Wakespire: Chapters 16-17 (Patreon)

Well, after hyping everyone up last week, I can only hope you all enjoy this. ^-^

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Chapter 16

Even though it felt wasteful, Theo made himself get a full night of sleep and spend some time relaxing so that he would be at his best. To his surprise, he found it a little unsatisfying. He would have liked to spend time with his friends, but he couldn't justify distracting them when they had so much work of their own to be doing. Senka would have been a nice distraction as well, if she hadn't been completely insufferable since giving him the materials.

After eating a leisurely breakfast, Theo accepted that it was time. No more work, no more delays. He didn't need any grand ceremonies or special locations, but he did notify the others that he was about to start.

If anything went terribly wrong, they might be able to help. Then again, if he ruined this ascension, he was as good as dead, with enemies like Vistgil.

When he entered his soulhome, he walked through all its chambers one last time. He'd removed every unnecessary material and tool, leaving only those that were integrated with his soulhome and major materials that he wanted to be strengthened in the ascension. The lostflesh throbbed at the bottom of his heart column where it could soak up cantae but not do any harm. Everything else had been given to Nauda for safekeeping.

Then there was only one other item: Theo carefully lifted the lightegg and carried it to the top of his soulhome.

He threw his will against the heavens, and it was easy at first. Yes, the pressure struck him and tore into his soul. Yes, it required the full exertion of his will. But he'd been back in the Nine soulcrafting for a long time and his spirit had rebuilt his reserves. If he braced himself, walking up the side of his pyramid was no worse than walking into a fierce wind.

The acid rain began not long after, but that was why he had spent so much time armoring the exterior of his soulhome. He didn't even worry about the rain eating into the materials, just pushed onward until he reached the top of his soulhome.

With a full pyramid instead of a gimmick, getting this far had been surprisingly easy. But as Theo pierced the sky, the true force of the ascension bore down on him with the same power that he'd seen crack open many soulhomes.

There was absolutely no possibility of resisting it. Raw cantae swept from above, flooding inside his soulhome instead of reinforcing it. For a terrible moment he remembered his flawed first ascension, when the power had crashed around within his soulhome and caused so much disorder. This time, it was caught by the curved wedges in each corner and automatically began flowing upwards into the sphere that had been forged into his soulhome and mind.

Theo took control of the raging torrent and forced it to follow his usual flow. Even more was rushing down from above, but he seized it with his will and wrenched it to the side. Instead of breaking in from all sides, it flowed through his vestibule door. That small room, the very first he'd soulcrafted after his return, did an admirable job of blunting the impact and allowing him to drain the rest into his sphere.

Everything felt right. He was fully unified with his blueprint.

If he had thrown all his willpower upwards in that second, he might have been able to break through and become an Authority. But that wasn't enough.

Trembling with the effort, Theo raised the lightegg over his head into the incoming power. The concentrated force of the ascension raged against it for a time before it finally cracked. His spiritual arms were aching, but he needed to make full use of the material. Once the lightegg had been sundered into multiple pieces, Theo staggered down one side of his pyramid.

The pressure lessened, so it was easy for him to throw the pieces off the edge into the grass of his foundation. He began moving around the perimeter, evenly distributing the fragments of the lightegg. Under the force of the ascension they were already beginning to melt, but there was no time to look at them. Even the low pressure at the base of the pyramid was growing painful and he had to crawl his way around the last side.

Now his foundation would be strengthened... if he could just get back up. Theo remained on his hands and knees for a while, recovering. Yet there could be no rest while he was struggling to control the currents. The power was soaking into his soulhome now, wanting to fundamentally transform his cantae, but he wasn't ready. If he let it go too far, his sublime materials would break apart from within.

With a supreme effort of will he pulled himself to his feet and began climbing. The air was thicker now and he struggled with each step. His cantae moving in a sphere grew heavier, no longer wind and slowly becoming liquid. Yet he was still just a Ruler, incapable of controlling such power. He had to get to the top...

His will alone wasn't enough. Theo's control slipped... and something else began absorbing the power. He stared down as he realized that the grizzleroot was soaking up a large portion of the cantae, using it to grow stronger.

It couldn't drink from the current forever, but the brief reprieve gave Theo a second wind. He pushed himself up the pyramid as fast as he could and only ground to a halt three steps from the top. So close... the sublime materials within his home were trembling now, threaten to break free from their places. Fear of that outcome pushed him another step.

Two more, and he felt like he had nothing left. His gaze fell and he saw that the lightegg was dissolving entirely, being absorbed into his foundation and strengthening it. He hadn't realized that his shielding wall was more important than he'd expected - it contained the pressure that would have spilled off into his soul, concentrating it on the fragments.

