[Corruption Wielder] Chapter 81: Machinations (Patreon)

“Where do we start?” Ayla sighed.

“Probably from the beginning,” Will suggested. “I’ve gotten a lot better at handling this, but I can’t hold this forever.”

“Have you received outside assistance?” Nynn asked suspiciously.

“Yeah. From you. Is that banned?”

“Not from me. Both Dreamer and I gave up great amounts of power so as to not violate plausibility.”

“I didn’t give anything up,” Ayla said. “The Dread Executor—“

“I did give that up, just for your reference.”

“The ex-Dread Executor here and I are both within plausibility bounds,” Ayla finished smoothly. “I assume you don’t know what that means?”

Will affixed her with a dead stare. “Actually, yes, I know exactly what you’re talking about, just like every new thing that’s been tossed at me and the world around me.”

“So you don’t. That’s par for the course with you, primate.”

“Par for the course?” Nynn asked.

“Looks like somebody didn’t take the assignment seriously. It’s Earth slang, local to the area this man’s from, referring to golf, a sport that isn’t seen anywhere else in this galaxy.”

“Why would they have a saying about a sport that applies to idiocy? It—“

“Hey,” Will interrupted. “As much as I genuinely would like to talk about the finer points of language and how it’s evolved over the years, and as much as I appreciate you proving that you are alive and well, can we get to the part where we were talking about everyone here dying?”

“Answer my question first,” Nynn said brusquely. “Did you receive instruction elsewhere?”

“Depends on what you define as instruction. Tell me what plausibility is, and maybe I can tell you if I violated it.”

“To make a very long story slightly less long,” Ayla said, “It’s a defense mechanism created partially by the system and partly by newly added planets’ lack of mana that prevents gods and beings of similar power from directly interfering in the cycle. Breaking them a little—such as, for instance, receiving instruction from a hidden Emperor—is harmful to both ends of the deal, and often results in an unfortunate death when restrictions are enforced. Breaking them a lot will corrupt you beyond belief and result in one of the most painful deaths known to the multiverse.”

“Then why don’t the corruption cultists just break it? Isn’t their goal to induce as much corruption as possible?”

“Letting a sovereign-tier user fall to plausibility would be like rigging a pound of C4 to blow up a reusable nuclear bomb,” Ayla replied. “Is that a simple enough analogy for you?”

“Yeah,” Will said, letting the jab slide. As much as he would have liked to banter, his soul did have limits, and he knew when it was more important to get to the heart of the issue. “I’ve used my sigil for training, but I assume that’s allowed since I haven’t experienced any adverse effects yet.”

“You would be correct,” Nynn said. “Your soul control is much better than anyone’s should be at this stage.”

In the Beyond, it was much harder to hide your true feelings, so Will could tell how genuinely surprised Nynn and Ayla had both been at the level of control he’d demonstrated over his Sanctuary.

To be honest, he’d been kind of shocked, too. Will knew he’d been getting better at manipulating his soul and holding it together, but actually shaping it had come far too naturally. Maybe it was the skill poking into him right now, giving him a clear example as to what it looked like when his soul was modified.

“Glad to hear it,” Will said. “The faster I can start doing more with this space, the better.”

“You are unlikely to master it sufficiently before the cultists’ plan plays out,” Ayla said. Her form paused in its shifting for a moment, as if she was reconsidering. “At your speed, it may be possible to reach the bare minimum of competence, but I doubt it’ll be enough to fight against them.”

“It’d help if you actually told me what you’ve discovered.”

“Right. As Nynn guessed before, I am currently in a dead zone. The system barely has coverage here, and without agents actively searching for me, the gods cannot locate me.”

“They have larger problems to deal with than just you,” Nynn said. “Count yourself lucky that such disasters have occurred now, else you would be back in a holding facility by now.”

