Vol. 2, Ch. 116: A Spark, Ignited
No one spoke for a moment. Neska held onto the queen's clawed leg for a few seconds before taking the item from its hand, wiping the ichor off.
“Is that…its core?” Noricatu whispered.
“Where’d the bugs go?” Kasfew said, drawing in close.
She had no answers for either of them. Neska was left reeling with even more discomfort about who she was…and what other secrets had been kept from her.
The gem in her hand had hundreds of translucent crystalline facets, despite its organic origin. It pulsed with an inner green light, not unlike the color of her venom bolts. Veelah's soul, made manifest...in a way.
Vivi? Can you make out anything on this? She forced herself to focus on an objective, to keep moving forward. She was not going to let herself be overwhelmed by the sheer shock of the past several minutes.
Are you…okay?
Neska’s body sank–the only outward sign of her emotions. No, Vivi. I'm not. I am so far away from okay right now. Please tell me what you can about this…core.
But I…okay. Alright. It’s a monster core. Fully intact. Don't you remember your lessons?
Only the basics. She knew Trevor could take a core like this and use it to power runic enchantments. The higher the tier of a monster core, the more intact it was, the more potent the effect. If anything, having a pristine core like this was more valuable than its tier level would convey.
Soul core (T3): liberated from Veelah, Queen wasp of the swarm. Venom affinity, insectoid affinity, and geo affinity detected. Quality…possibly legendary.
Mana cores can be used for rituals, item and equipment enchantment...or as you learned, for humanoids to go above Tier 3. I'm sure there other uses.
You’ll…probably need someone with more sensitive instruments than me to tell you more about it. But be careful how you handle it.
Don't…don't let her sacrifice go to waste.
Neska said nothing more to Vivi, and instead placed the soul core carefully in her satchel.
There's more. Neska, I also have an update on your status.
Level increase: Witch 15 → Witch 17
2 Essence Points Gained (3 Total)
6 Attribute Points Gained (9 Total)
There are a few more titles. I don’t understand one of them yet.
New Title Gained: That's Just Wrong - You stored an object in your stomach, then you used that item to kill something dangerous! Gross! At least it wasn't a pack of tobacco in there. +2 Endurance, +2 Agility.
New Title Gained: Chainbreaker - One down…
That’s it? That had to be the most cryptic Title she'd earned so far, and she didn't know how to feel about it.
Neska nodded, still feeling slightly overwhelmed. Veelah died a free Varadur, Vivi. Maybe…maybe there’s a chance for all of them. Anything else?
Uh...yeah. Another new title I think you might like.
New Title Gained: Witchery - You're a witch, and you're an archer. Witchery! I swear I'm not making up these Titles, Neska.
Ability suite unlocked: gain the ability to add a hex to your projectiles, be they arrows, darts, bolts, or even a balista, or whatever else you can make sharp, fast, and dangerous. Additional Upgrades will become available, similar to some of your other Abilities. Some hexes will have their properties modified when used this way.
Neska's eyes widened. That feels like it could be almost as strong as my [Alchemical Imbuement], Vivi. That feels huge.
It does. You should mull over that one later. Okay, all that's left are a lot of proficiency increases.
Spring Scales 11 > 13
Venomous Bite 13 > 15
Coiled Strike 10 > 13
Venom Bolt 18 > 20 (Tier Cap reached)
Alchemical infusion 3 > 6
Woven root hex 16 > 18
Sudden molt 4 > 5
Ember Hex 10 > 11
Constricting Coils 5 > 6
Neska pondered over that for a moment. After several hours, she’d gotten more proficiency increases, even in higher-ranked ones, than she had for a few weeks at the Academy. This really set in stone the notion that exertion of the soul was what truly drove growth.
Nori finally broke the brief spell of silence. “I don't understand,” she said, wings trembling. “What is going on? Why would the queen sacrifice herself for you?”
“A last sting from the grave, aimed at the Radiant King?” Even now, Neska had severe doubts about that rationale.
“What…who are you, Cassia?” Noricatu asked, her body tensed.