That encouraged him enough that his foot rose again. Just one more step, yet raising his leg that far seemed impossible. What did he have left? Fear was insufficient, willpower couldn't be enough, and he had nothing else left. Just one step...

Was he doing this for power alone? For immortality? To protect his friends? To take revenge on Vistgil? None of those answers were right, and Theo realized the truth: he didn't know. He had to keep moving forward in order to find a real answer.

It was a disappointing truth. And that disappointment fueled him just enough that he took one more step up and pushed through.

Instantly all the power that had been threatening to tear his soulhome apart became his. The rush of power after an ascension had always swept him off his feet, but this one enveloped him like an ocean. His cantae felt so dense, so potent. He didn't need to focus on his singularity to hover himself, he simply controlled gravity as he willed.

There would be countless applications to this breakthrough, but for once Theo had enough. He was just about to leave when he felt a touch on his knee in the physical world, then Nauda and Fiyu appeared in his soulhome as spirits. Even in their blurry forms, it was obvious they were beaming.

"Congratulations, Theo." Fiyu nodded to him and then began hovering around his soulhome, examining the details.

He already knew exactly what she would find. A few superficial materials had been damaged and his shielding was nothing but scattered remnants. Fragments of his pyramid lay around his soulhome, destroyed by the extended ascension. But all of that was trivial: his soulhome was intact and his ascension had been perfect.

"I finally understand why the lightegg was worth the trouble now." Nauda was kneeling on his lawn, running a spiritual hand through the grass. "It's like the opposite of the ruined foundations we saw in the Noveni ascensions. Your foundation is even stronger than before."

"It avoids later problems and helps with basements," Theo said, but in truth those barely mattered to him now. His soul felt right. All the grass around him was still yellowed and old, but it contained a great and steady strength. This was who he was, and by embracing it he'd dug spiritual roots deeper into his foundation.

Everything he had done was to reach this point. But this was itself only the first step... he'd made himself into an Authority who could ascend far enough to matter.

"Are you going to be ranked?" Fiyu descended beside them again. Theo immediately waved aside the question.

"Bah, there's no time for social posturing, not when there's so much to do!" For a start, he needed to clean up all the remnants of his shielding. Then he would need to divide his time between strengthening the skills that hadn't been usable at Ruler and building his fourth floor. That opened up new realms of possibility...

Lost in his plans, Theo almost didn't realize that his friends were staring at him. He grinned self-consciously and let go of those plans.

"But all of that can come later." He left his soulhome and smiled at them in real life. "First, it's time for the Wakespire."

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Chapter 17

For the first time since she had entered Noven, Nauda actually felt prepared. She had a clear objective and she knew what was going on. So many things had gone wrong or been poorly timed up to that point, it was almost surreal to be entering a contest that she had been preparing for all month. Now, despite a few surprises, it was time to put that preparation to use.

As they flew to the entrance portal, the others were discussing their strategy. Nauda mostly remained silent and fidgeted with the glove on her off-hand. Many of the spire chambers relied on raw cantae to overwhelm techniques, but that method was expensive and obviously vulnerable to being overwhelmed itself. She knew her ability wasn't developed enough to break the spire... and just hoped it was enough to make a difference. Training on the actual challenges had been impossible, after all.

"What if Isorales does not reach the intersection tower early enough?" Fiyu asked. "His team is not capable of completing all rooms quickly."

"I think we hold the line as long as we can and hope it can overcome the randomization," Theo said. "In theory the first ten rooms are all known, so his luck can only get so bad."

"I am worried about the darkness room. Not our plan, but I do not know what will be done to prevent me from helping."

"Yeah, I wish they had just answered our questions about that."

The Wakespire tower had been growing in front of them for some time and now they came into sight of the entrance plaza at the bottom. This time they weren't running behind, so no one had entered the portals. Guchiro let them down at one side and then flew the sleigh around to the general audience area.

Nauda realized the flip-side of knowing the challenge better: they were also known. Two of the Dortorus teams appeared neutral, but the third was glaring directly at them. They might not have attacked since the fight, but they clearly hadn't forgotten it. The Terefilia team was also shifting restlessly, their black wings rustling. Isorales and his teammates stood on the opposite side, not looking toward Nauda or her allies.

There was nothing illegal about their agreement, of course. It would just be best if no one else caught on to their strategy for as long as possible. Beyond that, it would all come down to the other team's actual skill.

