46: Jury
As the chained Pravala’s head slumped, Eris watched the light surrounding the woman fizzle away until the consuming darkness of the room engulfed everything. That was, except for the regal-looking woman standing beside her like a glowing ghost. Pravala’s expression remained solemn and flat, letting out a terse breath as Eris’s gaze flicked over. The woman waved a hand and the darkness lightened until both of the Echoes were standing in a different room.
A concrete floor and grey walls stared back at them. A prison cell, obviously, but a respectable one. There was a small shelf of books, a dark blue carpet rolled out over the floor, and a couple of buckets in one corner- one that looked to be built into the floor with a large flattened rim to sit on like a prehistoric toilet. Presumably, it had an open bottom to funnel into some plumbing pipe designed for sewage, and there was a divet of some kind carved into the wall like a trough. Eris could only assume that the small lever next to it likely controlled a stopper that blocked water flow to form the equivalent of an old-time sink.
There was also a simple but comfortable-looking bed in another corner, upon which Eris and Pravala looked at a woman who was sitting down with her back against the wall and a book in her hands. The Pravala from the past’s hair was much longer than during the trial- draping down well past her shoulders and ending just above her waistline. She was clothed in a simple white blouse and brown shorts, with an emotionless face as she read the pages of the book bearing an unmarked spine. The entire room was illuminated by a sturdy-looking lantern hanging on a hook beside the woman on the bed. Meanwhile, Present-Pravala spoke flatly.
“I didn’t mind being locked away. The Conclave ended up taking my theory seriously and apparently started sanctioning the development of multiple ‘champions’. Echoes that were permitted to indulge in as much sin as possible, and put through whatever methods to progress their levels faster than anyone else. I may not have been able to do it myself, but the result was still the same and I was proud of that.”
“This isn’t the Obelisk…” Eris narrowed her eyes. Pravala shook her head.
“No, it isn’t. I was in the Amaranthine- a prison specifically for disgraced Echoes that weren’t sentenced to death. It was built on a cursed patch of land in Kelopa. That’s why it was so effective at keeping us contained.”
“Cursed how?”
Pravala shrugged. “Nobody knew. It had been like that forever, and it was almost like the Seven couldn’t exist there. No magic of any kind could be used, and whatever connections we had to the Seven were just… gone. We couldn’t even view our skills or Inspect anything. But if you left the area, it all came back just like normal. Complete and utter magic nullification in the entire area. An inescapable cage.”
“How did you end up in the Obelisk then, if you were trapped there?”
Pravala pursed her lips. At that moment, faint footsteps could be heard echoing through the outside hallway. There were no open bars on the prison cell- it was a solid room with full concrete walls and a metal door with almost no gaps. That meant the clicking of the door’s lock being undone resonated through the room and made Past-Pravala suddenly look up from her book. The door swung open to reveal a thin, wiry figure of a man with wispy brown hair, an angular face, and a desperate look in his eyes.
“You need to come with me.”
“Huh?” Past-Pravala asked. “Who are-”
“No questions!” The man said quickly. “Come with me, right now!”
Past-Pravala narrowed her eyes. “Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
The man tensed, looked around nervously, then let out a short sigh.
“I am here on behalf of Lady Vojemala Ywer. She personally requested your assistance in an important matter regarding the prevention of Miknalor.”
Eris watched Past-Pravala instantly freeze. The woman tensely placed a bookmark between her pages before setting down the book onto the bed. “I’ve already told the Conclave everything about my theory-”
“This isn’t from the Conclave!” The man spoke quickly, waving his hand in a ‘come here’ gesture as he did. “They don’t know about this. Lady Ywer and others are working on an alternative method of prevention, and she needs your help to ensure it functions as intended.”
Past-Pravala’s eyebrows narrowed, as did Eris’s. Ywer… Ywer… Vojemala Ywer… Why did that name sound familiar? She didn’t have much time to dwell on it, since Past-Pravala muttered with finality.
“The Echo of the Oculus is breaking me out of prison…”
“Yes, she is! Now come on! We don’t have much time!”
Past-Pravala stood warily, but ultimately followed the mousy man out of the cell and into the hall. As she did, Eris felt herself get forcefully dragged along behind like a ball tied to a string- her presence in the memory only existing with Pravala’s perception of what happened. The present-version of the woman simply stood unflinching beside her, watching with a stern expression.
