Chapter 45 - Nascent

  When the Burden of Intent exploded, it was not a blast of fire and debris. That would have been of little concern to any of the Apex present. The reality of the event was far more precarious.

  Corvus groans, pulling himself out of the impact crater he’d left in the cavern’s wall. The eruption of raw force had thrown him bodily through the vegetation and embedded him into the stone. As a matter of idle curiosity, he recognizes that the burst of power had killed him. Being ‘dead’ hadn’t lasted for more than a few missing heartbeats before the Animus contained within his spirit revived him, restoring his form to perfect health moments after that.

  He dusts himself off, more indignant than injured. The outflow of power still radiates from the floating citadel, but exponentially less intense than the initial blast had been. Surveying the surroundings, Corvus lets out a disappointed sigh. The verdant and lush environment had been utterly destroyed. The jungle-like foliage lays flattened, compressed, and crushed against the outer walls of the space. The plants reduced to little more than a green and brown pulp.

  Of the other Apex, Corvus notices several others struggling their way out of similar holes to the one he’d just exited. But himself and Mercurial Ascent had fared the worst, having been airborne and closer to the source. A quick glance around allows him to locate the duplicitous wretch, seeing that Mercurial Ascent had not yet revived. The human Apex lays in a broken heap, limbs twisted in unnatural angles with his head resting a few paces removed from the body.

  As a courtesy, Corvus strides across the pasted remains of the vegetation and lightly kicks the other Apex’s head onto the tangled mess of a body. A spark of blue flame licks out from the rent neck, connecting to the head and pulls it into place as the Animus goes to work reviving Mercurial Ascent. Only a moment later, a pained gasp wracks the body as he revives, followed by a string of expletives shouted telepathically while his larynx repairs itself.

  “Oh, do be more civil.” Corvus chides while watching. “We simply had the misfortune to be placed in an inopportune arrangement.” The mangled body snaps back into form piece by piece, limbs righting themselves as joints get repaired.

  “Damn you, ya black chicken.” Mercurial Ascent says as he climbs out of his own crater, to stand next to Corvus. “Here I laid in a mess, and you? You look like you just got out of bed.” The other Apex grumbles, tipping his head side to side with exaggerated popping sounds.

  “The benefits of a longer lifetime, and far greater accumulations.” Corvus says, then shrugs. “I am not too vain to admit that I was briefly dead as well. However my damages were mostly internal and quickly repaired.” He continues, reaching to offer a hand to assist Mercurial Ascent over the edge of the hole.

  The human Apex waves off the aid, opting to levitate himself out and settle onto the muck plastered to every surface of the cavernous hollow. Both of them turn their gaze upwards towards the floating citadel. The Burden of Intent appears wholly intact, aside from having every surface of the obsidian-black inverted-pyramid’s surface scoured clean of the clinging vegetation. From their vantage-point, Corvus and Mercurial Ascent can see that even the immaculate gardens that had decorated the top are wiped away as if they’d never existed.

  “Think that was some type of defensive weapon, or a product of what he’s attempting?” Mercurial Ascent asks, turning to look at Corvus from the corner of his eye.

  Corvus doesn’t answer immediately, taking his time to assess the situation more thoroughly. He watches as several of the less patient Apex scattered around the chamber launch attacks towards the citadel. The arching balls of white fire, bolts of energy, and blades of force are harmlessly turned aside by the outflow of power still radiating from somewhere inside. Not a single strike manages to so much as graze the perfectly smooth surfaces of the pyramid. “It is hard to say. It could be either. Regardless, it appears able to deter the more rash of our associates.”

  Movement at the edge of the chamber captures the attention of both men, two of the Apex that had been near each other both turn and make for the nearest tunnel out of the chamber. They have to excavate it from the compressed debris of the jungle’s remains, but once the opening is revealed, they simply leave.

  Mercurial Ascent chuckles and shakes his head. “Tourists. No stake in which way this shakes out, they just wanted to watch the fireworks. I suppose being blasted into the walls was enough excitement for them.” He finishes with a derisive snort. Then the man lifts a booted foot from the mess of plant-matter. “Or they just valued their continued hygiene.”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  A moment later, a wash of flame spreads from where Mercurial Ascent stands. Even without releasing any excess heat, the bare stone is exposed as the remains of the plantlife is incinerated. The licking tongues of fire pass harmlessly by Corvus, not so much as warming his talons as they consume the debris. But the exposed stone catches both of the Apex’s attention immediately as it’s revealed.

  Aside from where the craters had marred the cavern’s walls, the stone surface of the former jungle’s cavern proves itself to be anything but natural. Markings appear, carved deep into the stone. Runes etched and then allowed to be hidden by the tangled mass of life that had formerly choked every free space available. Mercurial Ascent pours more power into his flames, pushing them outwards further and faster, exposing more and more of the designs.