“Dread Executor, and yet your viewpoint is so narrow,” Ayla said sadly. “Your precious trial of the champion would be doomed to the same fate that took ninety-two oh three if it weren’t for my presence here, but if you want to complain about me not following the rigid instructions of a god’s champion, feel free to.”

“You—“

“Hey,” Will said, sending a pulse through his soul. Both of the others with him were substantially more experienced in controlling theirs, so they were able to withstand it easily, but it got their attention. “How many times do I need to do this?”

“As I was saying,” Ayla said, stepping away from Nynn, “Although I cannot access a full projection into the Beyond at all times, I am always listening, and I caught a message.”

“Ramiel,” Nynn hissed. “It must have been him.”

“Whether or not it was Ramiel is immaterial to our current shared interests,” Ayla said. “What matters is the information the Dread Executor passed along.”

“He can do that?” Will asked. “I thought you just said plausibility would restrict this kind of thing.”

“It’s a complex system,” Nynn admitted. “Dread Executors get more leeway than most because of our—their—unique relationship with the system. To directly act, however, an Executor would have to give away their power.”

“Like you did, I presume.”

“Indeed. Few are willing to make this sacrifice, especially those without—I will not belabor the point.”

Ayla nodded—at least, Will thought it was a nod. It was hard to tell with her constantly morphing figure.

“I passed along the information to Nynn the only way I knew how to,” Ayla said. “My soul is beyond exhausted from repeated trips right now, so thank you for anchoring us.”

“Is this what you were doing while the 1v1s were going on?” Will asked. “Checking to see if the information’s good?”

“Not this alone, but yes,” Nynn said. “Unfortunately, Dreamer’s source proved to be extremely insightful.”

“Unfortunately?”

“The artifacts they planted earlier are not accessible anymore, but the first part of their purpose has been achieved. The cultists here must have been planning this for a long time.”

“Their purpose being?”

“Anchoring the tournament,” Ayla said. “Just like you linked all three of us, they are linking themselves to the trial. Right now, they’re off somewhere on the edge of the solar system at a distance that no gold-ranker can feasibly travel. The trial of the champion doesn’t only serve as a way to power up Users, though that is part of it. It is the greatest opportunity for gods to increase their influence in the current cycle through their sigils, as well as high-tier sponsors to do the same. When all is said and done, there is a quite a mass of potential power concentrated in one area.”

“So by linking their artifacts to it, they’ll corrupt that power?” Will asked. “Am I understanding this correctly?”

“Essentially. You can think of it like they’re tapping into the trial’s DNA. They will modify it, then use the information stored within to summon every User whose soul was bound to the trial, no matter how long they were here and how far they are now. What exactly they want to do afterwards is… less clear, but judging from patterns of corruption attacks like this, we can assume that it will result in a very corrupted trial, which could be grounds for the end of the cycle. Plus two thousand or so deaths, though that will matter little in the grand scheme of things.”

“That kind of matters to me, seeing as I’m one of those two thousand.”

“There are too many unknowns to truly understand the ramifications,” Nynn added. “However, I will not allow this cycle to end while I am alive and present.”

“Right. I guess you got something in exchange for giving up all that power.”

Will was still processing their words. If what they were saying was true, then the outcome of the trial itself barely even mattered. How were they even supposed to fight this? All the cultists were gold-rank, and with the power of the pyramid-pillars on their side, Will was literally the only person who could even push through the corruption, and he didn’t have enough power to actually defeat them.

Instead of voicing all those thoughts, he just asked, “What can I do?”

“We believe that their artifacts rely on a critical mass of power being established at once,” Nynn said. “I will stall the tournament out to allow it to cool off, so to speak. During that time, you will need to prepare yourself and the remaining Users for the inevitable battle.”

“There are forty-eight hours till the next round starts,” Will said. “You can make that longer?”

“Significantly so,” Nynn said. “Like you surmised, I did not seal myself down to gold without gaining an advantage or two.”

