Chapter 71. Interlude - Zilverna (Patreon)

“Mother.” Zilverna Elvry Sezakuin crossed his arms and wore a stony expression. His hair was messy, as though he’d been recently airborne. The cape he wore on his shoulder appeared a bit dirty as well, the stain of red, dusty sand tinging its edges. He was standing in Maria’s office, a small space tucked behind the throne room, the Sezakuin’s public seat of power.

Mother looked up from her glosscomp, hair falling into her eyes. She tucked it away and gave him a knowing look. “Yes, dearest?”

“You moved the Infinity Loop to Cunabulus and didn’t think to tell me?”

“You’ve been busy.”

Zilverna rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “You sent me to patrol the Pit of Yveki last week, just before you moved the experiment.”

Mother smiled, though the expression didn’t quite touch her eyes. “It was a...spur of the moment decision to relocate the Infinity Loop to Cunabulus.”

Yeah right. Regardless of why his mother decided to relocate the Infinity Loop now, Zilverna was determined to make his hasty trip worthwhile.

“I want to use it.”

Mother gave him a once-over, taking in his sweaty visage. “Why do you want to use the Infinity Loop, Zilverna?”

“To defeat the decemancer, obviously,” he replied. He noticed his mother seemed unimpressed by the reason, her eyes glancing at the clock. “And also, to...to be ready for the Fassari Summit.”

Mother sighed, steepling her fingers. “I promised I’d let you go in another few years. Remember, if you go this year, you’ll have to wait a decade before you can participate again.”

“I know you think I’m too young and inexperienced.” He clenched his fists. “And too weak. But if I’m given a few years to train in the Infinity Loop, like that decemancer...”

“Unfortunately, you’re not going to see the same results as him.”

“Why not?”

“Dearest, how long have you been a practitioner?”

Zilverna gritted his teeth. I hate her leading questions. “Since I was twelve, so around six years.”

“And how long has the decemancer been a practitioner, including the time spent in the loop?”

“I’m not sure,” Zilverna answered truthfully.

“Around four years.”

Zilverna scowled. “Seriously?”

Mother nodded. “You could make the argument that he had unlimited resources at his disposal. As a decemancer, he was able to wantonly kill and destroy without worrying about the consequences.”

“Exactly. I think I’ll advance faster if I’m in such a loop as well.”

“You could also argue that he had no teacher, nor any kind of guidance save for a map and a grimoire. Everything he learned he taught himself.”

Zilverna knew his mother wouldn’t overstate the truth, but it was hard to believe. He chuckled softly. “Really? He mastered decemancy on his own?”

“Yes.”

Zilverna swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. “Damn.”

“You still want to use the Infinity Loop to defeat the decemancer?” his mother asked.

Zilverna squeezed his eyes shut. This is starting to sound like a terrible idea, but the guy threw me into the bay like I was a helpless sack of potatoes. I’d use him as a punching bag if I could.

He gave her a reticent look. “Yes?”

Mother’s laughter pealed throughout the room. “Stubborn boy.” Her eyes narrowed. “You know how much the experiment costs to run, don’t you?”

Zilverna gave her a noncommittal shrug. 

“Fifty million auris. Are you going to be worth the investment?”

Zilverna walked around the desk and kneeled before his mother, looking up at her from below. “What does the all-seeing Eldemari say?”

She snorted and reached down, smoothing out his wind-strewn hair. “I don’t think you understand what you’re asking for, dearest. You’re willing to spend years in a dilation chamber, but there’s no need to rush. I think you’ll come into your own given a bit more time.”

“It’ll be fine,” Zilverna assured her. “I can always come out early if I can’t stand it anymore.”

Mother looked as though she wanted to say something, but closed her mouth and looked out her window. “It’s true; the researchers could probably work out a way for you to leave on command.” She turned back toward Zilverna. “You have my permission to use the chamber. You should talk with the head of the experiment, Dr. Prophin, about the kinds of scenarios you’d like to engage.”

Zilverna stood up and grinned. “I won’t let you down! When I come out, I’m claiming one of the Fassari Summit spots.”

Suddenly, a pair of arms was reaching around him. Zilverna froze in his mother’s embrace.

“Zilverna...don’t overthink this. Sometimes by going fast, we end up going slow.”

“I’m not being hasty, just practical,” Zilverna murmured, pulling his mother in a little closer, the top of her head meeting the space between his eyes. “I need to be strong if I’m going to succeed you.”

“I worry you’ll burn out,” Mother sighed. “Or worse.”

He knew she was just worried because he was her only son, but wished she’d stop being so overprotective. “I’m going now.”

Mother disengaged and watched him with a complicated expression, her eyebrows creasing inward ever-so slightly. “Love you.”

Zilverna smiled. “Love you, Mother.”

