Chapter 273: New Paths Opened (2/2)

Chrona sighed,

”I've tried it and failed many times. The issue is that we all exist within time itself. We cannot manipulate time that is relevant to us without freezing ourselves in the process. Anyone that does succeed will simply burn through their mana reserves until they are at the brink of death. Time will then unfreeze, leaving them without any mana whatsoever. This means nothing is accomplished.”

I waved a hand, ”Couldn't you just freeze time somewhere that isn't where you are?”

Chrona shook her head, ”To do so would be nearly impossible. Even with decades of experience, I cannot do more than rule over the space around me. This is because time is tied to our perception. Without that perception guiding the magic, you cannot shift time with any accuracy.”

Krog grinned, ”Chrona has tried many times. She would often lose any coherence, creating wobbling spaces where time sped up and slowed down. It simply burned through her mana, and she would be left defenseless.”

Chrona frowned at Krog, ”Yes. That is why I tie my time manipulation to the spaces I inhabit. That is also why freezing time never works for those locked within it.”

Hod spoke up, ”So Hod think solution simple.”

Everybody looked at Hod, expecting something Hod-ish. He spread his winged arms,

”Mage want freeze time, then mage just not be in time.”

Torix crossed his arms, ”Ah, as always, very helpful. Existing outside of time is easier said than done.”

My eyes widened, ”That's why I heard Eonoth's roar. I'm not in this timeline. Lehesion was right about that.”

Everyone turned to me as I grabbed the sides of my head, ruffling my hair,

”Holy shit. I'm a dimension. I have my own timeline. That's why Eonoth couldn't freeze me. Duh.”

Chrona whipped her tail behind her, ”That is why my temporal dilation has no effect on you as well. Why does this surprise you?”

I spread out my hands, ”Well, the thing is, I turned into a puddle when Eonoth shouted.”

Chrona tilted her head, ”You were liquified?”

”Yeah, I ended up turning into a pile of mush. It might be that I was the only one who could hear Eonoth roar, but maybe not. Either way, I ended up a pile of jelly.”

Chrona furrowed her brow, ”Eonoth collapsed timelines according to Lehesion. That means he used some kind of mass temporal coalescence. He smashed timelines together. According to what Torix told us, this let out a ripple across space-time, right?”

Torix gave her a nod, ”Precisely.”

Chrona looked at everyone, ”Perhaps we were unaffected by that wave because we exist on this timeline. You, Daniel, do not. If that were so, you are surrounded by a dimension far larger than your own. The surrounding dimension might have distorted to such an extent that it smashed you into pulp when the wave passed around you.”

I cupped my chin, ”Ah. That makes a lot of sense. Eonoth's wave messed with space, which I'm surrounded by. That ripple passed around me like a meatgrinder from all sides.”

I stared at my hands, ”Man, this whole being a dimension thing is more thorough than I first thought. If that's the case, that might be why I couldn't do the temporal dilation you tried teaching me before.”

Chrona's tail moved back and forth behind her,

”How so?”

”Well, I was trying to bend the dimension around me instead of my own dimension. For you, you're a part of this dimension, so it's not as strange. For me, it's like trying to shift an immovable, massive thing around me.”

Torix raised a finger, ”Ah, perhaps temporal dilation wouldn't be as difficult as you first envisioned then.”

I shook my head, ”No, it won't be. In fact, there are all kinds of magic I'm probably not taking advantage of just because I'm tackling the techniques from the wrong angle. I mean, my pocket dimension can be used as a shield, for instance. I never thought to do that because I keep thinking of myself as Daniel, the guy.”

I gripped my hands into fists, ”The thing is, I'm not human anymore. I'm a literal dimension, and I need to start thinking of myself as one. I should be able to manipulate all kinds of universal rules and constants that apply to me. Hell, that's probably why shifting gravity is so easy.”

Torix pointed at me, ”You're shifting something that is part of you instead of shifting something external. That gives you a better measure of control.”

I pointed at Torix, ”Yeah, exactly.”

I peered down, thinking more about the implications. I always thought of the whole being a dimension thing as just something Schema made up, like me being the Harbinger of Cataclysm. Either that or being a dimension was something airy, not something grounded that I could work off of. Apparently, that wasn't the case at all.