"We fulfill our agreement first," Theo reminded them in a low voice, "but our second goal is to experiment. The others have all had multiple attempts at the spire, so we need to refine our strategies for the serious rounds."

"We understand." Fiyu bobbed her head more somberly than usual, as she was settling into combat mode.

For her part, Nauda only tightened her glove into a fist. Theo saw it and understood.

"Welcome to the third round of the Wakespire!" A clear portal appeared above the entrance, showing the nine judges on their thrones. The woman in the center made a grand gesture as she continued speaking. "We return here to celebrate the life of Katarikus Terefilia and to distribute his sublime legacy for the advancement of all. Take your places... prepare yourselves... begin!"

Nauda leapt toward the portal as soon as the final word was spoken. She sailed through the air along with her allies and they hit the portal, landing on the other side smoothly. They all looked like talented soulcrafters... except that Senka was clinging to Theo's leg and whining.

"Come on, Senka, there's no time for this." He tried to shake her off, but she clung tighter.

"No! Senka doesn't wanna!"

Ignoring whatever was going on there, Nauda just focused on the room: it was another simple water puzzle representing cantae. Their plan had been for Theo to take charge in the soulcrafting challenges, but now he was dealing with Senka. Nauda didn't even have to look at Fiyu, the two of them simply began turning levers to improve the flow of the water.

"Just go through the portal... are you messing with me?"

"Blooky Theo! Let go, let goooo!"

Eventually Theo managed to peel Senka off his leg and hurled her into the forfeit portal. He turned back to them with an odd expression on his face. Nauda had expected an irritated scowl, but he looked more sad than anything. A moment later his focus returned as he realized that this was an inauspicious start.

Fortunately, Nauda and Fiyu had completed the puzzle while he struggled with Senka. They didn't waste any time running into the next portal... which meant plunging into darkness.

They had planned to enter each portal carefully spaced, since they predicted the dark room would come early. Nauda had been between the two of them, so she reached out to take their hands. Theo clasped hers immediately, but no matter how Nauda groped for Fiyu, there was no sign of her.

"She isn't here," Theo said. "Follow me."

"You're sure you can do this?" Nauda followed him, trying not to wince as she felt wind currents in the room. The hairs on the back of her neck were constantly prickling, as there could be traps plunging toward her at any moment.

"It isn't as hard as I expected. Just stick close."

Fiyu could see the traps in the room as plain as day, and Theo's improved gravitational sense was apparently sufficient, but Nauda was completely blind. She had asked Isorales about the room and he had explained about traps she hadn't even considered. Apparently making light was useless, because the room blinded their eyes directly, and it also tried to use cantae to suppress other methods of cheating the darkness. Fortunately, Nauda's allies had senses that the spire creators hadn't anticipated.

They passed through after a short but extremely tense walk. When Nauda stepped into the next room she was relieved, first by the normal light and second by Fiyu.

"Oh, I am glad to see you both." Fiyu stepped closer to them with a broad smile on her face.

"Did they just send you to the next room?" Nauda asked.

"I was confused at first, but that is what they explained."

Theo had already marched past them to the table, where a Noveni official sat waiting. Since it was true that they were in a hurry, Nauda followed him. "Which room is this?" she asked.

"Blessing." Theo scowled at the model spire and tapped one of the lower lights. "How is Isorales still stuck in the first chamber?"

"He may have entered the dark room first," Fiyu suggested.

Nauda shook her head. "We don't know that. I doubt the puzzle would slow him down, but his team wouldn't kill the demons as fast as we could. We got through the first two rooms much faster than average, after all."

"Then... do we bless him now, or wait? If he is just about to complete the first trial, would it be wasted?"

The official, an older man with gray wings, spoke up at that point. "If another team was about to enter the next portal, we wouldn't waste your blessing on a technicality. But if they're partially through an easy challenge, yes, your blessing is applied immediately. Even I don't know which rooms they're in, so don't try pressing me for hints."

Maybe that was what most teams did, but Nauda doubted that any of them were thinking along those lines. Theo folded his arms and scowled at the model as the lights shifted. At the beginning, they had been ahead of the others, but now multiple lights were swarming after them. Isorales remained on the lowest level, while Dortorus and Terefilia teams had already been on the second for some time. At any moment now...

One of the Dortorus teams jumped to the third floor alongside them, then a second later climbed to the fourth.

"Bless the Jadadictus team!" Theo called as he ran for the portal. Nauda scrambled after him and they plunged in.

They hadn't known for sure where the intersecting spiral chamber would occur, so they'd agreed that they had to rush. This time, it seemed like Theo's paranoia was justified. The Dortorus team, not including any of those who had fought them, was already sprinting up their glass pathway.

