Soul of Blades - Interlude & Chapter 38: Ichor and Blood / Gilded Throne (Patreon)

John, the town Guard - level ?? BloodBerserker

John had mixed feelings about change. Over the past week or so, he had become intimately familiar with it; change had become his constant companion.

ever since his time spent in the tutorial realm, Everything had changed. many times, in fact. And not only had things changed, but things he hadn't even known could change had rapidly become capable of change. His capabilities changed, his ‘skills’ changed, the town had changed, local beasts changed- twisted by the system- and most noticeably, magic had changed entirely. The town had been turned upside-down by the sudden surge of magic in all of its citizens, and with the introduction of ‘Classes’ and ‘Skills’, every soul had found themselves capable of wielding powers that they had only weeks before thought of as the territory of nobility, or those wealthy enough to afford to study the arcane for decades. Powerful magic was not meant for farmers or bakers, and certainly not town criers. Magic expertise had become the norm for laymen, much more so than it had ever been before. The prospect of a visiting mage or aura Knight no longer sent the town's children into a frenzy. Magic was ubiquitous now, no longer a dream for ambitious youths who struggled to levitate small objects, or practising swordsmen who barely managed to infuse a mage's power into their swings. They had all changed and now had magic of their own. Well, Except for Fred. Fred didn't have shit.

John didn't feel bad for Fred, though. The unassuming town cobbler had somehow evaded magic's notice. And Fred had somehow turned his lack of magic into the most useful of tools.

Fred had a knack for survival.

The town, once a haven from the wilds, found itself besieged by creatures of all kinds, things twisted to become deadlier than ever- some becoming close to creatures of myth and nightmare. These beasts, emboldened by whatever changes had occurred during the system’s introduction, often expanded their territories or migrated after being ousted by stronger altered beasts. They often attacked the town and struck terror into the hearts of the newly empowered townsfolk. Occasionally John's nights had become a cacophony of roars and magical blasts as the townsfolk fought for their lives. Each week had broken with stories of narrow escapes and valiant stands, the town's history rewritten with each battle.

But Fred persisted, unharmed. John didn't think he'd ever seen a monster even try to attack Fred. Perhaps they considered the man too mundane to be worth consuming? John wondered.

Magic altered everything except for Fred, the cobbler. Fred’s life remained as it always was, repairing shoes and boots. As chaos reigned outside, Fred's shop was a haven of normalcy. He had sort of just appeared during the tutorial, an unassuming cobbler from a town no one had ever heard of who had no access to magic or skills- even with the system sweeping over the world and altering magic as they knew it. As far as John knew Fred couldn't do much, aside from mending shoes. But Fred’s mundanity had rendered him hard to notice at times. He was the kind of guy you wouldn't notice walking into a room, the kind of guy you'd find yourself surprised to see even though he had been standing beside you for the last ten minutes in a bright orange suit. The cobbler had an uncanny way of going beneath your notice until he was right up in your face. Was that strange? John questioned. It didn't feel strange.

Why was I thinking about Fred again? John wondered, as he tried to use his skills to channel the power of blood to strengthen himself and pressed into his wounds to stem the bleeding. Oh yeah, I was thinking about ‘change’, wasn't I?

His thoughts returned to the changes that had beset his beloved town in the past fortnite. And then they summarily returned to Fred. Amidst the maelstrom of arcane upheaval, there was the cobbler. While everyone and everything around John had changed, embracing newfound powers and evolution, Fred remained as he always was. Always?… John's thought was interrupted by the discrepancy.  Where was I, John thought once more, as a large dark green wooden splinter the size of his arm crashed into the wall beside him with a shattering crack, a spray of lesser splinter clattering harmlessly across the marble floor he sat upon.

Ah yes, he thought I was thinking about magic, wasn't I… And Fred.

John had visited Fred every few days after his battles defending the town and settlement, always to have his shoes repaired. And Fred had continued his work, attending to his craft with a steadiness that had become rare. Fred's life, unchanged by the magical chaos, made him an anomaly. He hadn't so much as received a bruise during the tutorial realm or their return from it. Neither had he slayed a monster, so far as John was aware.

Even when disappearances became common talk; people vanished without a trace, leaving behind a void of confusion and fear, Fred remained unscathed.

