124 Almos (1/2)

Yawm laughed, “Hah, hah. It seems as though I’ve run into several talents that defy expectation. One is a mysterious warrior clad in black armor and the other is an eldritch that knows a way into Schema’s system. Incredible, truly incredible.”

He raised his hands as fists, “What a marvelous awakening this has been. Earth treats me well. I’ve explored many planets over hundreds of years. None have given me the gift of seeing a crack in Schema’s code.”

Yawm stood from his chair, giving Amara a light bow, “Just knowing the possibility of what you’ve done is a precious gift. Thank you for sharing that with me.”

The eyes on Amara’s hands opened wide. She pointed them towards me, then back towards Yawm. After a few seconds of being frozen in place, she stuttered,

“Your kindness is overflowing. This is what made me different from the others that floated on the other side. I had a mind. and access to a pristine example of the dimensional code. With my adept form of touch-”

Amara’s raven hair moved, each strand acting as if it had a mind of its own. I glanced closer. After inspecting her, I learned what she meant. Each strand of her hair was an antenna. A creepy, disgusting ass antenna, just like a roach or cricket. I suppressed a shiver and a grimace.

It didn’t matter if it was a pretty way of learning the cipher. It was undeniably effective.

Amara continued, “Time and opportunity let me learn the depths of this...cipher as you call it. Over the many years that I was imprisoned, I mastered it. At least what I found of it.”

She regained her calm aura as she continued, “I may share what I know with you, for a price.”

Yawm steepled his fingers. If the man had a mouth, he’d have a glowing grin on his lips,

“What is it that you want?”

Amara’s fingers flexed. It reminded me of someone creasing their eyebrows in anger,

“I want many things. I need a safe, quiet place. I want books, more books than my eyes could ever read. I want protection, not only from the AI, but from my own kind as well. For these things, I’ll share what I’m willing to tell.”

Yawm raised a hand, the ominous hiss and pops of his magic echoing out,

“Done.”

The aura collapsed into his palm before he snapped his fingers. Another room appeared along the side of Yawm’s ice castle. It mirrored my own room, though it was given additional size. As I wondered why, Yawm answered,

“I have given it additional storage for bookshelves. As you read, I’ll add bookshelves and room for more stories. All you have to do is ask, and I have no problem accommodating more than what you’ve asked.”

Amara glanced back and forth from the new room and Yawm. Her mouth gawked with amazement at Yawm’s speed at granting her request. She murmured,

“How do I know this place is safe?”

Yawm raised a finger, “Because this is my own personalized rift. Since it’s not a part of Schema’s world, he can’t glass us with orbital strikes. Outside of that, I’ve tamed most of the wild eldritch here. If anything even comes within several miles of here, I’ll know.”

Yawm leaned towards her, “And I assure you Amara, I will handle whatever threat that comes personally. You will never know it existed, just as it will never know it died.”

I pursed my lips, “Hey, Yawm.”

Yawm turned towards me, “What is it?”

I pointed towards her room, “Where did you get the books to fill her rooms?”

Yawm’s chest deflated, “Oh...yes. I did disintegrate all of my own personal books several decades ago. Now all I own are research logs. Well, that and tomes detailing certain aspects of the cipher via vague, cryptic terminology. They aren’t the most stimulating of reads.”

I turned towards Amara, “If you’d like, I can get you a library with a bit more diversity.”

Amara turned her hands towards me. They narrowed into slits,

“You can do what Yawm cannot?”

She sounded like she had a hard time believing that. I didn’t bother giving her an answer. Instead, I opened one of my dimensional storages, pulling out an extra obelisk. In the back of my mind, I thanked Torix for giving me a few extra. I tossed it towards Amara. Her hair/antenna shifted into place, catching the sphere.

I pointed at it,

“That’s an obelisk. Connect to it, and it will automatically upload a peaceful memory. Once you’re done with that, I’ll look through my own personal library and send you a few books. There should be a few thousand that I can give you at the very least.”

Amara moved her hands around the sphere, inspecting it in the weirdest way possible. Once done, she used her hands to click an invisible screen. Seconds later, and a sphere of white materialized around her. As she messed around with the obelisk I stood up from my chair of ice.