[294] 4.15 Castle of Mysteries I
(Planet Earth, Year 1 A.I.; August 2023, 5 Months after System Integration.)
“You certainly took your time waking up this morning, Sera,” Chloe says as I slowly wake from my slumber. “And after I thought you were so primed on the mission Nicholas entreated us with yesterday.”
“Dreams,” I say as I sit up. “Past life dreams.”
“You never tell me much about what those dreams are all about.” Chloe sighs. “I– I wish you would, sometimes.”
The fingers on her newly toned arms stroke my mechanical left arm, and though it’s made of metal, I still feel the gentle caress as completely and organically— pun intended— as if it were my own flesh and blood. One of the aspects of [Valkyrion’s Body]; my augments are me, in every way that matters. They heal with me, share in my combat parameters. Not some accessories like they were back in the day with my [Wings of Icarus] and my [Mechanical Arm Cannon], raiding the [Temple of Greed] with Chloe, Lindsey, and Kristil.
I sigh from the reminiscing.
Chloe already knows about me and my extradimensional origins in some parallel universe, even if I haven’t told her all the details. I trust her, completely and reflexively. I hesitate, but only to give my mind a chance to process the details I still remember and figure out how to spill the beans in a coherent manner. And then I tell her everything, as much as I remember.
“Void beasts… warp drives, subspace, traveling to an interstellar summit. It’s… It’s a lot to take in.”
“Which is why it took me a bit to wake up and a bit more to process it all and figure out how to tell you. And, I apologize for keeping things from you, Chloe.” I lower my head in supplication. “I– I’m sorry.”
Chloe kisses my forehead. “You know, fair. It’s not like I’m in a great mood the second I get out of bed, either. I just figured you’d want to be up and at ‘em first thing in the morning.”
“Actually, Chloe, I’m a bit surprised that you’re so eager. Normally I’m the one all gung-ho about going out and exploring dungeons and gaining Levels and Experience, while you’re more the sort to rest and go at a measured pace–”
“I was, yes. Two days ago, a brave man died fighting in a battle he shouldn’t have had to fight in. Yesterday, we attended his funeral. And what Nicholas said after, stuck with me. The letter from Dad. The same thing.”
“We have to survive.” How could I forget such a complete dictum like that? There are two ways of going about that. The first and obvious is to hide. Find some bunker somewhere, get a bunch of food, and just disappear. Except our enemy isn’t some asshole with a gun. We’re playing on a ten-dimensional chessboard against the current reigning god of the world. All we can do is dance to its strings until we’re able to start playing rather than just playing the role of pawn.
“Get stronger,” Chloe says. “Get so much stronger that we can tell any demons or dragons or giant lizards exactly where to shove their antics, and exactly how to deal with them if they’re stupid enough to refuse.”
There’s an air of ire and determination around Chloe, but her words belie her true motivation: grief. Grief for Alexey, and grief for all the others she’s been unable to save. Death comes for us all— even for Madison, as far beyond mortal limits and imaginations as she was. But it still hit Chloe hard. Harder than most; such was her compassion for the world. Perhaps also a bit of annoyance and self-loathing at her own perceived ineffectiveness, but mostly it’s grief that’s still swirling around her.
A demon and the castle from back then. I still remember that castle, majestic, triumphant, standing completely out of place among so many groves of untamed wilderness. The direction checks out, the motivation is sensible, though there could be more System shenanigans at play.
How does the System work with monsters, demons, and void beasts, anyway? They exist because of the System and are given life and some sort of intelligence through it, but I don’t know if they truly have sapience or are just constructs puppeted about to test us. If only my old self had thought to ask Madison, or a way to interrogate them— then again, they could just lie and I’d be none the wiser. An idle curiosity for later.
I nod to Chloe. We don’t say another word as we suit up, gather our belongings, take inventory of our respective [Inventory], and prepare to go on a little sleuthing run.
I slip on my [Artificer’s Glasses], storing my [Brooch of Ambition] back away in my [Inventory]. The sting of one fewer Experience bonus was going to hurt, but having an honest-to-the-goddesses analysis ability in the here and now, right before a reconnaissance mission? I’d take what I could get. Because I sure as hell wasn’t getting [Anomalous Decryption] back anytime soon.
Besides, the demonic cow is already long out of the barn. I dare not expect or hope not to find nothing crawling down that overgrown castle, but with the master gone, I expect the perils to be more traps than sheer brutality. And the potential wares stored in those vaults? I’m salivating at the idea. And Chloe doesn’t look any less interested.
Breakfast proves quick. And with that and a quick moment to enjoy indoor plumbing— mankind’s greatest invention, next to A/C— we’re flying off to go explore some ruins.
I’m really not sure what I should have expected when I floated down from my perch among the clouds and down onto the surface below. A castle should be opulent and ostentatious, full of glittering gold and extravagant wealth, with luxurious interior design and exterior decor that together all screamed ‘I have more money in my offshore bank account than you’ll make in your entire life’. I dunno, really, but not this.
