Forged Legacy

Harvey and Tyler carefully escorted their mother back home while Eleanor struggled to carry Max. With their home still not fully repaired, Mackenzie and her daughter followed close behind, while Cash and Celeste turned away anyone else. Despite his order to go home and gather their belongings, a few persistent individuals looked to him for answers now that his aura wasn’t bearing down on them. Harvey ignored them, allowing Celeste to play bodyguard while he tended to his mother. She could barely walk as a torrent of emotions rampaged through her body.

Finally stumbling through their front door, they gingerly set her down on the couch. “I need to see him.”

Harvey hesitated, looking to Tyler and the angels for advice. He didn’t want to deny his mother a chance to say goodbye to the man she loved more than life itself, but that didn’t mean that farewell had to happen right now. Steve’s body wasn’t going anywhere, and everyone was volatile at the moment. So much had happened in so little time, and he wanted to give them time to recover before dropping another bombshell. He himself was barely fighting through the pain, but his monstrous Willpower stat helped him keep his cool under the pressure. The others weren’t so lucky.

“Are you sure, Mom? I don’t think now is the best time to process this,” Harvey said.

Her voice was small and shaky as she wiped tears from her eyes. Cassandra replied, “Please.”

Sighing, Harvey pulled the body out of his spatial ring, carefully laying it on the other couch opposite his mother. Cassandra shot up, reaching for her husband and pulling Harvey to set Steve on her lap. Harvey obliged, setting him down as if he were lying down on the couch with her, using her legs as a pillow. Ignoring the gaping wound in his chest, she gingerly stroked his face. Despite knowing exactly what was about to happen to him when he chose to use his Father’s Sacrifice skill on Harvey, Steve didn’t look scared. Harvey couldn’t quite nail down the words to describe his father’s final visage, but it was almost… proud? Content? Grateful that he could both see his sons succeed against insurmountable odds before helping them one last time.

Harvey shuddered as the tidal wave of emotions tried to crush him once more, so he turned away.

[Don’t try to guess what was going through Steve’s head in those final moments. That will drive you insane. Just focus on the great man he was during all the rest of them.]

Thanks.

Quietly making room for Max and Eleanor to crowd around their Dad, Harvey walked over to Cash and Celeste. “Can you keep an eye on them? I’m going to grab what I can before we need to make our way back to the battlefield.”

“Sure,” Cash replied.

“Is that the only place you can conjure the portal?” Celeste asked.

Harvey shook his head. “No, but I want everyone to see what Heaven and Hell left behind. Putting the portal in between also shows what’s left of humanity that I’m not picking sides.”

“You’re not? I know Heaven wasn’t the best to you, but I’d hope you’re still aligned more with the Faithful than the Sinners,” Celeste replied.

“There never were any Faithful or Sinners. Until the trial ended, they were all still human. I don’t know what will happen with their Race now that I’ve taken control, but anyone the System decides to send home now cares more about Earth than fanatical worship or destructive indulgence.”

“Still, you’re making them walk past a lot of bodies just to get home,” Cash added.

“Good. If they weren’t forced to make them, the least they can do is see what happens to anyone who tries invading my home. I know it’s harsh, but the world has changed. Everyone in my trial was forced to come to terms with that, and I can’t afford to let humanity think they can sit around and wait for an angel or a demon to save them.”

He could tell that they wanted to argue, but held their tongues. He knew his decision would expose millions to some pretty grisly sights, but they couldn’t bury their heads in the sand any longer. The only thing he felt guilty about was all the children wading through the blood-soaked ground, but it was a price he was willing to pay.

His eyes softening, he added, “I’m sorry.”

Both pulled him into a quick hug before leaving him to gather his things. His first stop was the garage, where he packed up his forge, anvil, and all the rest of his blacksmithing tools that he didn’t keep in his spatial ring. His profession had grown so much in here, but he hoped his next workspace was bigger. The old smithy back in Veils End had more space, but was simultaneously falling apart around him. The garage was well-lit and comfortable, but a bit too cramped for working on larger projects. Whatever his next setup ended up looking like, he needed enough space to fit the Protean Foundry the System had waiting for him. He knew that the pieces of the Father’s ancient treasure were much smaller than the boosted versions provided by the System to facilitate the trial, but he didn’t know exactly how small his would be, especially since the System had combined both Heaven and Hell’s segments into one.

Harvey hadn’t really thought about the rewards from completing the hidden objective of the System quest – too busy with his father’s death and all the changes to their Legacies that came with it – but seizing control of the Protean Foundry opened a lot of doors for him. At the very least, he now had his own steady supply of Genesis Matter to use on upgrading weaves, creating ink, or building whatever he could cobble together a suitable blueprint for. There was no way he’d be conjuring full-blown creatures any time soon, but according to Cash, these foundries could create anything. Gears, springs, bolts, and even more complex machinery could be printed with absolute precision. Sure, it was probably a waste of genesis matter to use such a powerful artifact to 3D print a few bolts, but combining it with all the high-tech engineering data stored inside the Cognition Matrix courtesy of Aurelia, Harvey had no doubt he could build some powerful weapons.

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His understanding was that finding the Protean Foundry played a large part in the Father’s success at building such a powerful faction, and Harvey was going to do the same. Rid Earth of any and all invaders before building up a faction of his own. One where people were free to explore their paths no matter what they were, as long as they were smart enough to let others do the same. If they weren’t, he’d forge a very special bullet with their name inscribed on it.