“We’re still going to have to fight the rounds out, aren’t we?” Will asked. “Unless the cultists trigger it prematurely.”

“They are unlikely to do so. A large surge of power occurs shortly after the final match concludes. I believe they will utilize that surge to trigger their artifacts.”

“Great,” Will said. “So you want me to… ignore this, basically.”

“Worse,” Ayla said. “You need to convince a group of other Users, each of them paragons of their element, that they need to work with you to serve a greater cause.”

“Dear god.”

“It’s not pleasant,” she sympathized.

“Wait. Aren’t you out there somewhere? Do you know where? You could help with this, couldn’t you?”

“Not at my full power,” Ayla said. “For the same reasons we listed before. I am… likely beyond your reach as it stands, unfortunately. Giving the exact location and reasons why would probably make this asshole go on a search and destroy mission instead of rectifying his mistakes.”

“Accusation aside, my mistakes?”

“I watched you,” Ayla said flatly. “I know much more than any of you think I do. You pushed the trial ahead, Nynn.”

“That was you?” Will asked, remembering the incident where the timeframe for the trial of the champion had moved from sixty days to three.

“I stand behind that decision,” he said. “The cultists would have found the trial regardless.”

“And they might have faced nascent golds instead of fresh silvers and monster-core bronzes,” Ayla said. “Sixty days is not much time, but this cycle holds great potential. You should know this.”

“Arguing about this is pointless,” Nynn said. “I will do what I must. You will play your part. Rest assured that I have no quarrel with you while this plays out, Dreamer.”

With that, he unceremoniously vanished.

“I somehow feel like I know less than I did before,” Will said. “Not a very articulate fellow, that man.”

“I am unsure of his plan as well,” Ayla admitted, “but there are too many variables for me to suggest a better one.”

“Now that he’s gone, I could try and get you,” Will suggested, half-jokingly.

Ayla closed her eyes, of which her current form had at least a dozen. “I am currently equidistant between Earth and Sol-4.”

“Sol-4… Mars?”

“As I said. Deep space. Tracking skills cannot find me. I can use the Beyond to influence and track, but not to transport. My existence is too weighty for my weakened soul to transport in its current state.”

Even weakened, Ayla was far more precise and controlled with her soul than Will was. It was clear that he wouldn’t be able to handle it, either.

“But you’re just… floating there?”

“Essentially. As part of my punishment, my soul and internal organs were marked with suppressive magic, so I cannot use anything but my connection to the Beyond and the most basic of mana manipulation. Even if you could find me, I fear I would be of little use against corruption. We go together like water and oil.”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Will said. “You have incredible insight, too. Besides, I don’t only want to get you back to civilization for your power. You’ve helped me a lot, and it’s kind of fucked up to just leave you in deep space. Maybe I won’t be able to do it at this rank, but I promise you that I’ll get you back, whatever it takes.”

“That’s sweet of you.” Something that might have been a smile crossed Ayla’s form. “You’re a good man, Will, no matter how much the world wishes otherwise.”

“I wouldn’t say that. You helped me through a tutorial that I almost certainly would have died in. I’m just returning the favor.”

“You underestimate yourself,” Ayla said. “I am too exhausted to remain much longer, even with your soul taking the brunt of the effort. Try not to die, okay? You’re growing on me.”

“I tend to have that effect on people.”

Ayla chuckled, then faded away, leaving Will alone in the Beyond.

Supporting all three of them had tired his soul out more than he’d realized, but he wasn’t done yet.

Sen’s eyes had come into the Beyond with him, hiding in the platform he’d created. Neither Ayla nor Nynn had mentioned it, though he’d seen that both had noticed the presence of his familiar.

Now that he had gotten an idea of what was going on, Will was even more certain of this play. He was going to meet Nynn and Ayla in the Beyond more than once before this all came to a head, he was sure, and he wasn’t going to do it empty-handed.