  Corvus’s eyes widen slowly as he takes it in, “Mercurial Ascent, I believe both assessments are wrong. It is neither a defense, nor a product of the process.” He says cryptically. The crow side-steps so that his claws aren’t straddling one of the carved symbols. “I believe it is a method of charging.”

  And indeed, as the pair watch, the runes appear to be absorbing the power radiating from the citadel. Upon closer inspection, Corvus can see a thin strip of the same obsidian material embedded into the carved channels. “Clever, quite clever indeed.” He mutters, then addresses everyone within his telepathic range.

  Corvus’s voice breaks into the mind of every Apex present. Even those who count themselves his foes allow the contact, for when The Guide speaks, only fools ignore him. “Whether you intend to aid or oppose the working being done here, to remain within this chamber is to accept untold damage being done to your bodies and spirits. I advise all to withdraw, get beyond the edges of the cavern’s walls and shelter in the connecting passages. No benefit will come of subjecting yourselves to what I suspect will follow next.”

  Without waiting to see who heeds his warning and who risks remaining, Corvus turns and starts towards the tunnel he’d entered through. However as he attempts to initiate an Intent-movement, Corvus discovers that the power flooding the area restricts the motion as if trying to push a post through mud. Flaring more Animus power into the ability, Corvus overcomes the additional burden, blinking through the intervening space to follow his own instructions and escape the space.

  Only once he’s several yards into the tunnel does Corvus turn back, watching as other Apex move in similar manners, all but a scant few heeding his warning. To his shock, a figure appears in the mouth of his tunnel and proceeds to saunter down it towards him. Gravitas approaches, looking the crow over before speaking.

  “You look surprised. What’s the matter?” She asks, tone lacking any of the playfulness Corvus typically expects from her. Also unlike normal expectations, the form of the Succubus is exposed, her customary extravagant garb reduced to a few scraps still clinging to her neck and wrists.

  “The preparations shown here far exceed the expectations I had when my splinter visited this place only days prior.” Corvus answers bluntly, frowning with his eyes as his beak dips to his chest. “I had no sense for the enormity of the working or the timing of when it would begin, nor just how much power the Cultivator had amassed.”

  Gravitas crosses her arms over her ample chest, cocking her head at the crow-demon. “You really had no idea. Did you?” She asks, but gives the impression that the question is rhetorical at best. She sighs, shaking her head. “I had convinced myself that this was all some scheme of yours involving that new pet you picked up. But perhaps not. I can’t see how a Faded boy, newly arrived, could have any hand in all this.” She turns back to the tunnel mouth, watching alongside Corvus as The Burden of Intent continues to lazily rotate in the heart of the chamber, spewing out power like an omnidirectional waterfall.

  Corvus goes through the motions of sitting down in a chair, though no furniture supports him, the empty air itself serving as his throne. “Truly, I had no hand nor designs in this. It caught me by surprise as it did all others. Did you notice it?” He asks, gesturing back into the cavern. “The carved runes?” He prods, causing Gravitas to startle.

  “Carved runes? Where?” She asks, tempted to venture back to the edge for a look. But when another surge of power blasts out from the citadel, she thinks better of it. “What do you mean by that? Is that what prompted you to urge us all to flee?”

  The crow simply nods. “Indeed it is. The jungle of this space was but a facade. It hid the true nature of the cavern. I suspect every bit of it is laced with runes and channels of power that are now being filled. To what purpose, I hesitate to even theorize.” He explains as Gravitas’s face takes on a grave expression.

  “You know what he’s attempting, don’t you?”

  Even phrased as a question, there’s no mistaking the accusation. Corvus doesn’t attempt to deny it. “Yes. He possesses three evolved Titles. Powerful ones. The Cultivator, The Creeping Growth, and The Verdant Sage. On their own, each is enough to warrant caution. But he possesses three. He aims to merge them into a single Title around the core of a nascent fourth.” He says, letting the weight of the implications suffuse the words with all the gravity his tone can carry.

  Gravitas stands rooted to the spot, not a muscle twitching. Even when a thunderous boom echoes through the tunnel from another blast-wave emanating from the citadel, Gravitas doesn’t move.

  As the second blast crashes against the walls of the immense cavern, it doesn’t penetrate into the tunnels at all, even the largest of them. The remains of the vegetation isn’t so fortunate. Violently compressed again, it begins to smolder and steam. Then it burns, flashing into flames from just the sheer pressure alone. What does go flooding into the passageways is the smoke, forced outwards by the constant flooding of power.