And those tales about system treasures on the other side of town?  The large ‘incursion dungeon’? Yeah, no one who went looking for them came back. All the adventurers and travellers of all levels had failed to return from the dungeon. Except for Fred, he seemed to be the only person capable of traversing these new lands without significant notice or trouble. The rumours of World changing treasure within the dungeon on the other side of town had claimed many victims since their return besides that sole survivor. He claimed there was nothing to see, and that the dungeon had been empty. And yet still others failed to return.

Even during the tutorial, John had wondered what class Fred had, a part of him suspected that Cobbler didn't even have a class… There was something really strange about Fred, wasn't there?

John paused as a system notification alerted him to class-skill choice and without much thought or consideration, John selected his new active skill;  Blood Manipulation. Information, senses, and instincts surged into his memories, implanting him with a beginner-level understanding of how to utilize his new skill. Pain and his flowing blood immediately lessened as he attempted to purify and retrieve his lost blood while stationary on the stone floor.

Where was I? He thought, once more, as he experimented with his new skill by turning a drop of his blood into a sharp glass-like structure.

Ah, yes. I was thinking about the town, he recalled.

At the receipt of a new skill, his thoughts once more returned to that of his beloved town.

In the tutorial realm, their settlement had been a magnet for monsters and saw regular attacks. Huge creatures had come each night, and it had taken all of the townspeople to use their magic to fight them off. Their return to Pyra hadn't changed that reality, it seemed. The system's new world had not given them a break. With every battle, they'd found new damage to repair and sometimes a hero who'd saved them.

And then there was Fred. He just kept fixing shoes.

***

As John walked, sword in hand, through the chamber of a hidden Arachnae Queen, he found himself feeling a little bit like Fred.

He felt ordinary.

Before he awoke in the hive of an Arachnae swarm. John had believed himself special. He believed that everyone was special in their own way- but he had felt as though he had been tapped into the qualities that made him special for as long as he could remember. He was special, had told him and had always considered himself so. The feeling he had felt his whole life had only been enhanced by the change that swept the new world. In the past few weeks his boldness had led him to race ahead to complete multiple quests with high contributions, he had even managed to find a hidden quest! One that he had wisely kept to himself, of course.

He had gained a special class and had special skills. He had defeated special beasts and faced the worst the system had to offer.

But now he stood facing down an unknown hive Queen, hidden deep underground. He found himself standing beside a girl who was apparently the world's first truly human-looking Arachnae- something indistinguishable from humanity that suggested a potential for infiltration that could end life as he knew it.

And finally, to his other side stood a man- Alex- whose strength and skill rivalled the most talented monsters of the tutorial, even appearing to exceed some at moments during his journey through the hive.

Amongst his current peers and enemies, John felt like Fred, mundane in a way that he could only hope would protect him. But he doubted his mundanity would serve him as well as it had served Fred.

John manipulated the surrounding ichor of fallen Arachnae into a rough and unwieldy gauntlet and a thick slab of hardened ichor coated his chest, serving as a bastardized chest plate. That way he wouldn't lose his grip on his sword or die at the first blow- he hoped.

He eyed the monstrosity before him as it exchanged words with the drifter girl, then turned to look at Alex who stood with his sword drawn, staring in another direction entirely.

His torso increased in bulk as layers of vital fluid continued to form in crude blocks over his vitals.

Blood and ichor solidified in malformed layers around him, and John breathed deep, preparing himself for the inevitable conflict.

***

Alex

Alex’s attention was solely focused on the pile of treasure and healing potions that lay beside the Queen. The rough outlines of a plan were beginning to form within his thoughts.

He needed to close the distance between them without initiating a battle. He would need them to get closer, much closer.

“Talk to her,” he said, nudging the girl beside him.

The girl stared intently at the Queen as they approached, and the Queen stared back in turn, some silent battle of wills taking place. Alex saw an imperceptible shift in the air, Like chemical lightning. It was so fast his enhanced mind barely even caught it. But it hadn't escaped his skills, he had seen some strange exchange between the two Arachnae. A combination of his Bestial Senses and Outer Focus skills had caught what looked like a chemical exchange erupting between the two Arachnae at the speed of thought. Was that their Pheromones? He wondered,maybe The Hive-mind skill? He questioned as he observed the Queen grimace in distaste, Or both? Probably both.

“Use your voice, Kid. No hive mind-speak,” The kid's eyes widened slightly in surprise at Alex's perceptive words before she pursed her lips and spoke aloud to the Queen. And with each word she spoke, Alex took a step closer to his true prize; the healing potions.