Over the course of the previous few rounds, Will had spread Sanctuaries throughout various points in the trial. As the number of links to the Beyond grew, so too did Will’s understanding of how far the tournament was split across space. The closest two links were on neighboring asteroids, but Will had to be at least two or three thousand miles away from them, which had vastly increased the cost of his Sanctuary to start.

Instead of teleporting to another Sanctuary, he sent Sen’s eyes through, unevenly distributing them so clumps went to each point of interest, focusing mostly on the areas he knew had been corrupted. He kept a few hundred eyes for himself, of course—there was no point in scouting out the area thousands of miles away if it blinded him.

Doing that spent the last of his soul’s energy. He could probably hold on for longer, but Will got the feeling that sticking to the Beyond now would be akin to continuing lifting long after he had maxed out. He didn’t want to cause his soul permanent damage, especially now that he knew what this tournament was becoming.

Will closed his eyes in the Beyond and opened them back in his suite.

Just in time for his skill to finish sinking into him.

#

“You are an utter bastard,” the Hunger said approvingly. “I hated that about you, but I am certainly coming around on it.”

“Just be happy that I’m winning,” Will said. “New skill, more money, more items, a bunch of gas consumables… I’m living the life right now.”

“You are. I must admit, it is quite entertaining to watch those who try to mimic us fall to the same tricks.”

“Yeah? Well, I’m about to use those tricks again.”

A deep rumbling filled the dream-space, which Will belatedly realized was the god sighing.

“What is it this time?”

“Remember how you promised me that I’d get a bunch more rewards for my sigil skills if I made top 8, top 4, and top 2?”

“To my dismay, yes.”

“Well, I need them faster and sooner. I have it on good information that the tournament’s about to go tits up, and I’m going to need all the power I can get for it.”

“This is not a trick. This is simply a request. Where is the rest?”

“I was going to wait to see if you’d grant it out of the goodness of your heart,” Will said. “If not, then I’ve got a pretty simple trick. You benefit from me going further, and I know you definitely benefit more than the rewards you’re giving me, since my performance has been absolutely stunning so far.”

“You give yourself a lot of credit.”

“Deservedly so.”

The god couldn’t come up with a comeback for that.

“Anyway.” Will smiled his you’re-about-to-get-screwed-over smile. “I’ll just throw. I can forfeit. God knows I’ve seen enough people do it against me.”

“You still use the singular god as an epithet, yet you know of the presence of many.”

“Yeah? I still say ‘fuck,’ and it’s not like I’ve been having sex lately. Hold on, that’s what you got stuck on?”

“The rest is preposterous. You would not dare to lose. Not one like you.”

“Wanna bet?” To be honest, Will wasn’t sure himself if he was willing to give up on a round. Every setback was an opportunity, but that didn’t mean he wanted to make his own setbacks.

But it didn’t matter whether or not he was willing to throw. All that mattered was that the Hunger believed he would and could. Even if Will’s aura revealed that he was unsure, could his sigil take that chance?

A long moment of silence stretched on into a terrifyingly quiet minute, until Will could feel the edges of consciousness creeping at the dream-space.

Did I miscalculate? He wondered.

And then, finally, the god spoke.

“Very well,” the Hunger said grudgingly. “I can grant the rewards one round earlier. It would be too much power to move them any further.”

Now that Ayla and Nynn had informed Will about the increased power that the trial of the champion possessed the further into the tournament it went, that limitation made a lot more sense.

“Brilliant,” Will said. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Your next training session is going to be extraordinarily painful.”

“Counting on it.”

He woke up to a flood of system messages.

[Kadael, the Hunger] has blessed your victory.

[Hunger Aura] has reached the peak of silver!

[Hunger Phantasm] has reached the peak of silver!

[Desperate Stand] has reached the peak of silver!

You have awakened a [Soul] skill at gold rank!

[Death]-affixed [Soul] skill acquired: [Wail of the Forgotten]

Level up!