was now a solid black mass ending in a point. At where the knee should have been the limb articulated much like an arachnid’s. Hisao muttered a word, completely unnecessary but for so long was it held inside him. Those six letters ended up being a catharsis as from the old man’s leg a river of formless black poured downward piling upon itself until at last a beast’s visage arose linked to the old man’s lower half by the same dark substance that composed it. The ebony monster appeared to be a eyeless spider twelve feet tall and six feet in length. With wordless determination the vizard stared down the duo before him with a pitiless gaze. “You people are the reason I end up spending a disproportionate amount of time reattaching limbs to people,” Lucia said in a decidedly annoyed tone of voice. As the hold man released the corrupted power, the lavender haired girl didn’t seem to flinch much. While her appearance often betrayed it, she did possess a staggering strength even among others of her kind. “You know Moira trained me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as intimidating as that.” The casually dressed woman looked over at her compatriot who was already threatening to unsheathe his sword. Feng always had a particular look on his face that signaled a rampage. Resigning herself to what was about to happen, the lavender haired girl placed her hand on the sword that hung to her side. The blade instantly shattered on contact, dissolving into thousands of glass shards the congealed back together to create a new form. A towering woman dressed in noble regalia stood to her side. In her hand was a silver rapier, formed from a metal that was distinctly foreign to this world. Her color palate was monochromatic, save for lavender eyes that shone behind an empty knight’s helmet. The construct rushed forward, dozens of chains erupting from her chest towards the corrupted man. Made of pure gold, they travelled in wide-arcs, apparently free from the effects of the physical world. They surrounded the elder, moments away from contorting around him. “Before you continue,” Ciro said in a distinctly relaxed tone of voice. As the girl turned to look at him, the Chairman simply pointed towards her companion. A sudden weight fell on all gathered members, a level of power that easily eclipsed all of them appearing for the first time in ages. The bandaged man was struggling against what appeared to be another summoned construct. This one was in the form of a young man dressed in various gold and silver silks. The fabrics created an ornate tunic, fastened at the waist with a thin silver belt. The being’s face possessed a stoic, lifeless expression. Its eyes were obscured by a thick red ribbon wrapped around his head. The words The Magician could be seen written in black on the ribbon. In his hand were twin matching longswords made of a dark-red metal. The strikes clashed against the bandaged man’s sword, the two locked in a temporary stalemate. “Does everyone have a summon now?” interjected Lucia in a huffy tone of voice. Ciro flicked his pointer finger up lazily, hundreds of puppet strings erupting from his fingertips. While six latched onto his construct, the others dove into the ground below him. Within seconds an immense iron maiden appeared from thin air. The two halves were separated, the back behind Feng, the front portion behind his construct. At his command, the maiden could easily skewer the two. “Now, before we continue. I would like to clarify that this is not the first two on two fight I have had with your kind. If my frankly prodigious memory is correct, which it always is, I was the only one who made it out of that fracas alive. While I would gladly repeat that experience, I do question why we are indulging in this.” Ciro turned to face the bandaged man who was moments from being skewered. “While my friend may have been wanted at one point, I do not believe that such jurisdiction transcends dimensions of dimensions,” explained the crimson-eyed man. “I’m pretty sure it was your friend who decided to go all kaijuu,” quipped Lucia. The vestige disappeared, the iron maiden along with it. “If your kind are also here, my suspicions have been confirmed. We have all been drawn towards the tower for one reason or another. A land so foreign has no need for ancient conflicts such as ours. I dare say they have problems of their own,” the Chairman said in a surprisingly serious tone. Lucia paused for a moment, as she halted her attack as well. The noblewoman faded as well, reforming into her sheathed sword. “I think he’s right Feng. There’s going to be enough fighting that I don’t think we need this one now. Though if people were already struggling to pass the trails, I don’t think it’s gotten easier adding these two.” She looked at Hisao, giving him a peculiar glance. “Also, this might just be me, but I don’t think the boss would like it if we killed him. He’s a bit too sentimental sometimes.” “The commander is-” the bandaged man began indignantly. His breath caught in his throat, he had heard rumors of Martelli’s strength but this was something else. Meanwhile the old man atop that horrid abortion again sanity seemed to gloat as though he had been the one to overpower the researcher. “I doubt that he would care if I eliminated an unwanted-” “Your commander was known to speak with me,” Hisao said while an echo of a deeper voice rang out from the beast his body now rode upon. The discord of that noise was music to the old man’s ears. As much as it pained him, however, the arcanist released his vistra casually returning to earth. “And while the last time I spoke to him I believe my language was unkind, Izunuri is the only man to hold my respect in the demon arts. Would be a shame if I had to teach you how well earned my former position in the Court was.” “He does have a title Imperator,” Feng spat. “You don’t seem like the type who would use it,” Hisao smiled back. “I would love to see how high and mighty you act without your attack dog.” “And you without yours. Do not think me all that different taichou,” the causal stress of that word seemed to cut far deeper than if the arcanist had forgotten it altogether. As silence fell between the pair for what seemed like an eternity. Finally the bandaged researcher sheathed his sword before casually moving out of the way to allow the newcomers passage. Lucia clapped her hands together excitedly. “Well then, let’s go!” The girl turned towards the doorway. The gateway was imposing in size and structure. While the building appeared futuristic, the doorway appeared staggeringly old fashioned. The form was of a large sliding doorway, of a distinctly oriental theme. Lucia snapped her fingers, the ground beginning to shake as the massive doorway opened. “Before you enter, I have to warn you. The moment you pass through these doors, you can’t go past the outskirts of this place. In fact, sometimes the pull can be so strong that you don’t even want to leave this tower,” the noblewoman explained in a surprisingly serious tone. “We have already made peace with our departure. After all, it is not as if we belonged in this world in