—

Zilverna knew the Infinity Loop had been relocated to the Cunabulus University hospital. He dashed into the hospital’s front doors, rapidly flowing air causing plants and loose items in the main atrium to flutter. He noticed people’s stares and bowed heads, nodding to them as he fast-walked toward the front desk.

“Hello?” a diminutive woman asked, pushing up a pair of spectacles.

“I’m looking for Dr. Prophin,” Zilverna said. “He should be expecting someone.”

“O-oh. Let me call him.”

Dr. Prophin came to the atrium a minute later, his brow filled with sweat; he looked like he’d run the entire way.

“Mr. Seza–”

Zilverna interrupted him with a small cough, shaking his head and smiling. “Mr. Elvry will do.”

Dr. Prophin clasped his hands. “Ah, yes, Mr. Elvry...please come with me.”

Dr. Prophin led Zilverna down a hallway, unlocking a rather nondescript door. They descended down a hot staircase. “The warming inscriptions unfortunately bump up against the stairwell,” Dr. Prophin lamented. “It’s always scorching in here.”

“Doesn’t bother me,” Zilverna replied with an easy grin. “Sun affinity, remember?”

“Of course. Your mother called ahead and told me you were interested in testing out the Infinity Loop yourself to tease out its capabilities.”

Zilverna wasn’t exactly sure what that entailed, but if Mother wanted him to not only train against the decemancer and improve his affinity but also gather information about the loop tech, he wasn’t going to argue.

“Sure.”

Dr. Prophin stopped and knocked on a door, pulling at the collar of his shirt. The door suddenly swung open, revealing a solemn-faced guard in an officer’s dark-blue uniform. Upon seeing Zilverna’s characteristic uniform and cape, the officer immediately snapped a salute.

“At ease, officer,” Zilverna said warmly before turning to Dr. Prophin. “And where are we going now? Will I be able to see the machine?”

“I’m bringing you to the researchers who will be configuring your trial,” Dr. Prophin replied. “You’re going to discuss your goals with us; when you come back in a few days, we’ll have prepared the loop to satisfy your requirements.”

Come back in a few days? Zilverna felt as though the wind had suddenly gone out of his metaphorical sails. “I can’t use the loop today?”

Dr. Prophin shook his head. “Not unless you want generic loop layers. We need time to customize the experience.”

Zilverna made a face. “Could I enter the loop by tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow would be possible,” the scientist replied, exhaling shallowly. “I suppose.”

“Excellent. Well, Doctor, please lead the way.”

—

“Lay down in the pod,” the female researcher said, a woman by the name of Dedere. Zilverna nodded and reclined into the pod’s glassy, tinted surface, resting his head on a cushion built into the pod bed.

“Now what?”

“Lisandro is going to seal the chamber. You don’t need to do anything; just lay there and wait. We’re going to be administering a sleep agent, so you’ll be losing consciousness shortly.”

Zilverna nodded his head to the side. “Understood.”

He lay there, soon losing track of time. His thoughts grew sluggish, as though he was suddenly overcome by fatigue. His eyes blinked shut, and soon Zilverna was coasting through black nothingness.

—

I feel a sharp snap, as though I’m yanked by a rubber band from behind. I find myself stumbling forward into a woman. She turns around sharply, her annoyed expression immediately mellowing as she takes in my uniformed appearance. She gives me a nod before retreating into the crowd, soon falling out of sight.

Why am I here?

Shaking my head, I begin to wade through the sea of people. Those nearby thankfully notice my uniform and part around me, allowing me to move relatively quickly through the streets, but my pace is constrained to a brisk walk.

I try to reason why I might be in Pardin. I’d discussed my intent to defeat the decemancer with the researchers, but I never stipulated that I wanted to return to the scene of my inglorious defeat. We could fight each other anywhere for all I care.

While I certainly want to track down the decemancer, I find myself distracted by the life-like quality of the loop. I’ve used dilation loops before, but those were limited: They typically couldn’t realistically simulate real people, relying on loop developers to provide hand-crafted designs and decision trees. In such a loop, I’d never be able to actually fight against the decemancer unless the man’s tactics were manually configured.

From what the researchers claim, the decemancer in this loop should approximate reality. It sounds crazy, but I’m no expert on dilation loops: If they say it’s possible, I’m not going to argue.

It doesn’t take more than a minute to track down the nearest city guard, a swarthy, white-haired old man outfitted with a zapper.

“Good afternoon, officer,” I say, giving him my most charming smile.

The man nods. “You know, it’s not even eleven yet,” he points out. “Anyways, good morning.”

“I like to think ahead,” I reply, internally grimacing. Just because I entered the loop when it was afternoon in the real world didn’t mean it is still the afternoon in the loop...rookie mistake.

“Just saying hello?” the old man says, shooting me a grin.

Damn. If Mother was into silver foxes, this guy might be her type.