My talent with runes might stem from being a dimension. My gravitational abilities and natural way of generating matter might be the same. If that was the case, time and other mechanics of the universe should come to me naturally as well. I just needed to focus on shifting my time instead of the universe's time around me.

And that realization was just the tip of the iceberg.

I grimaced at my own blindness. How I went this long without realizing any of this was a miracle. I gave my head a few hard taps while wincing,

”Gah, I'm an idiot.”

Althea grabbed my arm, ”Hey, don't do that. If not for you, then don't do that for me.”

I sighed, ”Alright.”

She gave me a hard shove, ”Hey, stop being so hard on yourself. You're the first living dimension, right? That means you have to learn everything on your own. That's hard to do. Look at me-”

She put a hand on her chest, ”I couldn't control my eldritch half at all. I'd turn into a giant pile of shifting meat every time I wasn't sedated. No one thinks about that, but I couldn't have regained control of myself without a little help. You just needed some help too.”

She forced a small smile out of me, ”Heh, maybe so.”

Kessiah waved at me, ”I can verify that. I couldn't do shit with my blood arts until I got a master from my family.”

I leaned towards her, ”A master, huh?”

Kessiah nodded,

”Yup. That's how it is for almost every remnant. We kind of have these bloodlines with these different powers. You could walk around your entire life without knowing you can do something until stumbling on it someday.”

Torix gestured to her, ”It would be similar to how someone could live with a talent that hadn't manifested itself yet.”

Kessiah frowned, ”Yeah, sure. If you think about it, the Adair family is probably like that too. They grow up thinking they're normal before someone shows them they have psionic abilities.”

Florence perked up, interested in Kessiah,

”Is that how remnants work? It's challenging to get access to their fleets, so their inner workings are a mystery to most.”

Kessiah got a little nervous as the group paid attention to her. She sat upright, conducting herself more,

”So, uh, well...it's not that complicated, really. We all live on fleets after Schema kicked us off our homeworld. I don't even know where it is or what its called anymore. Either way, we were big into genetic modification before Schema uprooted us, and we lost a lot of our technology.”

She tried to formulate her words smoothly,

”My mom and dad told me that after losing our ability to modify ourselves, we struggled for a while. Eventually, these families began showing up, uh, like the Adairs. These families basically bred themselves so that they would keep and strengthen their powers over time. This led to a lot of different kinds of remnants showing up over time.”

She bit her thumb, pooling the blood into a sphere,

”I'm from the family called the Blood of Baldowahs. We're pretty strong, I guess. We're no Adair family, though. There are tons of other families like them, however. Some are so different from normal remnants they might as well be a different species. I know my own family was kind of looked down on since we used blood rituals.”

This was the most I'd ever seen Kessiah talk about her past. She scratched her head,

”The Adairs were always high society types. I don't know much about them outside of the rumors. They're the most well established and interconnected family, and they had deep ties with Schema before this rebellion. That's probably how they made this rebellion happen.”

She looked down, ”You know, if I'm not talking out of my ass here.”

I shook my head, ”No, that's good information. I think I know what we need to do.” I waved a hand, gesturing to everyone,

”First off, does anyone think that taking out Plazia Ruhl next is a bad idea?”

Everyone shook their heads before Hod's form shivered a bit. Umbral mana saturated him, and his eldritch half spoke up, ”I...I would like to speak.”

Amara joined him, ”I as well.”

I pulled back, letting them say their piece,

”Sure. The floor's all yours. Let's start with Other Hod first.”

Other Hod lifted two massive hands edged with dark claws, ”Plazia Ruhl is a great threat, one far greater than the Hybrids we were given to dispatch. I understand the rewards are greater, but I believe we can do more against the Hybrids than you think and in far less time.”

I raised my eyebrows, ”How so?”

Other Hod looked at everyone, his red, hollowed eyes menacing, ”You all think of we eldritch as animals. I...I understand your sentiment. Many of us are. We have many among us that lack sentience or a will of our own. However, Amara and I both have shown you that we may rise above.”

Those present gave a few nods, though Althea leaned over and whispered to me, ”I still think Amara's kind of creepy.”

Ditto.