the first place. I do believe history will forget that we even existed soon enough,” the Chairman replied. The lavender-haired captain nodded before leading the way into the central chamber. As Feng followed behind the group, the immense doors slid close once again. The entire tower seemed to come alive, the sounds of interlocking gears and mechanisms hidden from view reaching deafening levels. A loud bell rang, signaling the end. Gesturing to the terminal, Lucia pulled up the index of names once again. Inexplicably, both Ciro’s and Hisao’s names had already been added to the registry. “They come from everywhere on this world. Some come on grand quest, some accidently stumble and find this place. The more adventurous lot even try to take on the tower’s challenge and climb to the top, but no one has been able to even come close to completing it yet. Until then...” The girl smirked, content to end the sentence on that note. After all, the best quests were the ones that had a juicy mystery attached to it! “When you’re ready, just select your name on the Terminal. It does the rest for you. I’ll head back now Feng, we’ll hang out later!” The healer pulled up her profile. The Medic was bolded as a title on the top of the screen. She twirled to face the group. “See ya later!” she said optimistically with a smile before pressing the key. A brilliant flash of light engulfed her, the sensation of being pulled out of time and space itself came over her. It was difficult for her to gauge how long she was travelling, feeling both like only an instant and an eternity had passed at the same time. Regaining her composure, she acclimated herself with her surroundings. She stood at the entrance of an ornate stone mansion, situated in an ever expanding grassy field. The sun hung above, signaling that it was a little past noon. The mansion behind her was ancient, constructed of chiseled marble and granite. Ivy covered it, growing from the stone itself to further emphasize its age. She walked up the staircase, pushing the dark doors as the creaked open. The House of Metzer-Frey. Home sweet home. The bandaged man cut the line sighing as he accessed the terminal. Titles scrolled by quickly until at last it settled on a the words The Biologist. With one last look behind his shoulder the researcher allowed a final quip, “Do try to put up a fight old man.” Before the white bandages disappeared from the foyer. He felt as though his very soul was ripped asunder, a sensation that was both exhilarating and unnerving in equal measure. When the feeling finally stopped Feng could feel his hidden wounds leaking more than usual. Brushing off his quivering stomach he stepped forward into a chorus of noise. The large area seemed pulled out of a bad movie, but in reality it was a recreation of a building he knew far too well. This was the lowest floor named after hell itself. Behind him sat a portal, in other days it led to the twilight sands, now though it was the way beyond his challenge. Lining the room were dozens of cages on each of which was a bone white mask. A smile revealed broken decayed teeth. Let them come. “Why do they always think themselves so much wittier than they are,” the relic sighed without a hint of irony. “Do take care Chairman, perhaps I’ll come to visit like the old times.” Unable to hide his excitement the relic walked forward to a screen already recognizing him. The Imperator. Perhaps there was another hidden in the depths for the men who had once borne the title before him. Now though the relic didn’t care. A familiar feeling washed over him as space and time were ripped asunder. When he at last felt the final lurch of his gut the relic opened his eyes into a place it had been far too long since he had visited. Around him towered library shelves several stories tall extending as far as the eye could see before him. A rustling behind him caused the arcanist to turn toward a familiar fireplace, this time with three seats rather than the usual single chair. Two beings were already in heated debate over a book that rested on a table in the center of the area. Even without seeing their faces he recognized the noise. His spider and his fox. Never had the relic felt such joy to listen to that argument. Always the voices. The room was now empty save for him. Ciro stood for a moment, taking in the atmosphere of the place. As he died, he had made a grand claim. He had insisted that he would conquer any other worlds he appeared in as he conquered the last. For this world… perhaps it was this tower… Such idyllic thoughts would have to be saved for later. The crimson-eyed man followed the rest, walking over towards the terminal and searching for his own name. The profile was brought up, The Chairman title feeling quite suitable. He had been called many names in his life, but this one was always the most nostalgic. Before pressing the key, he looked towards the shadows that filled the edges of the room. “You always were faster than me. I wonder if you got here first,” he announced to the seemingly empty room before pushing the button. A nauseating feeling came over him as he disappeared from the room. Travelling through space and time were never his preferred means. It was as if his entire body was being split and reformed at the same moment, existing in two identical states and flickering rapidly between them. If it happened to anyone but himself, Ciro would have loved to study it further. He appeared in an empty office room. One that immediately put him at easy. The room was enormous, befitting a man of his rank. The décor was sparse, consisting of mainly modern-style furniture, though strategically chosen to draw the focal point of a person who entered towards the back where an ornate desk sat. It was made completely of glass, metal arches providing support. Both the glass and the chrome were polished, reflecting the light entering through the ceiling to floor windows that lined the right wall of the room. It was night, though the artificial light of the city around him provided more than enough illumination. Ciro Martelli walked towards the window, taking a moment to look out at the city around him. This was his Grand Metropolis, the first of his crown jewels. The Sougi Tower and its twin sat opposite from each other, the lights in the other building completely dark. From the penthouse level, he looked down at the streets below. Tiny dots of vehicles moved on the roads, the insect scale bodies of people walking on the streets accompanying them. Several other buildings covered the landscape, but none could reach the same height. The calmly removed his cloak, hanging it on a metal rack near the doorway before walking towards his desk. He pulled the office chair out, the wheels rolling stiffly on the carpeted floor. Taking a seat, he pulled himself forward towards his desk. Reaching into his pockets, he pulled out his deck of cards. Placing them one by one on the surface. It was as it should be, the pieces back in place. Ciro Martelli, the Puppetmaster, the Madman, the Journalist Extraordinaire! The Ikikami. The Living God. |
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