Every twist and turn of this entire adventure had stripped her of her ability to answer that question. “I thought I knew that answer, Noricatu. I really did. And there’s a long story behind everything that has happened so far.”
She let out a shaky breath. “You can rest assured that the only thing that matters to me is that Rivilat Academy will never fall so long as I draw breath. And will fight for every student, professor, and soldier who calls it home,” she vowed, one hand on her chest in a solemn gesture.
Noricatu started to speak, then fell silent as Kasfew stepped forward. “I don’t pretend to know what in the hell is going on, Nori. But we should be dead as fried chickens right now. I trust her word.”
Neska wanted to laugh, more than anything, but that bird was being stone-cold serious for the first time since she’d known him.
Neska, did you want to review your...options? You're getting close to your next Tier.
Later. Please, Vivi. Every motion of her body was painful from the overexertion–cuts, healing stings, bruised scales, and possibly a broken rib or three, based on her lower body’s fiery pain in her lower third. She clicked her relay and braced herself for bad news.
“Everyone, sound off,” she said hoarsely. “Is everyone alive?”
“Jurik here. Everyone is alive. Syra nearly got split down the middle by one of those skirmisher wasps, but her hydro powers saved her.”
“It still hurts like a bitch, Jurik!” she snarled into the relay. Neskas’s heart felt an order of magnitude lighter at that news. “Juni’s here too. She was only a little worried.”
“I'm still annoyed I missed one hell of a fight,” the mouse said, though her voice sounded weary. “I must have missed a really good show, huh?”
Another voice joined the conversation. “Corvin here. Are Kasfew and Noricatu alive?” he asked expectantly.
“We’re here,” Noricatu answered, clicking her relay. “What about the others?”
“Thoros was killed in action.” Corvin’s voice was whisper-quiet. “Maxine is injured but mobile.”
Kasfew clenched his claws and gritted his beak tightly. Noricatu had him lean on her shoulder when he bent low to the ground, weak at the knees. He gently hugged her, his eyes squinted shut.
Damn it. Even fighting their hardest, it wasn’t enough.
“We’re here, too,” Hadley called out. “Everyone’s alive on my team, though Roche almost became a pincushion.”
“God, these things suck. Tell Cassia–or Neska? Yeah, you know what, I’ll ask about that one later. Tell her to go kick that damn queen wasp’s corpse for me,” he grumbled.
She wanted nothing more than to be free of this hellhole, and Veelah deserved more respect than that. Even as horrific as the nature of the parasitic wasp was, it didn't make her innately evil. Only the Radiant King did.
“Everyone,” she coughed, “The Instance core is destroyed. I think the remaining wasps won’t be a problem. They all vanished on the bottom floor.”
“Same. It was the strangest thing,” Jurik commented. “Corvin, we need to extract. Everyone, prioritize the wounded. We’ll meet at the top level of the central chamber. I think there’s an entryway near the top.”
Several minutes later, Neska finished climbing her vines. She was promptly greeted by Juni and Jurik, kneeling to offer a hand. Juni and Syra also leaned in for very awkward hugs, and Neska hissed as the pain of dozens of bruises and cuts made their presence known, and displeased by this extra contact.
“I wasn’t worried,” Hadley said casually, kicking a dead wasp for emphasis. “Did you have to burn the whole place down out of spite, or was that just for style?” She didn’t hesitate to lift Kasfew, forced to climb in such a narrow space, though Noricatu’s wing claws were quite effective at climbing.
Neska surveilled the destruction and shook her head. “Neither,” she responded dryly. “I took some samples of the queen and the other monster species. I’m not keen on waiting for them to bring in another Instance core and rebuild this all.”
“Cassia…we heard some things,” Trevor said slowly, wiping bug guts off his glasses. “The Core…it knew things about you. What is going on?”
Hadley grunted audibly. “So, I’m in the clear on this one, but...uh…some people know things.”
“Like, for instance, why that thing was calling you Neska Aksen,” Kasfew said, raising a brow. “I was a little distracted at the time, but…are you, perchance, related to Risha Aksen? Why are you going around announcing your name as someone else?”
Neska let out a hissing exhale. Divines damn it. The Radiant King managed to make this victory so, so bittersweet.
