Chapter 824 (2/2)

That brought Randidly to a stop. Because that was the Spearman’s secret fear. That he couldn’t save his love’s world. But how did the Second Calamity prey on that fear…? There was something Randidly was missing.

“I suppose I need to talk to the Spearman,” Randidly said with a sigh.

Lucretia nodded. “It is for the best. For all that he has warped this world… no, because he has warped this world. His help is necessary. But I have a thought.”

Randidly tilted his head to the side in askance at Lucretia.

She shrugged. “It is something you need to consider. What will you do if the First Propagator genuinely just wants to foil the Spearman by helping Tellus ascend while achieving a victory for the Nemesai? Would you fight to stop it from doing so and force Tellus to remain in suspension?”

*****

Icklid was as it had been described to Azriel. Rather dull, even by Tellus standards. There were some decorations in the halls, but it was a sparse and utilitarian area. Very little fun was had here; everything was designed for a purpose.

“This was your work?” Azriel asked her master.

Her master clicked one of its claws. “I was young. I didn’t understand the world. To describe what it is to be a Calamity… it is a confusing experience. But it is over now. Soon, we will be finished.”

The sound of its crystal legs and Azriel’s leather boots echoed through the empty city. Although the part of her Master that controlled the Wights had been vivisected from it, it still looked pained as it considered the slumped bodies laying like trash beside building and in corners. Even here- even here Randidly’s strange spell that had stolen their life energy had worked.

Truly, he requires watching, Azriel reflected as she struggled to manage her throbbing headache. To underestimate him is to invite doom.

“Master,” Azriel said slowly. “I wonder if this course of action is wise.”

“What do you mean?” The duo passed through the outer halls to the main sanctum. Very soon, they would arrive at the suite of the Autarch, which had once housed the First Propagator in all its glory.

“Is me…” Azriel was surprised to find that her tongue felt heavy in her mouth. She nervously licked her lips and chided herself. This task wasn’t forced on her, as nothing ever was with her Master. He had asked it of her, and she had acquiesced. Therefore, it was reasonable for her to offer a perspective. “Is my body truly necessary? To accept your images and ascend?”

“Mmmm. Not in particular. There is nothing special about you that would make this a good decision,” Her master said after a moment of thought. “Yet the Spearman must be prevented from interfering with the ritual. There is a higher degree of certainty that I will be able to manage this than you. Therefore, you are the better choice. There is no one else we can trust.”

Azriel reached up slowly and touched a lock of her hair, rubbing it between her fingers. It was still soft, but it’s color had changed; after absorbing the violent images of Silo, it had turned black. She was now raven-haired. Which was the least disturbing of the changes it had caused in her. Likely her earlier show of emotions and lack of faith was related to the images she was housing.

They were likely wild bulls, resisting her attempted to corral and bridle them. They smashed into the sides of her head, causing the dull ache that she had dealt with for the last several hours.

Finally, she mustered up the courage to speak again. “I already hold the Spearman’s image, is it really necessary for me to hold both to ascend? Already my mind-”

“Yes, it is necessary,” Her Master said, as they entered into the final room. A tall poll of steel, covered in a coat, stretched out of the floor at the center of the room. If you looked closely, it was possible to see the tiny cracks in the floor where it had been smashed into the ground with deadly force.

“For two reasons. The first is because it is the only way to continue the aborted Ascension from seven hundred years ago. Both must be present. Otherwise, we would need to start over, as the Spearman desires. The second reason…” Her Master scuttled to the spear sticking out of the ground and struck it with its tail lightly. The spear sung clear as a bell, vibrating in the marble floor.

“The second reason was that this Second Calamity was rather special. It wasn’t a tribulation… but an offer from the System. I came in peace and offered in confidence a deal to ascend without violence. Of course, at the time I had no idea that the peaceful offer was in itself a test. So we were to ascend. Together. And I was betrayed. ‘The cost was too high,’ he said, as he pierced through my back and pinned my heart to the core of this place.”

Her Master drew its tail across the ground, scoring a large mark and causing a screeching noise. “By Auto Rach. By the System that birthed me. And I will make both of them pay.”

Azriel was troubled, but she inclined her head and focused on addressing the growing headache that was consuming her. Hopefully, this would be over soon.