Ch. 82 – Void Between ‘Verses (Patreon)

Vicky’s voice came back, “He is something called a Prime god in his Universe. He can deal with the Void corruption.”

Kalinor nodded and smiled an infectious smile, “Yes. The System Admin has given me the go-ahead to help fix this mess, despite it not being in my own Universe.”

Tinuriel put up her sword and nodded, “Another deity in flesh. Intriguing.”

Reth’s eyes went wide, “An actual god?”

Kalinor chuckled and spread his arms wide, “Yes. Let’s fix this Universe’s Void issue, shall we?” He raised his hand and there was a rush of warmth that flooded the space around them. The corrupted waters instantly vanished. His shoulders sagged slightly, and a single bead of sweat dripped down his forehead. “Cleansing a whole Universe of The Void is something I haven’t done in quite a long time.” He chuckled and swept back his dark hair. “I think my work here is done.”

“Thanks Kal!” Vicky said. “I’m going to be gone for a while Felix. Thanks for doing this priority mission!”

The deity began to return through the portal as he pulled his hood up, but he paused and looked back at the trio. “Wait a second.” He turned to fully face them, and his eyes glittered like starlight as he stared seemingly into their souls. “Ah. I see.” He smiled, “You are on the right path.”

“What does that mean?” Reth asked.

“Your souls are fairly clean.” He pointed at Tinuriel, “Yours is a bit stained, but that is due to the violent nature of your past and upbringing. You’re on the path of redemption though.” He pointed to Reth, “Yours is similar, not as dark, so less of a journey to go.” He pointed last to Felix, “But you, Felix Winters…are odd. There is a looming shadow over your soul, as if something horrific may happen, and the responsibility will be placed upon you. Right now, your soul is pure. But I fear it could switch at any moment.”

“That would be the Basilisk,” Lucifer replied.

Kalinor frowned, “I’m not familiar with this concept save for the serpent-lizard that turns people to stone. But in any event, if this shadow comes to encompass and eclipse you, your soul will be irrevocably marked and darkened.”

“Which means what?” Felix asked. “Versewalkers are immortal to aging.”

Kalinor crossed his arms, “You have that weird karmic scale in your VBV, yes?” Felix nodded, “Well, if this event comes to pass, you will permanently and forever be on the bad side of that scale. If you do ever die, and you happen to die in a Universe where souls are judged…you will be judged harshly.”

That shook Felix to the core. He was raised agnostic, but his grandpa was very religious, and always encouraged him to follow the golden rule. The idea that a single button press months ago, one that he wasn’t really responsible for, could condemn him to damnation was jarring. He tersely nodded, “How can I fix it?”

Kalinor shrugged, “I’d assume by stopping whatever it is you set in motion.” He looked at the trio and frowned slightly, “I would be remiss in my duties as a Prime god if I didn’t try to help you out. The effects of any Blessings that I can give are limited outside of my Universe.” He raised his hand and shimmering, prismatic light scattered out and surrounded the trio. “The best I can give you is this.”

[Achievement Unlocked: Blessed by Kalinor Blackguard, Arbiter of Souls of Universe #2]

Holy…that’s amazing! That means-

Yeah, that’s great! Another safety cushion.

I don’t want to die, but having that backup is amazing.

“That’s all I can do,” Kalinor said with a sigh. He stepped through the portal and waved goodbye, “Feel free to visit Universe #2. A proper Universe – multiple worlds, space in between, the whole real-deal.” The portal snapped shut.

[Crisis: Stradholme – Stop the Crimson Tide – Solved!]

[You have earned a Multiverse Charge]

“Let’s get out of here. Lucifer?”

“Vicky gave me priority in the queue. We can leave right now.” The portal to the VBV opened, and Felix led the trio through. Their bodies returned to normal, and Felix felt like he could breathe easier as the portal shut behind them. Their gear reverted as well, returning to the previous technology level equivalent as the clockpunk style faded away.

Reth sighed heavily, “Versewalkers can fuck things up as well as fix them.”

“It seems to be that way,” Tinuriel replied as she leaned against the wall. “But it appears that this was unintentional.”

Lucifer unmerged from Felix, and he looked frazzled. “I need a bit of a break. Felix, mind having your other advisors take over for a bit? I need to destress.”

Felix put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a light squeeze, “You do what you need to do. I can run things for a bit with Roy, Melanie, and Gina’s help.”

Lucifer nodded and went to the Recreation Room, “Please don’t bother me!” he yelled out as he entered the building.

Tinuriel grinned at Felix, “I want to see that armor.” He pulled it out of his inventory and used Detect Properties on both items.

[Item Description: K.S. 2 Power Armor]

[Augments the user’s physique, increasing Might, Body, and Endurance by 5. Decreases Agility by 15.]

[Item Description: K.S. 2 Chain Blade]

[Causes extra bleeding damage upon injuring a foe. This damage can stack with itself.]

“Can we add those to my existing gear?” Tinuriel asked.

“Well let’s split things up,” Felix replied. “I think…I have an idea.” He went over to the Crafting Room, into the Loot Forge, and set his Channeling Knife, Wyrmtooth Dagger, and the K.S. 2 Chain Blade on it.