Theo acted with startling speed, increasing their gravity so drastically that the four were slammed down into the stairs. Nauda actually stared in shock, because she'd grown used to others being able to resist his fields.

Not any more: his cantae at Authority flowed like a burning liquid and the resulting gravity flattened all four. The field had appeared startlingly fast, too. She knew that he had been altering his blueprint to improve his speed, but she hadn't expected it to be nearly instantaneous. The Rulers were burning cantae to resist and not able to do much more than push themselves up enough to breathe.

But like all the Dortorus teams, they had an Authority among them. He finally recovered enough to release his cantae and surround his teammates, lifting them all into the air. In response, Theo increased the pressure and they all slammed back into the stairs. The Authority stared at them in shock, burning cantae wildly and only just able to rise.

A crack formed along the glass tube. Several of the stairs crumpled. One of the Rulers hung limp in the cantae, squeezed from both sides. Nauda realized that the limitation wasn't going to be Theo's maximum gravity, it was the structural integrity of the room itself. Before the Authority could escape, Nauda thrust out her staff and bound his chest. All his efforts had been focused on resisting Theo's gravity, so he was unprepared when she threw them all against the side of the glass tube.

While Nauda and her allies fought, they'd been climbing their own staircase, almost overtaking the first Dortorus team. Nauda was starting to think they could recover when Fiyu let out a soft gasp. Behind them, there were not one but two teams entering: the Terefilia group as well as a second Dortorus quartet.

Fiyu immediately send a burst of light over the entrances of both tubes. She wasn't using anywhere near her full strength, but the teams weren't going to throw themselves into a hail of cantae bolts. Both flinched back, stuck at the base of their paths, and that gave Theo time to flatten them as well. It looked like he could easily maintain the three powerful fields with strength to spare. Even one of the Authorities, a woman with an inefficient generic soulhome, was struggling to resist. Though Theo remained serious, she caught a whisper of a smile on his lips.

It took Nauda another second to realize the second problem: all four pathways were now occupied. They hadn't known for sure that they'd end up in the same column as Isorales, but they had hoped to enter together. Now they couldn't hold off the others while Isorales advanced and they had no idea how well he was doing.

"No choice." Theo was gritting his teeth now, as even his cantae levels couldn't compete with three other Authorities forever. "We delay them as long as possible, then advance."

By that point, they'd reached the very top of the chamber. Even though it was harming their own chances, apparently Theo was going to honor the agreement. They'd fight as long as they could to hold back the other teams.

The groups below were no longer intimidated by Fiyu's burst of light and they were burning cantae to resist Theo. One of them had developed a shield technique overhead while an Authority was simply sprinting out and returning fire. Theo cast another field at both, a reversed one that threw them into the air when they tried to climb the stairs. It thoroughly disrupted both teams... but it drew his attention away from the other Authority.

In an instant, the first Dortorus team burst free. One of their Rulers grabbed the Authority and began generating a new technique, some kind of cantae field. Operating purely on the assumption that it was designed to resist Theo's gravity, Nauda hurled cantae bolts at them.

Just ordinary bolts, since she didn't have any good long range techniques. But with the group so fixated on their struggle against Theo, they were taken off guard. She struck several, staggering the team before they could continue their climb. How long had it been? They'd frozen progress, but they couldn't hold out forever against twelve other soulcrafters.

"Look out!"

Nauda heard the words and turned without being sure who was speaking. She caught a glimpse of an enormous beam of cantae, then something cool slipped around her waist and pulled her down against the stairs.

Flattened against the steps, gasping for breath, Nauda took several heartbeats to realize what had happened. One of the teams below had broken free and their Authority had launched a beam of scorching cantae. It had been subtle enough that Nauda hadn't even noticed, but Fiyu had grabbed her with her new darkness technique and pulled her down. If not, she would have taken that beam to the face.

She lay against the stairs and saw the beam blazing just a pace from her, held back by the sublime glass of the side. The beam wasn't letting up and the glass was beginning to glow orange as it melted. There was no guarantee that it would hold long, plus the other teams had gotten free and resumed climbing. When Nauda looked up to Theo, he nodded. They had done the best they could, but they could only hold off the other teams so long.

Nauda brushed her hand along the hot glass, forming a line of wards, then urged her allies on. They sprinted forward, trying to keep low as they raced for the next portal. Her wards held out for a sadly brief time against the beam of cantae, barely enough to protect them the last few steps.

As they tumbled through, Nauda wondered how everything could already have gone so wrong. They might be in the lead, but they had no idea if their plan was working at all.