Past-Pravala tried to ask questions as the two jogged through concrete and brick hallways illuminated by lanterns, taking turn after turn, but the man brushed off most of them.
“What is Vojemala doing?”
“You’ll find out in a bit- we just need to get out right now.”
“Where are all the guards?”
“They’re being distracted! Just stay quiet and follow me- we’re almost to the exit!”
After the pair ran through what was obviously a kitchen of some kind and out a back door, Eris was greeted by the sight of the outside. After having been told it was a prison on cursed land untouchable by the deities, she was expecting darkness, rain, withered grass and a general sense of foreboding.
The sun shone brightly and proudly in a sky dotted with only a few wispy clouds. The wide pathway of packed dirt leading out from the door was flanked by well-trimmed grass with a few patches of various-coloured flowers sprouting every dozen feet or so. The man continued to run along the path, prompting Past-Pravala to follow. About three hundred feet in the direction he was running, over three dozen figures were waiting in dark blue cloaks. However, Eris’s attention, as well as Past-Pravala’s, were focused to the side and towards what seemed to be the front of the prison. Past-Pravala’s voice was aghast.
“What on Tonshlur is that?!”
The shimmering red scales of a colossal dragon reflected both the sunlight and the column of flame ejecting from its mouth to engulf an entire squadron of armoured soldiers that were screaming. Eris watched Past-Pravala’s attention get snapped back as the man grabbed her wrist and started pulling her along.
“We call it a Dragon. It’s a creature from very far away, but more importantly, it’s our distraction. Quickly, we need to get to the edge!”
Past-Pravala continued to run, but both her and Eris flicked more than a few gazes over to the huge reptile carving swaths through the prison’s forces. Eris’s eyes narrowed. Monsters like that didn’t exist on Tonshlur- only in the Obelisk. The closest thing would be some of the familiars of the Seven, but those were distinctly different beings. Judging by the expression on Past-Pravala’s face, Eris could assume the woman was likely having some similar thought- a creature that didn’t exist was now right in front of her eyes.
Still, they got closer to the figures standing in the field and blocking the dirt path. One of the cloaked individuals lowered her hood, and Eris saw a beautiful woman staring intently at Past-Pravala. She had short black hair that went just below her ears, well-tanned caramel skin across her face, and an emotionless expression in her simple brown eyes. Overall, quite plain-looking.
“Deimeious,” the woman said. Past-Pravala and the man slowed to a stop just in front of her. Eris watched Past-Pravala let out a long breath and twitch her fingers. Materializing from nothing, a black metal object appeared in her grasp- it almost looked like a child’s figurine toy. Past-Pravala stared at it with wide eyes for a number of seconds, then the Summoner turned her gaze back to the woman.
“Vojemala.”
“You were willing to give everything in order to prevent Miknalor before.” Vojemala spoke flatly. “Is that still the case?”
Past-Pravala stayed quiet for a moment before giving a curt nod. “Yes. What do you need of me?”
Vojemala let out a breath. “I need you for an experiment.”
“Of what kind?” Past-Pravala’s eyes narrowed. Eris watched Vojemala’s face twitch ever-so-slightly with a tiny frown.
“I am sorry, Deimeious. But know that your sacrifice will be for the greater good.”
“Wait- what?” Past-Pravala’s hand twitched, and the little figurine in her hand crumbled into dust as a black metal blade suddenly shot into existence in her grasp. At the same time, Eris watched Vojemala lift a hand towards Past-Pravala. In an instant, the entire world was consumed by darkness and black smoke. Just as quickly, Eris’s eyes were adjusting to a new, much dimmer amount of light. The sun in the sky was replaced by hundreds of tiny yellow stars, except they weren’t stars. They were glowing crystals embedded into the ceiling of a colossal underground cavern that stretched hundreds of feet into the air.
Gigantic columns of stone that probably used to be stalagmites reached like a ribcage of some humungous creature, supporting the ceiling far above and encircling a clearing the size of a lake. Past-Pravala’s arm swung out with the blade in the space where Vojemala used to be, but the edge met only air. The black smoke hung like a dense fog in the air, but it was clearing quickly enough to show why there was so much. Because it was drifting off not only Past-Pravala, but the ocean of people scattered around the space and all looking around, terrified. Every single one of them had a black tattoo-like marking wrapped around their right wrist of thorns and barbs.