I wave my hand over the officer’s badge pinned to my chest. It forms a projection in the air of my identity, along with my rank.

The officer narrows his eyes slightly before double taking and giving me a stunned look.

Yeah yeah, big deal, I think. “I need your assistance to track a man down. An enemy of the state, to be precise.”

“In Pardin?”

I nod. “It’s highly likely he’s here now or will be.” I gesture over his badge and it lights up, showing the officer’s identity and characteristics. I skip over all personal details, my eyes honing in on his affinity chart.

45% Beginning affinity isn’t a bad start.

I start to describe the decemancer. “He’s going to try and flee the country for the SPU. He’s a peak practitioner trying to be inconspicuous. Dark hair, fairly pale skin, as though he’s only just escaped from his mother’s basement.” I place a finger to my chin as I try to remember more details. “Scrawny-looking. Also arrogant-looking. His face inspires annoyance.”

At this point, the officer coughs and raises an eyebrow.

“Nothing I said is false,” I say calmly. “But to be a bit more...objective...he’s probably going to be leaving the University hospital soon, sometime around noon.”

“Would you like me to assemble a team to track and surround him when he emerges?”

“That’d be great, actually,” I reply, beaming. “If we’re able to nab this guy, the world will be better off.” One less annoying face walking its surface.

I know I’m not really being fair to the decemancer–his face is pretty average–but something about his mundane features is just annoying the heck out of me.

—

It doesn’t take the officer’s assembled team long to track down the decemancer. The man left a clear trail from the hospital to a small two-story lunch spot.

I lurk with the other officers around nearby buildings. My stomach seems to growl whenever the decemancer takes a bite of his food, reminding me that I haven’t had anything to eat.

Ignoring my hunger, I try to decide on the best angle of approach. There’s the smart, coordinated strategy, where all of us attack the decemancer when he leaves the restaurant. There’s also the slightly less-smart Zilverna variant where I barrel through the window and try to land a killing blow against the unsuspecting decemancer.

One of the officers sends a message, its contents transferred from the transceivers in our secured glossYs to the bead-like amplifiers in our ears.

“The target’s leaving in ten seconds,” the officer says, his voice coming in clearly.

I sigh. I know what the smart decision is, but I also really want to just smash through the window.

Honestly...it’s a loop. Aren’t I going to be stuck here for months anyway?

The last of my inhibitions vanish. I brace myself and leap from the ground, fire blasting from behind me, wind spiraling around and empowering the flames. In an instant I’m breaking through the second story window, a fire-coated hand only inches away from the decemancer’s face. But before I can wallop the man’s jaw, I find myself frozen in place.

Y’jeni, this might’ve been a mistake, I acknowledge. But today is a day of new experiences, of learning by experimentation. Next time, I can try crashing through the window even faster. I was so close to hitting the decemancer’s face...

“Who are you?” he asks, frowning, gesturing for his stunned mother to duck behind him. He narrows his eyes. “Sezakuin...?”

I’m surprised he noticed so quickly. Even the silver fox needed me to show my badge to ascertain my identity, though I suppose it’s because I’ve become rather well known for my custom uniform. Seeing me in standard-issue clothes might confuse even the most devoted subjects of the Sezakuin’s line.

I try to reply, only to find that I can’t even move my tongue. How does he expect me to answer the question, exactly?

“Leave me and go,” the decemancer’s mother hisses.

Interestingly enough, the decemancer actually rolls his eyes before sending his mother feet-first out the broken window, her dress billowing somewhat scandalously.

At this point, I finally regain a bit of movement; at the very least, I can speak.

“Hello!” I bellow.

“Why did you crash through the window?” he asks, voice saturated with suspicion.

“Why did you enter the Infinity Loop?”

His nose wrinkles. “I can’t remember. Why do you know about the Infinity Loop?”

“I’m stuck in it as well,” I say. “By the time I get out, I’m going to be as powerful as you.”

The decemancer’s expression falters. “You think that you’re the center of this loop?”

“Of course.” It’s only the truth.

The man’s composure suddenly breaks. He bursts into harsh laughter, using a hand to cover his face. Suddenly, his body stills and his hand lowers, revealing a cold and calculating visage.

“Ridiculous.”

Suddenly, my entire body seizes, my eyes feeling as though they’re being squeezed until they pop, my bladder involuntarily contracting.

“I’m not sure what the watchers were thinking when they designed this layer...but I have to say, it’s proving quite interesting.”

I feel a sharp spike in pain...and then I’m falling forward into a woman, back in the center of the city.

I stagger forward unsteadily. I rub my jaw and head for the closest building, leaning against it and taking deep breaths.

Y’jeni.

Maybe I shouldn't have asked to face the decemancer in every layer.

—

“In position?” I mutter under my breath. “Fantastic...”