It did make sense in retrospect. This was a castle housing a dark lord. The desecration, the bloodstains, the broken windows and general state of disrepair. There were even a few wraiths— semicorporeal, vaguely humanoid, black, spectral, floating abominations could be called nothing else— patrolling the grounds. I would say that they don’t prove to be much of a challenge, except I never have a chance to test my strength against them. One of Chloe’s new spells, [Radiant Purge], completely excises the surroundings of all signs of unlife before I so much as draw my swordstaff.
I’d forgotten how visceral Chloe’s hatred of the undead was. I just got the clearest possible reminder that that aspect of her had not changed along with her classes. Grim purpose fills her every step. Disgust for this place, a burning hatred for this place and its fell once-ruler. An all-encompassing need to right the very wrongness within this place. And if she could gain a few more levels in the process, I know she would consider it nothing but the ‘get-one-free’ perk to the main ticket of doing her saintly duty to the world.
A whole palace full of hellspawn lies before us, and Chloe Jacobs has taken on the mantle of exorcist. I would say there is no compassion in her movements, cold and clinical, the work of a master surgeon who has turned coat and dedicated her formidable knowledge of the healing arts to harm.
Nothing is further from the truth. Every action is full of that same grief and compassion she’s been feeling nonstop since Alexey’s passing. I can sense it. Compassion for the tortured souls who died to that monstrosity Fornieth. Grief for their passing. Rage at their being twisted and corrupted by dark magic and made to serve evil. And she would be their liberator, shepherding them into the blessed sleep of oblivion.
Her quiet fury burns through every nook and cranny. It’s checked by purpose, but always on edge, ready to flare out at any target that catches her ire. My presence calms her to an extent, but I dare not mistake that for placation, and remain silent as I observe. Tread cautiously. That’s what I sense from her emotions. She’s on a hair-trigger and the last thing I need is to trip that.
As far as loot or hidden passageways or anything that might be a clue to the first two, I’m coming up empty. Worse than empty, I’m forced to correct, for I see a standard System Treasure Chest down a nearby hall, and it’s empty.
“What do you think?” I ask Chloe.
“This whole place seems off. This castle was home to such a powerful demon, but the monsters here… I keep purging them and most of them don’t even give me a single point of Experience.”
“Yet another thing that’s odd.” I point her to the empty treasure chest. “It reeks of some sort of plot. One I can’t help but wonder is of human origin instead of demon.”
If Chloe was displeased before, the very idea of a human or group of humans being behind that demon attack has sent her straight to pissed. I dare not recoil by even the slightest amount, lest that rage be turned upon me.
We approach. I’m not exactly sure what sort of clue I’m looking for; I’m no expert in forensic science, and trying to collect fingerprints or DNA samples probably won’t do any good. No traps, no signs of being forced open. No [Ether] signatures that I can perceive. My glasses find nothing out of the ordinary. For all I know, the chest was a decoy from the beginning, but I’m not taking anything for granted. Not here, not now.
The interior halls are chilled; I didn’t notice at first, their temperature a welcome contrast to the August midmorning sun. Now, as we progress deeper into the heart of the castle, I can feel it trying to gnaw into my bones. And I don’t think it’s entirely of natural origin.
Chloe remains steadfast, glowing a thin radiance of blue-white light that covers her robes and her skin. Her eyes, previously caramel, reflect with a shining golden light I’d not noticed until now. Probably a residual effect of whatever spell she’s channeling.
“In there,” she says, pointing to a double door at the end of the next hall. “Something dark.” Her hands twitch. An uncharacteristic grin of malice creeps upon her lips. “Something that needs to be rent from existence. A blight on our world that I will purge.”
I take the lead. Something is bothering me about this place. Chloe senses it too, but she’s too blinded by rage and grief to properly analyze it.
Another, stronger chill creeps down my spine, followed by a System notification.
[You have been targeted with [Possession]. [Defiant Spirit] activates, negating [Possession] and expelling the possessing creature.]
A shriek echoes through the hall as a specter of some sort materializes out of my body. So that’s what the sudden cold was a moment ago. It goes for Chloe, who blasts it out of existence with a [Scouring Light]. She grins.
“Level 54. I managed to get a few hundred Experience for that one.”
“Now it makes sense,” I say. “Why these enemies are so weak. They don’t need to be strong physically, or have high levels, if they are capable of puppeting our bodies and turning any raiding party against each other.” A quick shrug. “Unfortunately for them, we’re about the worst case scenario for such a strategy. The strongest healer for hundreds of miles, and a woman completely immune to such effects.”
Chloe doesn’t acknowledge my idle musing. “We’re here,” she says curtly.
“I have a request, love.”
Her eyebrows perk up. “Which is?”
“I want to face this creature myself.” I pause. “I know it’s selfish, but you’re not the only one who needs to get stronger to face what lies ahead for both of us.”
Chloe pauses. “Fine, Sera. But the moment you look like you’re wasting our time or getting in over your head, I’m going to rip the blight out by the root.”