A thundering sound of rumbling stone emerged from behind Past-Pravala and the two ghostly spectators, prompting all of them to turn around. Eris’s eyes widened as a massive boulder started lifting into the air. A moment later, she realized it wasn’t a boulder. It was gleaming metal, polished and engraved with intricate carvings of runes, wrapped perfectly in an orb the size of a small house. Six spindly metallic legs sprouted all around it and elongated as the thing stood up, then pivoted in place like it was turning to face her despite not having a face. Almost all of the nearby people were screaming and running away, but Past-Pravala visibly grit her teeth and stared it down. A hand flicked out and Eris watched a dark hole tear open in the air just in front of the metallic spider-thing.
With a loud, trumpeting whine, a large creature came barrelling out of the rift as Past-Pravala summoned it into existence. It was about half the size of the metallic being, but still plenty large on its own. It had four thick, trunk like legs with stubby toes, a rounded, fat body, and a huge head with large, fan-like ears that flopped as it ran. Two pearly-white tusks sprouted from either side of its head, and a long appendage that almost looked like a tail where a nose would be curled up and out of the way as it charged.
Eris was pretty sure she’d seen something like it before in some history book about extinct creatures. What was the name? Eggy-pants or something? Either way, it rushed full-tilt at the metallic opposition with fury in its beady eyes.
The Warden responded back, faster than Eris could even comprehend. One moment the grey animal with the trunk and the tusks was charging at it, the next, the beast was literally flung through the air like a six-ton sack of laundry. When the Eggypant hit a column, the summoned creature exploded in a shower of blood before limbs and flesh crumbled into dust. Within a blink of an eye, Past-Pravala was on her back on the ground, pinned beneath four huge metal fingers wrapped overtop of her like a cage. Another black rift of summoning began to expand behind the Warden, but one large leg swiped out and cut through it with such speed and force that the air whistled with a tearing noise. Eris wasn’t even able to comprehend what kind of creature was trying to be summoned, because the only glimpse of it she saw was red and crumbling dust.
Before Eris could try to say anything, she felt her entire sense of reality start to shift and distort. Everything became fuzzy, and new light started to seep in. At the same moment, she became distinctly aware of a hand pulling away from her face. Eris blinked several times and looked around.
She was sitting back in the dining room, in her chair, with Pravala standing just off to the side and lowering her hand back to her side. There was a moment of tense silence before the woman in the dress sighed and walked back around to her seat.
“The Warden effectively held me hostage. It wouldn’t intervene in any capacity whatsoever unless I had an intent to try and escape or fight back, whereupon it would then restrain me until I gave up or starved. Once I stopped resisting, it would let me be free to do as I pleased.”
“They used you to test the Obelisk as a prison…” Eris muttered. Pravala nodded and took a long drink of her water.
“I had assumed as much after a while. Of course, I didn’t know anything about this ‘Obelisk’ until the memories of Bailey and Leyla enlightened me as to what’s transpired since my imprisonment, but I could piece together that I was likely the test subject to determine the strength of some measure of confinement. That being said, I have no idea how effective of a test it would be to compare a single, low-level Echo against the entire force of Akkaru’um in regards to the ability to break free.”
Eris’s eyes widened. “You think they made the Obelisk to trap this… Akkaru’um… thing?”
Pravala locked eye contact for a quiet moment before letting out a breath.
“As you could probably ascertain from the trial, Akkaru’um is a great beast that swims through the two halves of the Stream and devours all that exists. The Seven managed to trap it, but there was a prophecy that it breaks free again and begins the end of Tonshlur. I was a little more focused on the idea of fighting the thing if we had to, but clearly Vojemala and whoever else she was working with had a plan to ensure it never had a chance to escape in the first place.”
Pravala picked up her utensils and swallowed another bite of her fish dinner. “Based off of what I learned from your two companions, Vojemala may very well have succeeded in some way, shape or form.”
“But the Hollow-”
“-Isn’t the way the world was supposed to end,” Pravala interrupted. “It was supposed to be fire, then endless cold, then monsters from the depths of the planet, and then the Stream itself breaking open to consume the world. Not a fungal corruption. I’m under the assumption that they did indeed manage to trap the embodiment of an apocalypse here in the Obelisk.”
“Then why is the world still ending?” Eris asked. Pravala remained quiet for several moments of contemplation. Eventually, her voice came out low and solemn.
“Perhaps prophecy cannot be so easily thwarted. The Oculus saw the end of Tonshlur. It was meant to happen. If Vojemala and the others managed to create something that could prevent that end, the Stream may have caused the Hollow to rectify that change in fate.”