Other Hod continued, ”There exists one aspect and language all eldritch share despite our different builds and ideas - fear. We know when we are outclassed, and we are unwilling to kill ourselves in the pursuit of food or power-” Other Hod pointed at me,

”I...I fear the Harbinger more than I have feared anything, even the machinations of my nightmares. When you first gave Hod a mana conduit, I could feel how endless your hunger was. My excess was siphoned to you, and you devoured it without end.”

Amara quivered, ”I fear you as well.”

Other Hod nodded at her with surprising eagerness, ”You feel it too then. Of course you would. We're similar, you and I.” He looked back at me,

”That is because we all feel that same fear. To us, the others here are sheep, and we wolves. You, you are the destroyer, an undying hunger. In time, all eldritch will fear you, and you will be able to control them.”

I raised an eyebrow, ”So I can become an overlord of eldritch, huh? How's that help with the Hybrids on Blegara?”

”The vagni on Blegara worship the eldritch. If you can control the eldritch there-”

Torix shouted, ”Then Daniel can control the vagni.” Torix pulled his head back in disbelief, ”Hod, that's genius.” Torix leaned towards him, ”Who are you, and what have you done with Hod?”

The umbral shade cackled, ”Nothing, he and I are the same.”

I raised my eyebrows, remembering how I could get eldritch to shake in their boots. Hell, Amara's greatest fear was me, actually. Using that dread worked with lower leveled eldritch, but not stronger ones from my experience. It might not carry over to the monsters the vagni worshipped, but the plan was worth a shot either way.

The benefits were too good if things worked out. I mean, if we got the vagni allying with us instead of the Adair's, Blegara would be much easier to clear. I shrugged, ”Yeah, that might just work. I'll need some practice either way.”

Amara raised a hand, and I thought she was asking for permission to speak. Instead, the eye in per palm peered around,

”It would take little for you to evoke fear in my kin. I know this all too well.”

I frowned, ”Alright then, that sounds like a plan.”

Amara lifted her other hand, and she turned them into alternate directions,

”I wish to propose another idea.”

I gestured my palm to her, ”Sure thing.”

”Plazia did not join in the Adair's rebellion. He is wise and ancient, so he must have compelling reasons as to why. If we learn of his motivations, we may find ourselves on the same side as him.”

Althea leaned towards Amara, ”You want to ally with Plazia?”

”Yes. Daniel has mentioned how his armor was crafted by an eldritch. This is because we eldritch are masters of the runic language you seek to know more of. I believe we could gain much from Plazia about the inner workings of the magical runes. We may also learn about the rebellion and why an eldritch would abstain from joining the Adairs.”

I crossed my arms, giving it a bit of thought. Torix leaned forward, his voice rising,

”Trusting a volatile eldritch is a recipe for disaster. My son trusted one, and he was turned into an utter abomination. Now you wish to entrust our guild to one of those monsters when the stakes are far higher than a single life. Are you certain that you do not wish to simply ally yourself with Plazia?”

The group stared at Amara, and she covered her face with her unkempt hair. She narrowed the eyes of her palms,

”Your accusations do not fall on deaf ears. I know none of you trust me. I know that you all believe we are evil. You've seen that evil manifest in ways that have destroyed your lives. However, I will not apologize for my kin. I did nothing, and I argue that many of you have been touched by our kin. In turn, you've each become stronger.”

Amara pointed at Althea, ”You use the same energy we do to power your magic. You walk across planes like a dancer across her stage, yet no one gives you scrutiny despite the source of your strength.”

Amara pointed at Hod, ”You are drenched in eldritchian energy, your mind splintered by it. Despite that, you have proven a loyal, capable ally who lives in the light of trust.”

Amara turned her hand to me, ”And you, most of all. You wear what was once meant to be the skin of an eldritch. Your body is now infused with it to its core. Your rise to prominence was built on the foundation of an eldritch.”

The group stared down, with many thinking about what she said. Amara seethed,

”Your accusations towards me are hypocrisy at its finest, and you should stare at yourself before acting as if I have defied any of you even a single time. I work as tirelessly as you all and for my own aims. My actions demand trust, else you treat me with prejudice.”

She was right in some ways, and Amara deserved at least some trust after she worked with us for so long. Even if she was an eldritch, she was also proof that not all eldritch were evil. Most, sure, but she was an exception. I doubted Plazia would be one of those exceptions, but because of her contributions, I decided to consider the idea.

