11 Tears in Time (1/2)
I turned off agony while saying, ”Don't do anything funny. I'll turn on agony, and trust me, it's plenty strong enough to kill some bugs.”
Baldag-Ruhl laughed and said, ”Ha, ha, hah. I'm here to offer you something thats dripping with temptation.”
”Alright, I'm listening.”
The mound of bugs threaded down from the ceiling, a few spiders creating a silken thread for them to go down with. Once they landed, the mouth formed again. Baldag spoke,
”I'm assuming you've known of that...presence that's tampering with my haven, with everything?”
I raised an eyebrow, ”You mean Schema?”
”Yes. That being without a soul that would dictate those with them.”
”Eh, Schema's just trying to prevent the collapse of the universe. What's an AI to do?”
Baldag-Ruhl laughed before saying, ”So that's what it tells you?”
”Well, yeah.”
”This Schema is restitching the natural order, preventing the flow of mana.”
”What?”
”What does it call the rifts?”
”Er, cracks.”
”They are rifts, not cracks.”
I shrugged, ”Same difference.”
”Cracks implies that your universe is breaking. Rifts implies that our universe is creeping in.”
”Both sound really, really bad.”
”It's only destructive if handled poorly. On the other side is a tremendous flow of mana, a power that is pure and unfounded in this realm. If you help me return there, I will share what I gain from it.”
I nodded, ”Alright. You got me interested.”
The bug mouth grinned. Disgusting. Baldag-Ruhl replied, ”Then come. I've found the rift. There isn't much time now.”
”What about Stacy and David? Gonna eat them while I'm gone?”
”I planned on using them as a threat. I'm glad it wasn't necessary.”
I puffed as I said, ”Hah! I care just enough to beat the shit out of you for killing them, but nowhere near enough to actually die for them.”
”Your a grim one, aren't you?”
I frowned as I said, ”My father made me this way.”
”Lucky then, aren't you?”
”In my own way.”
The bugs crawled towards his main body as Baldag-Ruhl said, ”Come then. We've much to do and little time.”
I paced with the pile of bugs. After an hour of walking, Baldag said, ”Why do you listen to me? None of the others have. They blindly followed that abomination.”
I frowned as I said, ”Eh...You haven't done anything really. You could have killed me easily before now anyway. Especially if you could hear my words up till now. That counts for something.”
”Indeed it does. I watched you grow from the little lamb to the wolf. That is why I need you. I cannot complete this ritual alone.”
”What does it involve?”
”The golem cores. I can kill any single thing in this cave, but unlike you, I don't gain anything from it. The Schema as you call it, it's giving you your powers. It won't give me any, since I'm the infection it wants to stamp out.”
I nodded as he continued, ”So I will open the portal and go back to my own universe, where I am wanted.”
I pursed my lips as I said, ”Then you need my golem cores for it?”
”Yes. They act as conduits for the mana. They will let me slip through the crack we create, and you can enjoy the mana that leaks during the process. Absorbing it should increase your mana by at least tenfold.”
Sounds pretty fishy. I'll play this by ear. I said,”Alright. Where do you have in mind?”
He replied, ”You know of my domain's shape, correct?”
”It's circular.”
”Indeed it is. It was not unintended. I've been trying to create the portal for decades, but the Lord of Worms has been taking my pools for his own. He stole the mana I collected for it, corrupting it for his own purposes. His mana grew far too thick. I and my children could do little to stop him.”
Baldag turned us till we reached behind a cluster of boulders. He crawled over the rocks, so I followed him. I thumped hard on the ground when I jumped off. I'd have stumbled onto my face without the extra dexterity.
Behind these rocks is a tunnel, ten feet tall and wide enough for a bus. The stalactites and boulder formations were perfect for hiding it, along with the curves of the cave. With a begrudging nod, I said,
”I can't deny it. I'm impressed.”
”You have seen nothing, little lamb.”
As we stepped within, runes coated the walls from head to toe. Underfoot, overhead, and side to side, not a single inch of space was free from the formulas, incantations, or chants. The sheer meticulousness of it amazed me. It was more a detailed work of art than mere words.
Baldag-Ruhl said, ”My children and I have toiled for centuries. This is the fruit and meat of our labor.”
I whistled as I said, ”It's damn impressive.”
”And you've yet to see the masterpiece at the center. It is glorious.”
I nodded as we paced forwards. The wall never fell into monotony. Every piece of it was different, and somehow, I could tell with just a glance. It was almost like the patterns just being carved created an ebb of mana. This was a construct of amazing power.
Like looking at the skeleton of a fierce predator, it made me shiver thinking of just how much potential this whole thing had. I didn't know if I could trust Baldag here. I mean, this is some serious shit.
Baldag-Ruhl said, ”The inscriptions need liquid mana for their carving. I could refine a drop from each of those pools before waiting decades for them to return. That mana has radiated into the monsters here.”
I nodded as I glanced about. I said, ”The Schema mustn't check up on dungeons often.”
”Altering my domain has been slow. You may notice a tumor on your back that appears in a day, but what about ten years? Imagine several thousand.”
Gross. I said, ”Man that's gross, but I get it. These rifts take a while to open don't they?”
Baldag said, ”Indeed they do. They're so slow and so subtle, you could barely tell they're happening at all. Almost like a cancer growing under you skin.”
I shook my head before saying, ”Man you like cancer metaphors.”
”It reminds me of how we are perceived. Creatures of mana that proliferate. A cancer in Schema's eyes.”