Eris blinked. “By saving the world from one apocalypse, the Stream came up with another?”
Pravala shrugged. “I have no certainty. The best we can do is act under assumptions and theory for our many, many questions.”
“And we can’t do anything at all until we escape from this damned prison,” Eris said. At that, Pravala offered a small grin.
“Does that mean I’ve successfully pleaded my case to you?”
Eris grit her teeth. The woman was a monster. She enslaved an entire town and killed other Echoes. That being said, she did it for an arguably justifiable reason- to try and prevent the end of the world.
“I don’t agree with anything you’ve done. You’re a horrible person and deserved everything you got. However, I can say that I understand why you did what you did. It doesn’t make it right or justify it in any way, but it’s clear that you did it for the right reasons.”
Pravala nodded. “I never sought forgiveness- only acceptance.”
A long moment of silence passed. Pravala took another bite of her food and swallowed it before speaking again. “I propose that we try to see each other as allies in a communal effort to preserve the well-being of the world, instead of opposing hostilities as we are now.”
“How would we go about that?” Eris frowned. Pravala shrugged.
“Easy. We start by being completely honest with each other. I’ll even go first. My name is Pravala Deimeious. I was fourty-four when I got shoved into this magical super-prison and have no idea exactly how much time has passed since and thus how old I really am. I am a Summoner that was Bestowed by Alda, the Promise, I am third level, and I have thirteen skills.”
Eris remained quiet. Pravala continued.
“First is Envious Binding, and its level is maximized at one. With concentration, I can paralyze a target I can see and form a temporary connection. If the connection lasts for long enough, it becomes a permanent tether that binds their soul to me until they or I die. I can’t do it to Echoes, although Bailey and Leyla have proven that I can do it to normal Gifted since they don’t have the same level of power we do. I was surprised that they lost their magic, though. There is nothing in the skill that would insinuate to that, so my only assumption is that the full power of an Echo’s soul overwhelmed that of a Gifted bearing weaker, broken magic. It either broke their feeble connection to a ghost of the Seven completely, or absorbed it into me when I bound their souls to my own. Regardless, as long as the tether persists, I continually gain a resource known as Jealously which functions almost identically to your Desire. Also identical to you, my second skill is Enhance which is exactly the same as your version of it.
“My third skill is Envious Cloak, and its level is maxed at four. It lets me see and hear through any of my bound targets when I choose, lets me learn any and all of their memories, prevents them from taking any action that would result in my harm, and lets me take full control over any number of my bound targets. Whenever I take control of a target, I can’t do it again to that person for an amount of time equal to five times how long I spent controlling them. For example, if I control someone for an hour, I can’t do it again for five hours. Regardless of the length of control, there is a minimum time of ten minutes before I can control them again.”
Eris took a quiet bite of her biscuit while Pravala continued to speak.
“Fourth is Life Transference, and its level is maxed at one. If I’m ever injured, I can activate the skill and heal myself by giving my injuries to any of my bound targets.”
“So when Elmas hurt you in the fight…” Eris began. Pravala nodded.
“A couple seconds later, one of the miners in the east tunnel suddenly got a very large gash on his arm. My fifth skill is Transient Shift, and it is level ninety. I can teleport to anywhere I can see once a minute, and the maximum distance increases with level. It used to be sixty feet, but now it’s over three miles. Sixth is Power Transfer, which you are aware of because of our testing.”
Eris nodded. “You can touch someone and make a temporary connection to increase the effective level of one of their skills of their choice.”
“Indeed. I can’t use it on myself, and the target can choose one non-maxed skill to increase in effective level. Originally, it could only bring a skill up to level two, but every level of Power Transfer increased the maximum of the recipient’s skill. Since it’s level ninety-three now, it can bring another Echo’s skills up to level ninety-four. Maintaining the connection uses Mana- a lot of it. Speaking of which, Mana is number seven. Nothing much to say there, and the level is maxed at one. Next is Minor Summoning at level one-hundred and six.”
Pravala wrapped her fingers around something in the air, and Eris watched as a black iron dagger materialized in her grip.
“I can create any inanimate, nonmagical object I can picture and make it appear in my hand or anywhere I can see. It’s made of a metal-like material, and there’s no limit to how many things I can summon, only their size. It used to be up to one cubic foot of material can be summoned at a time and anything summoned lasted for six hours. Now it’s over eleven thousand cubic feet and can last a little over a month.”
