Chapter 1348 (1/2)
Lyra moved quickly through the hidden ways that the Nexus built around the planet. The red-violet energy of the System’s Aether acted as a current that carried her through various branching pathways. Now that Earth appeared to be approaching ‘completion’ in the eyes of the System, those ways were starting to open up. The veins of Aether around the planet flowed more quickly. After all, these ways would soon house an even more extensive monitoring network so the Nexus could accurately access the ability of Earth to pass the Calamities.
Already Lyra could see the shape of it, but her status as a Village Spirit prevented her from looking too closely. Even for Village Spirits, some secrets were too important to allow for witnesses.
Lyra’s movements through the ways, however, were stiff. She was practically sleepwalking; her mind was elsewhere.
Because of Randidly Ghosthound’s actions, several individuals knew of Earth. A casual examination of the chatter on some of the Cohort wide communications that she had access to due to being a Village Spirit made that clear. The communications functioned much like a message board from pre-System Earth. It was only because of the communications that she had obtained so many context clues to figure out the full extent of her abilities as a Village Spirit. The communications network had a huge impact on her personal growth.
And it couldn’t be ignored that the sheer volume of other Village Spirits and planets present on the message board was part of the reason that Lyra had been so swayed by Yystrix’s arguments.
...did she think of me, toward the end…? Lyra thought as she was carried like a bobbing piece of driftwood through the ways. But then she shook her head. Thinking like that helped no one. Better to keep her mind disciplined, especially now.
Even Lyra was unsure about why exactly Randidly had drawn so much attention to him. Every now and again there Lyra saw some of her fellow Village Spirits of Earth were drawn into conversations that were a little too... specific to be coincidental. But from what she could tell, those that knew about the Earth being special were very careful not to appear too concerned about Earth.
When Village Spirits from other planets asked about why people kept mentioning it, the easy excuse was that someone powerful enough to survive on the frontlines had come through due to a Judgement. Certainly an impressive feat, but the phrasing hid the fact that Randidly did more than survive on the frontlines. He survived as an image, recovered his body, and then was named a Commander.
The military structure of the Nexus outside of the Xyrt Brigade was rather loose, but becoming a Commander still was quite impressive. So impressive that most people in the know didn’t bring it up, lest others covet whatever secret that the Earth was hiding.
Randidly, you are really nothing but trouble, Lyra thought grumpily. I really hope you understood my warning…
A part of Lyra wished to tarry further in the icy-hot grip of Aether, but another part of her knew it wouldn’t be worth it. So when Lyra arrived at her destination threshold, she proceeded through without slowing down at all. The sensation of being submerged in energy disappeared and Lyra was suddenly standing in a stone room.
On the other side of the threshold were four individuals arguing in the center of the room, with a fifth man sitting in an unadorned wooden chair pressed up against the far wall. Aside from the entrance Lyra just used, there were no windows or other doors. The place was illuminated by several floating balls of golden light orbiting the central point of the room.
The four talking individuals froze when Lyra arrived, then relaxed as they recognized her. Very quickly, they returned to ignoring Lyra as she walked across to stand by the man sitting in the chair. It seemed that whatever had them so up in a lather wasn’t something they were willing to drop.
“We should contact the Nemesai. If the situation on this planet is unusual enough for us to be deployed in this strange scenario, finding out more information is critical,” Guthur argued. Of the four leaders of the Corrupted Invaders present on Earth, Guthur was, for lack of a better adjective, the only timid one. While the others had begun spreading their influence through the Danger Zones they occupied, only Guthur’s group hid in the depths.
Hiding is useless against Randidly’s Perception, but your plan is probably effective in normal situations… Lyra thought as she took her place next to the man sitting in the chair.
All four were of the same strange alien race, something that resembled a meer-kat built to the scale of a human but with blue, chitinous armor that covered their bodies. The largest of the four and the leader of the more aggressive faction amongst the Corrupted Invaders sneered at Guthur. “And yet are these humans not also slinking around your base, Guthur? It seems that your cowardice possesses a pungent odor that will lead them to your doorstep no matter how much you fear them!”
The other aliens clicked their jaws, which was their way of showing amusement. Guthur trembled, whether in fear or fury Lyra didn’t know, but the confrontation was stopped just as soon as it started.
“Enough. Return to your positions. The Earthlings will come today for some of you. Be prepared.” The sitting man said in an almost lyrical voice. Every word seemed like it was poised to leap into song before the sounds smoothly flowed into the next sentence. Honestly, Lyra wouldn’t be surprised if she opened up the man’s chest and found a series of organ pipes stacked within.
Although she kept her gaze straight ahead, Lyra couldn’t help but take in the details of the man sitting next to her one more time. Humanoid, and more so than the alien Corrupted Invaders, but still decidedly other. If anything, Lyra associated him with the sharp chinned and eared descriptions of elves from Earth.
But what was most striking about the man was his coloration. He was completely hairless as far as Lyra could tell, but his skin was a dull bronze color that reflected light in a most attractive manner. In addition, his eyes seemed to be two pools of reflective silver. The combination made it easier for the man to catch the eye of the unwary as he moved.
The largest of the alien’s hesitated as he looked over toward the sitting man. Despite its alien features, its unwillingness to simply wait around in the Danger Zone assigned to it was clear. “This is a young planet. There is no need to behave so strictly. Compared to them, we-”
“This young planet is involved in the death of someone far beyond your paygrade,” Kaan Swacc said in a low voice. His silver eyes were serene, even when the strange musicality of his voice became ominous. He spoke and it was the jarring sound of a piano falling from a ten-story building. “I hope I don’t need to repeat myself.”
After a series of hurried bows, the four aliens departed through the same door that Lyra had used to arrive. The golden lights continued their gradual rotation overhead. Then Kaan looked over at her and offered her a lazy grin. He possessed no teeth, so the gaps in his lips simply revealed darkness. “How did it go?”
“I informed Randidly Ghosthound of a plan to attack the people of Earth, as you ordered,” Lyra said with a smile in reply.
Kaan hummed at that. It scampered musically up and down the scales like he was playing a harmonical rather than just thinking. His bronze skin glimmered as he reached to a pouch at his belt and produced a slowly spinning Aether construct that hovered above his palm. As soon as it appeared, Lyra felt her traitorous Village Spirit scaffolding tremble and stiffen. As long as Kaan Swacc held that symbol of authority from the System, there was little Lyra the Village Spirit could do to resist him. Especially because it gave him the ability to give orders that her Aether self would follow to the letter.
Kaan nodded. “You aren’t lying to me. Good. Do you think that he will take the bait and try and go into a Dungeon?”