107 Ajax Volan (1/2)
I watched the ball of light float over the city and reach the legion’s battle. Whenever the light hit the ground, I lost my vision. My vision returned a moment later. The light singed my eyesight. It was brighter than the sun.
A plume of dust rose above the point of contact. Another wave rippled across the city as the clouds above the impact zone expanded outwards in a circle. Another shockwave hit me, though this time it wasn’t nearly as powerful as before. Above the energy ball’s impact, a mushroom cloud gushed into the air.
It rose high, higher than the clouds above Springfield. I heaved a breath before someone placed their hand on my shoulder. I turned around, finding Ajax staring at me,
“Stand and run. To run is a victory.”
His words snapped me back into reality. I reared back my own fist before punching myself in the face. I growled before shaking off my jelly legs and standing. I turned and sprinted away from Yawm. Ajax and I caught back up with Althea and Hod before reaching the outskirts of the city.
Once we were a reasonable distance, we reached a cluster of woods with a cabin inside it. The walls were dusty and unused. The air was dry, the smell of wood and dirt thick in the air. I checked my status, hoping for a message from Torix or Kessiah. I found one.
Torix Worm, of Darkhill( 4:03 P.M. 01/04/01) - We escaped. Regroup a day from now at quarry at 4:00 P.M. New plan needed.
Dimension C-138(4:04 P.M. 01/04/01) - Althea, Hod, and I are fine. We’ll brief you on what we know. See you then.
I closed my status screen and turned towards Ajax, Althea, and Hod. Before I spoke, I glanced back at my messages. I was considered dimension C-138. It was an odd feeling. It made the whole being a dimension real. I wasn’t human anymore, that was certain.
It made me wonder what Baldag-Ruhl had intended with his original carapace. Why the fuck would he want to be a dimension? If I could figure out why, maybe I could discover the motives for the eldritch in general. I mean, if Baldag-Ruhl created a dimension, why couldn’t I at some point?
There wasn’t a reason against it. It might be a good long term solution for the eldritch. Instead of killing them or destroying where they came from, we could funnel them into a different place. They could start fresh, and we would never clash with them.
I silenced that wishful thinking as I focused on the here and now. Ajax was inspecting the inside of a cabinet. Althea had her hands behind her as she glanced around. She tried looking busy, but it was obvious that she felt awkward and bored. Hod just stared at a spider,
“Hod wonder if creature talks as Hod does.”
The spider turned it’s walk, reaching into the shade of a corner,
“Creature likes shadow as Hod does.”
Ajax murmured in his metallic voice,
“Your world is odd.”
A bit of irritation bled into my words I raised my hands, “We won’t have a fucking world with that thing running around. What the fuck are we even supposed to do against that?”
Ajax turned towards me, letting the cabinet close, “I can tell you how to finish him.”
I spread out my arms, “I’m open to ideas.”
Ajax tapped his chest, “Cleanse me first.”
I shook my head, “That wasn’t the deal. Tell me everything then I will.”
Ajax’s eyes narrowed, “Understandable...Then I will start at the beginning.”
I sat down, creating a gravity warp that suspended my weight. I did the same under Ajax. He glanced down then back at me before sitting down on the gravity flux.
“Deft handling. I’m surprised. You’re world isn’t as primitive as Yawm had us believe.”
I shook my head, “No, we’re pretty primitive. I know that Yawm’s using something nuclear, however.”
Ajax nodded, “Indeed he is.”
Althea sat down in a chair beside us. She put up an attempt at hiding her obvious anger at Ajax, but she just seethed,
“He needs to die.”
Ajax laughed, “Other beings that are far beyond your own means have tried. They have all failed. Killing Yawm isn’t an option. Ask your Harbinger.”
I shook my head, “It’s a no go. He’s over level 14,000. We don’t stand a fucking chance.”
Althea’s anger drained as she paled, “What?”
Ajax nodded, “Ah, levels. It’s been a long time since I’ve had access to Schema’s system. I don’t need to know Yawm’s level to know you both are no match for him.”
He leaned towards us, propping his chin on his arms and his arms on his knees.
“I listened to your lich’s plan of throwing Yawm into a different dimension. I believe that is the best course of action.”
Althea frowned, “I don’t really see how we’re going to get him anywhere near a rip in dimensions.”
I lifted a hand towards Ajax, “Besides, doesn’t he have a sentinel’s spear? He can just cleave his way out.”
Ajax shook his head, “I am Yawm’s spear.”
Althea and I leaned back. Ajax raised an elongated, wooden finger, “He fused it with me during our experimentation. He understands the dim-”
I cut him off, “Just call that, uh, language the eldritch runes. For Althea.”
Ajax shrugged, “So be it. The eldritch runes as you call them, Yawm understands them. Quite well in fact. The spear uses that same language for slicing through dimensions. All that the machine does is powered by that language.”
Ajax tapped two fingers together, “He is reconstructing the fabric of your dimension for his own means. Yawm wants to do the same thing, but in his own vision.”
My thoughts clicked into place. That’s why he outlawed other people knowing about it. That’s why the dimensional cipher increased my stats. Schema was doing the same thing with the cipher as I was. How he got the stats to people exactly, I didn’t really know still.
Ajax looked up at the roof, “And he has been battling that AI since his own exile from the system. We can use his own goals against him.”