“Damn…”
Pravala held onto the dagger for a moment longer, then Eris watched it crumble away into black metal sand that faded into nothingness before it could hit the table.
“Skill nine is Animated Summoning. I can conjure a version of one creature that I’ve seen before that will obey mental commands. As I said before, I can only summon one creature at a time, and maintaining the connection uses Mana. Levelling up the skill reduced the Mana cost to maintain it, so I stopped levelling it after it reached level thirty and the cost became so small that I could maintain it indefinitely and still regenerate Mana.
“Ten is Bait and Switch. If a creature or object I’ve summoned is destroyed by a hostile creature, my next attack against that creature is unavoidable, unblockable, and gains a ‘tremendous bonus to Magical Power’. That’s maxed at level five. Skill eleven is Overrun. If I’m fighting an opponent that is alone, me and any creatures I summon gain a six thousand, nine hundred and fifty percent boost in the power of our attacks against that opponent. It was fifty percent per level, and it’s level one hundred and thirty-nine now.”
Eris’s eyes widened. “What the fuck…”
Pravala smiled.
“Number twelve is Shared Envy. Maxed at level one. By touching a creature, I can project my negative memories onto them, or view their negative memories myself. It happens instantly in the real world no matter how long the memory takes, and both of us are there for the ride.”
Eris was quiet for a moment. “What about the final skill?”
Pravala sighed, then set down her utensils. “Vision of Malice. I can Inspect creatures as well as objects to learn basic information such as their name and age. If they’re an Echo, I can also see their class, level, stats, and all of their skills.”
Eris’s mouth went dry. Pravala simply continued as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “When were you planning to tell me that you were second level and got five new skills? I must say, Ally of Artifice looks extremely intriguing.”
Eris paused for several moments. “I suppose there’s no need for me to say my skills out loud, is there?”
Pravala shook her head. “No, there isn’t. However, we’re going to be truthful to one another starting now, so I’d like you to get in the habit of telling me things you think I don’t already know. Go ahead, Eris.”
Fuck.
Eris looked inwards and willed the information to the front of her mind.
Name: Eris Limeen Kadell
Age: 18
Class: Artificer of Lust
Level: 2
Vitality: F-
Physical Defence: F-
Magical Defence: F-
Tenacity: F-
Strength: F-
Dexterity: F-
Mind: F+
Control: E
Craftsmanship: D
Skills: 12
Artificer’s Cunning {Passive} {Maxed}
You are the foremost expert when it comes to items. You may Inspect unknown materials and items. When Inspecting a crafted object, you receive additional information about it. Information includes:
Material construction
Current durability
The crafter’s name
Active magical effects
Novice Artificer {Passive} {Level 2}
You have a natural talent for crafting. Any product you craft gains a {50%} bonus to its Quality, applied after all other bonuses.
Mana {Passive} {Maxed}
You gain a reservoir of Mana, which you may spend on certain abilities.
Artificer’s Grace {Active} {Maxed}
While in the process of crafting, you may expend Mana in place of Crafting Points to use certain abilities.
Crafting Points {Passive} {Level 2}
You have {20} Crafting Points, which you may spend on certain abilities while in the process of crafting. When beginning a new craft, current number of Crafting Points resets to {20}.
Perfection {Active} {Level 2}
For each Crafting Point spent on Perfection, the Potency of the craft is increased by {20%}.
Resilience {Active} {Level 2}
For each Crafting Point spent on Resilience, the Durability of the craft is increased by {20%}. Consumable crafts, such as potions or food, have their Duration increased instead.
Ally of Artifice {Active} {Level 1}
Designate up to {1} willing person as your Ally. Until you designate a different target, the chosen Ally gains {100%} faster level progression and you receive the same amount of level progression they do.
Obfuscation {Active} {Maxed}
When finishing a craft, you may change, hide, or add information to determine how the craft appears when Inspected by others. This does not affect the craft’s abilities in any way.
Pacifist {Passive} {Maxed}
You cannot directly bring harm to any creature, monster, or person.
Desire’s Reap {Passive} {Level 3}
Engage in sexual acts with others to collect Desire. Desire is collected in the following ways;
Kissing
Groping
Oral
Additional Desire is collected based on the arousal of the active participant(s). Current Desire: 21
Enhance {Active} {Maxed}
Expend collected Desire to advance skill progression.
…
Eris let out a long, low sigh and began to speak.