Bringing the hammer down, he merged the three into a single new item; a dagger that would bleed those it struck, poison them with wyvern venom, and could be enchanted with multiple Affinities. I’ll just call it an Omniknife. He put it into his inventory. Since I can do a Dragon Dance and mix in ranged and melee; no point in going all-in on the melee.

Tinuriel frowned, “I wanted the bleed effect.”

Felix shook his head, “You have enough damage on your weapon. But…take that armor off.”

She grinned and divested herself of her Scales of the Lava Dragon, placing them on the anvil. Felix put the K.S. 2 Power Armor there as well, before bringing the hammer down. The scale armor fused with the power armor to create a bulky suit of full plate decorated with silver inlay as the armored plates shifted between shades of crimson. As she equipped the new merged item, her bars increased.

“Any plans for me?” Reth asked as he tapped his foot seemingly impatiently.

Felix looked through his inventory, and saw that Reth had no magic items aside from his equipped weapon and armor. I should give him something. Felix transferred the Talisman of the Tides and the Flask of Endless Water to Reth’s inventory. “Do you want to use either of those in crafting something?”

Reth thought for several seconds before shaking his head, “No. But my thanks for ensuring an even distribution of magic items. It does make me feel like a team member instead of just an extra guy along for the trip.”

Felix turned to him as he set the hammer down, “You’re valuable. Your quick thinking is what caused that fight to end so easily.”

Reth nodded, “I’m going to take some time to myself. How long until our next venture?”

“When Lucifer is ready. He deserves some downtime.”

Tinuriel left the room, glancing over her shoulder, “I’m going to go visit my sisters and my people.”

Reth followed right behind, “And I mine. Enjoy whatever it is you do to relax!”

Soon enough, it was quiet, and Felix was alone with his thoughts. Moving to the Alchemy Lab, he set the Holy Oil-soaked rag onto the countertop. Following the directions, he eventually came away with a distilled vial of Holy Oil. Now to see if this can work. He went to the Core Transmorpher and poured the oil over the Abyssal Dungeon Core. The core flashed blue and purple before turning into a dull grey. Hey, Lucifer? Mind just looking at this real quick through my eyes.

Yeah, Lucifer replied, groggily. Lemme see. Looks like…you’ve made a new type of Dungeon Core. It’s called a Grey Dungeon Core. Practically worthless for loot forging. But it’s expensive. Go sell it.

You okay?

I’ll…we can talk later.

Felix kept silent and grabbed the Grey Dungeon Core, taking it to the shop interface.

[Loot Sold]

- Grey Dungeon Core

+ 40000 VC

[Circlet of Prosperity 10% increase]

= 4000 VC

[Monies Dispensed]

= 44000 VC

Holy crap! That brought his total up to 50,547 VC. I can afford pretty much anything I want. Scrolling through the various lists, he found exactly what he was looking for. From Stradholm, he knew that having one hand free at all times was valuable, and he needed a way to convert his Hardlight Recurve to something he could manipulate with one hand. The wrist-mounted pistol fit the concept perfectly. Plus, he had to stock up on Elixirs again.

[Items purchased]

+ <Rank 5> Anima Elixir (x4)

- 2000 VC

+ <Rank 5> Vigor Elixir (x5)

- 2500 VC

+ Wrist-Mounted Pistol

- 15000 VC

[Monies Paid]

- 19500 VC

[Circlet of Prosperity 10% reduction]

= 17550 VC

[Current Balance]

= 32997 VC

Running back to the Loot Forge, he combined his Hardlight Recurve with the Wrist-Mounted Pistol. Hardlight Wrist-Pistol. Equipping it, he was pleased to see that it was well-concealed in his armor’s wrist area. Only someone who knew what they were looking for would be able to find it. Holding it up, he saw a small targeting reticle float just above the barrel. And that is cool as well. Looking through his inventory one more time, he saw one last item he could use. Going to the Alchemy Lab, he put the Cavestalker Claws onto the table, and followed the instructions that appeared in his vision. The finished product was four Ironhide Elixirs – a temporary damage reduction consumable that would also cut off the user from any Anima Magic/Power uses for the one-minute duration. 50% damage reduction is potent though.

He left the Crafting Room and braced himself as he walked into the Recreation Room. It was empty – only him and his party having access to it – and he went through it until he finally found Lucifer. Several empty bottles were on the ground in front of the large lounge chair he had placed himself in. He was staring at a television that was playing an old science fiction series about portals to other worlds. “Hey buddy,” Felix said softly.

Lucifer looked up at Felix with red eyes as if he had been crying. “I’m…I’m sorry for keeping all of that hidden from you.”

Felix sat down on the couch next to him, “Apology accepted.” He put a hand on the fallen angel’s forearm, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Lucifer wiped his nose with his sleeve, “Just…can you just…be here? With me?”

“Of course. First though, tell me what I should do with this black goop containment thing.”

“Put it in the mailbox.”

Felix got up, went to the mailbox, and found a small platform that could slide out from the side. Pulling it out, he placed the container with the Void inside. The container digitized before vanishing, and a System Message popped up.

Kalinor must’ve missed it since it was in my inventory, Felix thought. He returned to the Recreation Room and sat down on the other couch, “I haven’t seen this show in years.”

Lucifer chuckled and drank from a fresh bottle of wine, “I’ve never seen it. No spoilers.”

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