Ajax looked down at us,
“I am how Yawm escapes his planets. Without his attention to my own experiments, the eldritch within me will spread and kill me. I do his bidding now for this reason. I am a bartering chip now, however.”
He pointed a finger at me,
“You can say that you have captured me and placed me within a dimensional rift. We will lure Yawm into the rift before we force him into a dimensional opening I create. Once over the dimensional line, Yawm will live out his immortality with the monsters he so wishes to call brothers.”
I frowned, “How in the hell are we going to shove him into a portal?”
Ajax shrugged, “I’m the one slicing dimensions. Surely you can shove him into it?”
Althea spread out her arms, “How are we even supposed to get near him? The guy blows cities up for Schema’s sake.”
Ajax raised himself off of his arms, “With a deal.”
I raised an eyebrow, “What kind?”
Ajax’s eyes narrowed, “One that involves me being used at collateral.”
Althea and I leaned back in our seats. Ajax back and forth between us,
“I am the spear that lets him leave worlds. Without my talents, he’ll be stranded here. Once the overseer discovers that, turn the surface of this world to glass. Even Yawm lacks the abilities to survive that.”
I nodded, “So we’ll use you as a bargaining chip for something that he has.”
Althea murmured, “Then we lure him somewhere and shove him into portal.”
Ajax raised a hand, “That is my plan. Yawm cannot see the levels of individuals as you both can. He will assume your strength is a reflection of your aura and energy output.”
He pointed his raised hand at me, “That means you will be able to falsify your own strength. Your mana generation is unparalleled, and your aura is powerful. You’ve even discovered a few of the eldritch runes. That can be our primary deal maker.”
Hod whispered from the side of the room, “Harbinger learn evil from evil...Hod not like this plan.”
I frowned, “You mean I’ll walk up and ask him to teach me about the eldritch runes in exchange for freeing you?”
Ajax nodded, “That is correct. If you don’t ask for anything, Yawm won’t trust you. You need to have something compelling to ask for. The eldritch runes are the perfect catalyst for this arrangement.”
Ajax stretched his neck as he continued, “You will speak with him directly. Yawm is a sentient. He thinks and can be reasoned with. If anything, he will try and convert you over towards his side.”
I grimaced, “Ugh, that sounds awful.”
“It will be. Yawm disguises the truth of his words with honeyed lies. He plants seeds of doubt that will flourish in your mind. Once their ripe, he’ll take everything from you. I am the perfect example. Be wary of him.”
Althea leaned towards me, “I never met him, but I heard what he’s like. If you’re doing this, don’t talk to him about anything but the runes. Ever.”
I raised my eyebrows, “What if Yawm just blows me up before I can?”
Ajax rolled his head like he was rolling his eyes, “Then you all die, after your death, obviously.”
Althea shivered, “That’s not very comforting.”
Ajax turned towards her, “It’s not meant to be. Yawm isn’t patient. He will be wondering where his other followers are and what happened to his army. Since that lich of yours decimated it, Yawm will be wary of making his first move.”
He turned towards me, “But once he does know, he’ll strike hard and fast.”
I leaned towards him, “Is he going to unleash the plague again?”
Ajax shook his head, “No. That’s for protecting the intail world tree from hostile life on a new world. It’s unfortunate that it wasn’t necessary for your world yet still happened. I had no say in it.”
I seethed, “It’s a bit more than unfortunate.”
Ajax nodded before turning away, “I agree. It was a casual genocide. I’m sorry.”
Althea rolled her eyes, “You sound so sincere.”
Hod nodded, “Hod know he is.”
Ajax turned towards us, steepling his elongated fingers. He sat still for a few seconds before continuing,
“The abomination is right. There’s more to apologizing than sincerity in words. I’m offering you all a way of ending Yawm. My offer stands as the sincerity of my apology. What is your reply to it?”
I raised a hand, “Can you give us a few minutes to think about it?”
Ajax shrugged as he stood from the gravitational warp, “Remember that they are precious minutes that you need.”
He walked out of the room before Althea turned towards me,
“I don’t like his plan. It feels like a trap.”
I frowned, “I can’t tell. He’s an alien. I can’t tell if he’s lying or not by the tone in his voice. He sounds more like a businessman than anything else.”
Hod turned towards us, “Tree Man speaks the truth.”
Althea spread out her arms, “How do you know?”
Hod shrugged, “Hod not know how Hod know. Hod only know that Hod know.”
I bit my lip. Learning the eldritch runes from a master like Yawm was tempting. This seemed like our best gambit for escaping the situation as well. If I could get Yawm caught up in teaching me, it could buy us some much needed time too. It seemed solid the more I thought about the plan.
Hod’s intuition had never been wrong since I met him either. He leveled perception, letting him get a grasp on situations like this really well. Listening to him was a better idea than Althea and I, who were all about combat.
“I think we should join Ajax. It’s our best bet.”
Hod raised his wings, “Harbinger trust Hod?”
“Well, more than I trust myself when it comes to this stuff.”
Althea sighed, “We’re going to trust the bird that slams into a wall every other time he flies.”
“Hod getting better. Hod slam into wall more like every three times Hod flies now.”
A reluctant smile crept up Althea’s lips, “Heh, that’s a start.”