“Yes!” The girl spoke aloud to the queen, who eyed her sudden change in communication curiously.

"You really believe humans can change?" The Queen's disbelief hung tangibly in the air, her lips barely moving.

The girl stood with a steadfast posture, her feet firmly planted on the mosaic floor, reflecting the room's soft green, golden and bronze light. she replied firmly, "Yes, they can learn, adapt. As we can.”

The Queen laughed, a rumbling chime that shook the air and passed through all present. Alex sensed thick waves of chemical signals bursting from each giggle washing over the surrounding luminous arachnids, their bodies pulsating with each note. It hit the girl too. Her fist clenched tighter with each note, her knuckles whitening as she stood unwavering, stalwart, pressing forward with her unaffected human peers.

Alex paused, eyeing the small sections of throne he could see beneath the Queen's engorged womb. Like the rest of the chamber, it was another display of opulence, with elaborate designs in gold and bronze- a strange selection, yet intricate and alluring. Alex found his gaze irresistibly drawn to the fractal patterns and images, a wonder of foreign artistry and elegance.

Yet still alien.

The Queen leaned back on her throne, an elaborate structure that seemed to merge with her form. Her face displayed amused ease, but her movements, subtle and restrained, betrayed her irritation. "Centuries of war, child. They've never shown mercy to us."

"But we've never offered peace either," the girl countered, stepping closer to the Queen, her bound feet softly tapping against the stone floor. "And what of the things we have done to their villages and their families? There's a different way, I've seen it."

"A different way?" The Queen scoffed. Her voice dripped with scorn, reverberating off the high ceiling, and her fangs caught the light as she spoke. "Centuries of bloodshed at their hands, and you speak of harmony?"

The girl's eyes held a steady, unwavering gaze, reflecting the chamber's bioluminescent light, Her human-like appearance belying the monster within.

“You think you are the first? To dwell with humans? To seek peace?” The Queen's voice remained calm, but for a moment, Alex’s enhanced senses caught her trembling with rage. “They are destroyers!” she continued, her voice growing in volume, “They are worse than beasts. You have not seen our foreign borders, nor the deaths of those who hold the line," the Queen gestured broadly, her arm movements fluid and graceful, her face now contorted with anger.

She snarled, "They started this war!" Her words seemed to reverberate off the gold and bronze, amplifying their intensity.

The girl sighed, her voice calm yet firm. "And we have the power to end it. We've both lost so much."

The Queen's head shook, a slow, deliberate movement, her many eyes squinting in judgment. "The lies. You sound like one of them." a hint of disgust crept into her porcelain features.

“If we were not made as their natural predators we would not have survived. They are lesser in mind but greater in Evil. You will see…” Her voice trailed off.

“Or perhaps you will not” The queen added after the pause, her gaze scrutinizing.

The three, Alex, John, and the girl stepped closer to the Queen. The Queen shifted to receive them, drawing in all eight of her thick tree-like arms to lounge on her throne and support her gargantuan womb, teeming with life. Alex craned his neck to take in her full stature, his eyes scanning the intricate designs of her throne, then he refocused on the treasure. He shifted his sword imperceptibly, the temptation to test his skill and retrieve the potions present. But with the senses these creatures possessed he knew even the slightest move would be detected. He had to be certain of the distance for this to work.

So they moved closer, and the girl spoke once more.

“Let us leave, Queen.” the girl said. “I don’t wish to harm you. I don't want to fight. I simply wish to leave the hive with my humans.”

John looked to Alex with concern at her last statement, his brows creased, He silently mouthing the words “MY HUMANS???” quizzically to Alex, seeking answers. Alex put a finger to his lips in response, signalling what he believed was the universal sign for ‘keep your damn mouth shut’- a sign he hoped translated across worlds.

"So you simply wish to leave, and join the humans." The Queen's voice turned cold, and Alex could almost swear he felt the slightest of drops in the chamber's temperature. "To forsake our heritage, our very nature, on the whims of a newborn?"

The girl's voice was almost pleading. "Not forsake, evolve. We can be more than what history and evolution has made us."

The Queen's posture stiffened, her gaze piercing through the dim light. "You challenge the very core of our existence."

Silence engulfed them.

"I challenge us to grow, to change. Isn't that the essence of what we are?" the girl spoke softly, cutting through the silence of the chamber.