Though Dunai is below in the hospital basement, he should be emerging in the next minute. I feel a surge of adrenaline, nervous anticipation rearing its head.

My hands begin to shudder; I grip the railing leading into the hospital to keep them steady. All the while I use my wind elementalism to try and detect when Dunai will emerge.

There. I sense the creak of a door, the opening of a threshold.

Here we go! Come on Zilverna, up!

I take in a deep breath, then blast the heavy front door with flame just as it opens. I hear Dunai snarl and recoil backward, launching himself and his mother through the hallway. The door falls to the side, revealing the decemancer’s singed clothes and reddened face.

After sending out the blast of flame, I immediately begin to retreat to keep out of Dunai’s range. It only takes a moment before he pushes off the ground and pursues me through the city, the two of us ducking through the air and avoiding hoverglosses zooming along thread-thin rails.

He has more control than I do, but I’ve zipped through the city too many times to count. I’m able to kite him to the city gardens to try out a new strategy. Mother possesses a powerful End affinity and a piddling Sun affinity; I inherited the inverse. While Mother considers her Sun affinity useless, I’m lucky that even a weak End affinity is useful with enough preparation and knowledge.

I send back a bolt of flame and force Dunai to dodge, the bolt following after him for a few seconds before crashing to the ground. The bolt triggers the array, an End harpoon springing out of the ground at the exact angle the bolt landed. I watch as it pierces an unaware Dunai; within the next moment, a series of four harpoons erupt radially from the array’s center, spearing the first people they encounter.

Please work.

I grit my teeth and grunt as I focus on the task at hand: remote flame conjuration. It’s one of those things that sounds easy but is incredibly difficult. Elementalists generally require direct contact with whatever they try to control; there are ways to get around that restriction, but it’s taken me longer than I’d ever care to admit to use remote casting, let alone refine it enough to be combat-ready.

Wind whips away at the sweat beading along my temple. I make a pushing gesture with my hands and the four people speared by the fate harpoons begin to burn. I don’t incinerate them on the spot, but they are truly on fire, shrieking and dropping to the ground.

It’s not real, I remind myself, ignoring the way their skin melts into their clothing, their rasping pleas for assistance.

Dunai, too, begins to scream, nearly toppling from the air. While he’s not literally aflame, his body is sustaining dire injuries. He covers himself in Death energy as a form of insulation, but the combined resonance between the harpoons are enough to cut through.

I wonder if I’m finally going to win.

Before I can capitalize on Dunai’s growing injuries, he shoots me a glare and amasses energy around himself like a thick black ooze. I can tell that my burn attack is no longer going to work, but it was only ever a distraction.

At this point, Dunai is flying between a series of foci hidden in the garden’s foliage. I point my hand and shoot rapid-fire bolts forward. As planned, the fire bolts amplify when they reach the area around the decemancer, each exploding into a massive conflagration. Simultaneously, I work on keeping the air around myself as hot as I can handle to discourage Dunai from trying to send plant constructs to attack me directly.

Rather than seeming discouraged or frustrated throughout the exchange, Dunai’s eyes are characteristically cold and calculating. He appears completely unconcerned for his own safety as he continues to follow me through the park and toward the beachside. If I can lead him in a certain direction, I should be able to–

A flock of birds comes toward me, their necks twisted at odd angles and their eyes glowing violet.

This is new, I think. Wonder what they’re trying to do?

Suddenly the birds plummet, putting on an unexpected burst of speed. Too much speed. The birds would have died if they weren’t already dead.

I dodge through the air, but am unable to shake them. They’re a bit like my heat-seeking firebolts, except these birds are faster and more maneuverable.

I elevate the heat a stage further until the temperature is almost too hot for me to bear, causing the air around me to madly distort. And still, the birds streak past, diving through the heated area.

Y’jeni, I murmur to myself. This is the way it’s going to end?

On a whim, I double back in a spiral that nearly knocks me out, the force causing my head to spin and my vision to go dark. I come out of the twist with more speed and propel myself toward the decemancer.

All I want is to hit this man across the face! I lament internally. Is that so much to ask?

Of course, I miscalculate the angle slightly. Instead of my orbit taking me perfectly around the moving decemancer, it sends me close–within bone-locking range.

If only I had an instant reset button, I think sadly. It would be better than waiting helplessly for the end.

It only takes a moment before Dunai hovers before me. While bedraggled, he doesn’t look too tired or injured; if anything, he looks like he’s spent too much time at the beach. As Dunai approaches, he looks at me like one would a science experiment.

“I’m trying and failing to discern a purpose for why you attacked me,” Dunai states. “Care to enlighten me?”

Y’jeni, all that effort and no victory! “Because you’re an ugly piece of–!”

And...then I die.

I catch myself before I fall into the crowd and walk to the side.

Alright, good attempt, I tell myself, eyeing a collection of restaurants. Now time for a well-deserved break.