I extended out a hand, ”Amara, we're sorry. We didn't mean to make accusations. As a show of sincerity, I'll think about what you said, allying with Plazia and all. Just remember that even if we all benefited from eldritch in some ways, it wasn't out of the eldritch's generosity. We fought tooth and nail to stay alive, and our scars made us stronger, not the eldritch.”

Amara peered down, letting out a sigh. She knew I was right and that she was asking for a lot. I raised my hand, ”When we meet the guy, er, thing, I'll consider talking it out with Plazia if it isn't outright hostile. That is the limit to what I can give you here, alright?”

She nodded, her teeth like needles, ”That is more than enough. Thank you, Harbinger.”

I turned to the others, ”Then that's about it, right?”

The others nodded, many seeming satisfied. I raised a hand, trying to establish an overview of the discussion,

”So we've established a few facts, and we've decided to try a few things. First fact, we need someone to stop Lehesion, and I'm the guy to do it for now. To make that happen, I'm going to test out more dimensional powers, learn about my elemental furnace, and finish my class. That's for me personally to tackle him. Any objections?”

No one disagreed, so I gestured to the group, ”I'll need help with a lot of that, and I still want to work on this golem project I have going on. Ophelia and Helios should help me in those specific skills in the meantime.”

I gazed at Torix, ”We'll need to hold off on the guild's expansion until after we can handle Lehesion. Otherwise, we're setting up our new guild branches to be destroyed. Let's focus on really cementing our control of Mt.Verner and brainstorming some solutions for security purposes.”

Torix cupped his hands together, ”As you wish.”

I peered at Althea, ”We'll need some more stealth agents and spies. I know that your skills are unique, but could you teach other people how to scout for us?”

Althea coughed into a hand, ”Uh, I could try.”

”Good enough.” I pointed at Chrona and Krog, ”Chrona, I'm going to need you to help me with your time magic again. I'm giving it another shot. I work over the night here, and you can help teach me then.”

Chrona groaned, ”Overnight work? Bah, I hate nightly duties.”

Krog rolled his eyes, ”Toughen up, buttercup.”

I grinned at Krog, ”You're going to be helping organize the gialgathens and getting them ready to fight. We'll need aerial forces to assist against Plazia. You'll be making sure the gialgathens are ready for it, and that means systemized and trained.”

Krog lifted his head up high, ”I was a general, and I shall be one once more. Consider it done.”

”That's good. You can get that going after you guys have taken a break. I don't think an hour or two a day of tutoring would be too much to ask though, Chrona.”

She gave me a sly grin, ”We'll see.”

I pointed at the blind albony, ”Helios, you'll be helping me learn about the elemental furnace and helping move our forces around. I know warping all the time is taking its toll, so we'll try to keep your warping to a minimum from here on out.”

Helios stared at his claws, ”If that is what you want.”

I pointed at Hod and Amara, ”You two need to brainstorm some kind of plan for getting the eldritch to fear me on Blegara. You both understand whatever it is that's scary about me, so get that organized into some plan I can follow.”

Amara and Other Hod nodded. I pointed at Kessiah, ”You'll need to train some more healers and other medical personal. You can do that, right?”

Kessiah smirked, ”Oh yeah, I sure can. It'll be easy.”

Florence lifted a hand, the albony being uncharacteristically shy, ”So, er, what am I going to do?”

I gestured to him and Amara, ”You need to help these guys understand Vagni culture so they can come up with a good plan. After that's done, you'll need to do some serious research on the ahcorus so that we aren't going in uninformed.”

Florence perked up, ”Oh, I can do all of that, and even with a measure of competence. Heh, I usually hate these kinds of war discussions. This wasn't actually so bad.”

I lifted my hands, letting everyone know to get up, ”Then let's get this show on the road.”

Everyone got to action, several people looking like they knew what they needed to do already. Others like Florence paced around for a bit, trying to get a grip on their assignment. I was okay with both approaches, as long as they got it done in the end. For me, I pulled Helios aside and gestured towards Springfield,

”Come on, there are only a few hours before sundown.”

Helios frowned, ”Why are we heading to that dilapidated town?”

I grinned, pulling out the black jade,

”You're going to teach me how to use this elemental furnace.”