“It’s kill or be killed.” The Queens voice rang like church bells. “And we are unkillable, we have evolved past anything the savages have ever used to harm us. We are the predators and they are our prey.” Alex sensed Queen’s voice sending ripples through the air with each word.

“You think we are this world's monsters?” The Queen laughed, and the chamber rumbled with each delicate chime, the sound resonating off the ornate walls.

“It’s a shame you won’t live long enough to discover the true monstrosity of sentients. You speak of change, as if we need to show them less of what we are.” the Queen chimed, eyeing the girl with an unreadable expression.

"I spoke of showing them we're more than their nightmares." the girl took another step forward, her voice determined.

"Nightmares? No child, we are their doom. They deserve no less. Their fear is our weapon. We should strike, not parley." the queen responded swiftly, and her frontmost eyes- the most human-looking of her set- narrowed. 

“Our path is set and clear to see. We will rule over a world of ashes and bones and build new structures through the smoke. Peace? A fool’s dream. The final evolution is the only truth. Power is the only path.” The Queen's voice, laden with conviction, reverberated through the chamber. As she spoke, her eyes, intense and commanding, locked onto the girl.

"Dreamers are the first to die. Survival is our only concern.” The Queen's stance was formidable as she delivered her declaration. Her presence dominated the room with each word. "Brutality is the language of this world. There is no end to this. There's only evolution.” The Queen plucked a glowing core from the pile of treasure, her movements fluid and deliberate as her fingers delicately grasped it. she dropped it into her open Maw, the fading light reflecting false beauty as it fell “And prey.” She said.

The girl pulled a handful of much smaller cores from a pouch and did the same. “And your plan?” she asked, her voice steady, “To Wipe them out? Every last one? To soak the world in blood?”

"If that’s what it takes. Blood is the price of survival.” The light from another large core in her hand played across her features, intensified by the chamber’s bioluminescence, amplifying the surrounding patterns of gold as bronze. She swallowed it whole before speaking again. “If every sentient must be sacrificed to attain our final evolution then that is no sacrifice.”

“That is a bargain.” The Queen's reply was chilling, her expression unyielding.

John and Alex locked eyes at the monstrosity’s statement, silently communicating a decision to end the false monarch's existence by any means necessary.

“They fear us as we fear them. But I've walked among them, and seen their capacity for kindness. There are other possibilities.” The girl took a step forward, her voice now unsteady- uncertain. “like being more than just the sum of our fear."

The three stepped closer, following the girls' lead. Alex followed in step, his evolved senses strained to detect the slightest hint of attack from the Queen's many limbs.

"Kindness? Possibilities" The Queen's laugh was a bitter rumble. Then the Queen's eyes flashed dangerously. "You think me afraid?"

Two of the Queen's long limbs, previously resting at her sides, gripped the edges of her throne. She squeezed, Sending a shower of stones and minerals spraying before the three. The surrounding luminous arachnae scattered to the corners of the chamber to avoid the hail of stone and metal, submerging Alex and his companions in the dimness of shadows. They were close to her now, less than fifteen feet away and well within range of her gargantuan limbs. Alex looked pointedly beside him to John and caught his eye, and signalled with his lowered sword for John to retreat. Swaying the blade to point behind him and shoving it pointedly backwards several times. He hoped the town guard would understand what was needed of him when the time came. And the time was almost here. Just a few more steps, Alex thought, his every muscle coiled like springs and strained with tensile restraint.

The Queen leaned forward to address the girl one final time as they approached, completely dismissing her accompanying humans.

"I was curious to see how far your evolution had extended the lengths of your cognition, Drifter. That is the only reason why I entertained this farce of a discussion. Do not believe yourself my equal,” the Queen spoke, her voice resonating with authority.

“You talk of peace, child? After centuries of slaughter? Humans will never stand with us,” the Queen's voice rose slightly, the resonance of her words filling the underground chamber. Her eyes, reflecting a depth of centuries, remained locked on the girl, scrutinizing her every reaction.

“But they will KNEEL,” the Queen declared, her voice booming in the chamber. Two arms, massive and formidable like ancient trees, moved beneath her, shifting to cradle a womb the size of a house. The womb squirmed with countless eggs, endlessly shifting. The chamber trembled as her remaining six limbs moved in unison in preparation to attack.

Two more of her limbs extended to land behind them.

A boom sounded from all sides.

The chamber shook as they landed, dust cascading like rain from the ceiling.

It was now or never. Alex made his move.