“I’ll tell you after we watch this place burn to the ground, Kasfew. It’s a long story that…you might have earned the right to hear, now.”
He shrugged. “Well, I guess I can work with that. C’mon. I think you’ve earned one reprieve today.”
"Just one? Next time I heal your feathery ass, I might conveniently forget which venom I have active."
"I killed the most bugs. Admit it. I carried the team," he clucked back, looking smug.
"I killed the biggest one, birdbrain. Top that." For some reason, she almost enjoyed the antagonizing banter.
Yuck. Don't ever develop feelings for this birdbrain.
Getting to the surface wasn’t the hard part. Once the Instance core had been dealt with, the insects had retreated into the depths of the hive, chittering and avoiding their wrath.
In all likelihood, they were only delaying their deaths. A larger team would come through and burn out the rest, now that the hard part was done.
Everyone was as silent as the grave as they brought up the bodies of Corvin’s fallen team member, their body draped in a spare bedroll. Kasfew volunteered to carry him. Even with victory at hand, it had come at a cost.
Would it always be like this? A sacrifice of brave students for every step forward? It had been her plan that everyone followed, with the implied consent of Corvin, Hadley, and Jurik.
As they emerged from the mine to a fading sunlight in the west, Neska felt all eyes on her. “Cassia.”She turned to face Corvin. “What happened in the lair of the queen? Who are you?”
“You want to know, now?”
“I want to know what I’m getting my students and peers into. I want them to know the truth…and the dangers we’re going to face in the future.”
“Sergeant…wait till the debrief,” Jurik said, bloodied but still alert and mobile.
“No. I don’t want to wait.” Neska cast a glance at the body on the ground. Her fellow student and comrade in arms. “You deserve to know as much as I do, now.”
“Are you sure about this?” Hadley asked, looking apprehensive.
“Cassia…or should I say, Neska, got us out of an unwinnable battle. The hive queen was well armored, well defended, and could have easily slaughtered a better-prepared team.” Neska glanced at Kasfew, surprised at his willingness to speak up.
She’d expected him to spin up stories that she was the demon serpent, that she couldn’t be trusted, and she’d nearly killed him with her venom bite. None of those fears materialized, and she doubted they ever would now. He nodded silently, and she took that as her moment.
“Everyone…I only know part of the story of who I am. I can tell you the parts that we have time for, now, before we begin our return to the Academy.” She took a shaky breath before it all started to spill out.
“I am Neska Aksen. I am–or was–the ward of Risha Aksen. I only know pieces of who I was before I Awakened. Risha departed the academy under unusual circumstances, studying the Varadur. She thought she had a solution to them by finding a means to attack the Interface. But…I think her motivation was me. I was always the center of her plans.”
“Wait. Holy shit, the witch? The legendary Risha?” Roche gasped. “You must have attended the academy at some point! How does no one know you?”
“I don’t think I ever attended. I only remember being there briefly, before she departed, three years ago.” Neska took a slow breath, knowing the worst was to come. “Sometime between then and now, I was killed by the Varadur. She saved me by placing my soul in a serpentine Varadur. Her last effort was to try to unlock my interface…and she succeeded. Then the monsters came when they became aware of her efforts.”
“Risha Aksen completed my Awakening after holding off dozens of corrupted Seekers and the mimicoids hiding in their ranks. The ritual granted me the powers of the witch class. There’s more to it, of course, things I’m still learning about myself."
The last part was preceded by a tightening, dull ache in her chest, her throat all choked up and straining her voice. “The ritual cost her her life. I wish she hadn't done it. Risha was brave, smart, and a legend of the academy. I was just a snake. The logical choice for her should have been to leave me there and flee, and continue the fight. But she didn't. She chose to save me.
"So, here I am, without all the facts. On the night she died, I made a vow: to stop the Varadur, once and for all, and honor her memory. It doesn’t matter what dreaded past I dig up about her or myself, or what challenges I face. I’ve seen what the monsters have done, the horrific experiments they run in the Instances myself. The merciless slaughter they engage in against our people is… mind-numbing.”