Once his Profession tools were all tucked away in his main ring, he went up to his bedroom and threw his bed, nightstand, and dresser into one of the spare rings. Spatial storage made life a lot easier, but carrying everything you owned at all times just wasn’t practical. The rings stored every item as efficiently as possible, wasting almost no space as they automatically played the multiverse’s best game of Tetris with whatever got shoved inside them, but the space was still limited. Now that he had two extra ones, he decided to throw everything that wasn’t bolted down inside. His siblings had shown no indication of getting up from their father’s side, so Harvey went through their rooms one by one and vacuumed up everything he could find. None had many personal belongings since they couldn’t bring anything not on their person with them when the System arrived, but at least they would each have a comfortable bed and warm blankets wherever they ended up sleeping that night.

Once all the bedrooms were taken care of, he packed up the kitchen, bathrooms, and everything else nobody was actively sitting on. It all took less than 20 minutes, making him the most efficient moving company that Earth had ever seen. It had been a good distraction, but now he was forced to look at the body held in his mother’s arms once more. He stood patiently until the others started to grow restless.

“Sorry, I’ll go pack,” Eleanor croaked as she stood up.

“I already got everything,” Harvey assured her. “When you guys are ready, we can make our way to the portal.”

It took some convincing for Cassandra to let go of her husband, but she eventually relented. Throwing the last pieces of furniture into his ring, Harvey led them all outside. A horde of people had gathered outside their front door, but a gentle push of Harvey’s aura cleared a path. Instead of yelling at anyone, he let them follow his family out of the neighborhood. Soon, more neighborhoods joined the procession, until thousands of humans followed in lockstep behind him. He’d planned to wait on sending the System message until he arrived where Heaven’s endless dawn met Hell’s perpetual dusk, but the growing cacophony of people asking what was going on made him send it early. The people gathering didn’t know who they were following. They were just lost sheep looking for any sense of direction now that the angels sent to guide them through the multiverse had all abandoned humanity.

Quest Update - Crusade of Dusk and Dawn - Integration Trial

Message from Trial Champion: Both Heaven and Hell have fallen. I, Harvey Thorne, have slain the Commanders of both sides after watching them turn their backs on humanity. They aimed to control us, conquer our home, and scrap it for parts, but Earth will never be a cog in another faction's machine. In one hour, I will open a portal back to Earth in the heart of the battlefield between Heaven and Hell. Those who wish to live as cattle in Heaven or Hell will be taken there, while those willing to fight for Earth’s freedom will be brought home. The System knows what is in your heart.

Probably, and I doubt most people will believe me when I say I had good reasons to kill Brutus. To be honest though, I don’t really care who believes me. I don’t have to prove myself to anyone. At least this way, the only people allowed to come home have the will to fight for Earth whether they trust me or not.

The message arrived in front of everyone simultaneously, causing an uproar through the crowd. People shouted in confusion, a mix of anger and fear spreading like a virus.

“The Thornes? I know them!” a man shouted, pointing towards Harvey and his mother. He was close to the front of the group, someone from their neighborhood who had gotten to know his family over the months of classes and church services inside the same chapel.

“You killed our Commander? You’re the reason the angels abandoned us?” another man asked.

Using his aura to carry his words, Harvey replied honestly. “Yes.”

Before he could explain, the two men rushed him. Neither had any weapons, but seemed to think their fists could break through his armor. Harvey pulled out his revolver and prepared to make an example out of the leader, but Celeste pushed his hand down. Instead, when the first got close enough, she kicked him square in the chest, sending him flying back into the crowd where he bowled over a half-dozen people. The second man tried to stop himself, but ended up stumbling right into her grip. Celeste hoisted him up and threw him into the dirt. Both had enough stats from their Profession levels to survive the attacks, but neither was in good shape. Standing tall to show off her angelic frame, she blasted her aura into the crowd.

“You are not the only ones Heaven abandoned! My name is Celeste, a former Captain of Heaven’s army, and one of the angels you should be thanking for saving all of your lives. My soldiers and I fought, bled, and died to save you, but we never would’ve won this war without Harvey. Our Commander knew that, but instead of thanking him, he put a spear through his father’s back, cut off my wings, and tried to kill us all.”

Boosting himself into the air, Harvey added his own piece. “Under Brutus, you would’ve lived as slaves. You’re all too weak to survive on your own, something Heaven did their absolute best to ensure. If you don’t believe me, then you can try and attack me again, but I won’t be as gentle as Celeste!”

Floating back down, he picked up Max and carried him out the silver gates. Luckily, the battlefield near Heaven was mostly clear of bodies since all of today’s battle had taken place in Hell, but he still tried to distract his brother from all the burn marks and bloodstains coating the rubble. The humans coming from Hell’s side would have a much darker trek ahead of them, but there wasn’t anything Harvey could really do about that.

Cassandra and Eleanor, who had only ever seen the battlefield from a distance, grew quiet as they picked their way through. His clear threat kept the rest of the crowd at a distance, leaving them undisturbed as they made their way to the spot Harvey planned to open the portal. Thousands of people arrived over the next hour, with the group stumbling out of Hell significantly smaller than the one coming from Heaven. At first, it looked like the Faithful might launch a crusade of their own, but a few choice words from Harvey strangled that mess in its cradle.

He’d waited the full hour to make sure both portals being used by the Angels and Demons were closed, then with a thought he opened a new one. Instead of the swirling gold and red, this one looked like the same rainbow haze used by the Loom. It was massive, allowing hundreds of people to walk through at a time. Boosting himself high into the air, Harvey hovered where everyone could see him.

“You know, there’s so much I want to say right now, but I think I’ve made myself clear already. I am not willing to let our planet fall into the hands of someone else. I’ve fought angels, demons, and undead to make sure that doesn’t happen, and I’m going to keep fighting whoever I have to until we’re free. I could use all the help I can get, but only if you’re willing to put your life on the line for liberty. If not, you can quite literally go to Hell.”

Floating down, he ushered his family into the portal, making sure they had all disappeared before following them into the light.

[A little on the nose, don’t you think?]

When else am I going to get to say that?