His new skill, Bestial Senses allowed him a 3-dimensional view of his immediate surroundings- he could see and sense things from multiple sides if he chose to. The only limit to the passive skill was that he had to be close to what he wanted to perceive or he'd risk facing a painful form of sensory overload.

The skill paired well with his milestone skill, which summoned a mana construct under his direct control in any place of his choosing.

Sovereign Executioner, he thought as he drew his sword and held it as one would hold a baseball bat.

Reality rippled as his mana construct appeared standing amidst the treasured cores and healing potions, its large ceremonial sword cocked back in mimicry of Alex’s batters stance.

Alex swung, and a spray of potions flew through the air, most of them headed toward him.

Alex raced forward to retrieve them, expertly moving with precision to touch swords and healing potions as they flew through the air. The moment they made contact with his skin, a flex of his will would store them in his inventory.

The move had netted him six potions.

Seeing her treasures stolen, the Queen screeched in rage.

“RUN!” Alex yelled at John, pointing to the section of the chamber that had been proven to be beyond the twisted queen's range. John nodded and sprinted off, strange hardened blocks of blood and ichor forming on his back with each step. And Alex leapt. The girl followed.

Phoenix Leap. Mana Blade. Sovereign Executioner.

Alex shot towards the Queen's head and swung, the hum of his blade momentarily lighting a portion of the chamber. The long blade of his construct appeared behind her and crashed down with equal force.

And the next thing Alex knew, his world became filled with pain.

He crashed to the ground, struck by a blur he had barely sensed coming. More tree-sized blurs shot past him As he faced the Queen. he sensed her gargantuan limb crashing into John's fleeing form, and practically felt the fluids around John's torso morphing into spikes the instant before the impact, scoring deep wounds across the offending limb. But the impact still connected.

John when flying, a sound akin to smashed glass shooting through the chamber as his defences crumbled and he crashed into the far end of the wall, crumpling into a heap.

Another arachnid limb shot past his prone form, a blur Alex could only just follow through a combination of his high intelligence stat and ‘sense’ skills. It crashed into the girl before she could muster a response, sending her flying to join John, crashing into the far wall and landing in a heap of broken skin, carapace and ichor. She rolled to her stomach, groaning in pain but still alive.

Alex looked up as he lay on the ground and made to rise, belatedly sensing another attack from the Queen.

She was fast. Too fast. Faster than anything he'd ever encountered.

His mind could keep up with her speed, but his body couldn't. He couldn't move fast enough, couldn't react in time, it felt like he was moving through molasses, submerged in a sea of inadequacy while forced to watch his death inch closer.

Sovereign Executioner, he thought, clearly envisioning the space in front of him, positioning the constructed blade in the path of her swing at the speed of thought.

Alex had done the only thing he could; he had used his high intelligence and summoning skill to react at speeds his body could not yet follow. It was not intended to be a defensive skill, but his adaptation had worked.

Her limb crashed into Alex’s construct and veered off course, impacting him slightly but failing to take his life.

Pain blossomed across Alex’s face and the right side of his world went dark. Her blow had ruptured his eye.

The world flashed white in what remained of his vision.

Alex stumbled to his feet, reality spinning with each movement. He accessed his inventory, using his Bestial Senses to summon a potion to appear between his lips. He bit down on its cap and felt its rejuvenating energies mending the torn muscles and tissues in his face. Vision in his right eye refused to return, and his ears still rang from the impact.

He stared up, swaying as he struggled to meet the monstrosity’s gaze.

The Queen's many eyes fixed on Alex, a predator assessing its prey. He felt a chill run down his spine, the primal fear of a hunted animal. Alex fought back against the feeling, crushing it with a force of will and experience.

Soft patters of bound feet on stone sounded a distance behind him. It was the girl, racing to help, but she was too far away to make a difference, and far too slow to be of any help. With the Queen's speed, she may have as well been in another country.

“Human,” the Queen said, addressing Alex. “You have a useful, more permanent core. I'm sure of it.  Offer yourself to me. Give me your mana heart, and I will consider letting the drifter and her human live.” all of her dark eyes stared at him with intent, a constellation in the gloom.

She reached for her swords, one bronze and the other pure gold.

What kind of a deal is that? Alex chuckled and hacked blood, not bothering to respond to the creature. He simply summoned a sword in each hand in turn and muttered three words under his breath.

“Duel of Corruption.”