Gasps rang out through the audience. Jurik, Hadley, and Juni remained silent. Brent gave a small tip of his head, and Syra put a hand to her mouth, shocked.
“Risha Aksen is dead?” Sarisse asked, stunned. “She…she taught my brother so much about the witch class. She was one of the greats.”
“And still is. I won’t rest until I see her promise fulfilled to stop the monsters. You have my word on that,” Neska assured them. “But I won’t pretend the task will be easy. There is a new foe leading these monsters, one we now have a name for: the Radiant King. He is the one who personally directed the attack on Risha, and is fixated on either corrupting me or killing me as though I am the greatest threat to their plans.”
"But why you, though?" Corvin asked, looking like a stiff breeze might knock him down.
"The Radiant King knows something about me I don't know about myself. Something terrifying." Her stomach knotted as Veelah's last words echoed in her mind, about having a divine soul.
Was this the secret Risha had kept? The reason for those years of probable isolation, shielding her from the world?
“It doesn't matter what that secret is. What matters is what happens next. I’ve seen her in action. You all have, now,” Jurik said calmly, arms folded and wearing his stoic expression. “There is hardly an Awakened alive who has as much motivation and actions to back that up as Neska. She did the impossible in Bregin and held off an assault led by a traitor of the Academy. I was there, along with Corporal Feywind and Juni. That night was the first change of momentum I've seen in a long time.”
“I vouch for her, too,” Sarisse said, recovering from her shock. “Her knowledge of alchemy is instinctive, and Professor Sakiri has spoken to me in private, as well.”
“And me,” Brent added quietly. “She’s the real deal. She doesn’t back down from damn near impossible tasks. Just don’t ask whose eggs she ate for breakfast. She’s sensitive about that.”
There was a murmur of nervous laughter. “I’m joking, guys, c’mon! But seriously, hide the eggs in the mess hall. She’ll take them all,” he added with a smug look about him.
“I’ve been with her since the beginning,” Juni spoke up, overcoming her initial hesitancy and standing by Neska’s side. “I know, the jokes write themselves: a snake and a mouse, fighting alongside each other. But I can't think of a finer person to watch my back when things get tough."
“There’s gonna be tougher stuff ahead. This Radiant King isn’t beneath trickery, turning people against one another, or manipulating us into killing each other,” Hadley affirmed. “But now we have a name for our foe. Things with names can be killed. I don't know if he's some jacked-up Varadur who grew an ego and a frightening intelligence, a divine that has turned its back on its creation, or some hellspawn that Lachmir made in the moments after the Schism. But we aren’t going to let him divide us. You hear me?! We are all in this fight together!”
One by one, the rest of the students chimed in, stepping forward. Even Kasfew gave a sharp nod of his beak, even if he said nothing more.
That spark in her chest was back…or was it just the swelling joy she felt, knowing she had more than just a handful of misfits?
Now she had a team. What had been impossible before was now merely improbable. A path to victory.
Corvin glanced at Hadley and Jurik, then nodded. “Well, I think it settles it for me. Squads, check your wounds, see to Cass–er…what do you prefer to be called?”
“I used an alternate identity to insulate myself from the Varadur looking for me. I doubt that secret would survive much longer, given my increasingly unusual abilities,” Neska conceded. “Neska is fine.”
“Right then.” Then, Corvin did a double-take. “Are you pulling my leg? That’s your actual name? Were your parents jesters or something?”
Neska nodded, letting out a deflating hiss. “Still working on that part. Many snugs are still owed.”
“It’s a cool name,” Juni shrugged, then rolled her eyes as Kasfew started laughing so hard he held his ribs in protest, tears welling from his eyes. “Uh, you broke the shitbird, Neska. How on Galwein are you going to torment him now?”
Neska glared at her. “He pulled his weight today. He gets a pass.”
Kasfew, in the meantime, couldn’t stop laughing, slapping his claws onto his kneecaps. “Oh my gods, you literally can’t make this up! Your name is snake-snake!”
In the unlikely event her father was Ouroboros, she was going to have a few very unpleasant words with him about that particular decision.
The second order of business would be to let the deadbeat divine father know there was an annoying bird who’d hurt her feelings that needed a good chasing.