October 22nd, 629
The Princess looked pained, like she was having some kind of nightmare that caused her real physical agony. Her face was pale and sweaty, and her breathing was shallow but rapid.
I hadn’t initially thought about what would happen to an infested woman like her within such a holy place as a Peerage of the Holy See, but clearly it wouldn’t be comfortable.
Tearing my eyes away from her, I greeted the others.
“Ignatius, Willow, it’s good to see you two.”
“You as well, John.”
Ignatius and I shook hands while Umara hugged Willow. Then I turned to Terrace.
“Sir. I hope recent revelations haven’t made you rethink the request I’m going to give you.”
“As far as I’m concerned, I didn’t hear any of it. Nothing that comes out of the King’s mouth is genuine unless it's evil.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself. Hallowlight, I hope the patients haven’t been too burdensome.”
I turned to the lady, her smile brightening the room. The stronger I got, the more incredible I felt this woman to be. I also got more uncomfortable. She was definitely seeing things I didn’t want her to.
“Nonsense, John. Both of my new patients have been quite enlightening. I’ve only ever heard of Death Shrines in the legends that came from the Pillars of Creation. Seeing someone who was not only stuck to one, but survived it mentally is likely a once in a lifetime experience.”
“Yeah, I think people like us get a lot of those.”
“As for the Princess, well, she’s not common but I’ve seen several like her. Most fall. Some manage to pull off incredible things. I’ll need time to work on her, and none of it will be sightly. But you’ve afforded her this chance so she’ll get exactly that. At the very least, she isn’t all gone. That much recognition she deserves.”
“Hm.”
I didn’t give her a response, glancing at the Princess one more time before looking away, lest I get pissed off.
“Now, what about my good man Graves over here?”
“Ah, I was actually going to ask you to talk to him…”
“Was there an issue? Is that why you’re still limbless?”
I turned to him on the bed, Graves nodding.
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t want your body back. Care to explain?”
“Sir, I was hoping for… an alternative treatment. I was aware that Wonderland had been developing prosthetics for people who lost their limbs. I heard that they could be made just as powerful as the flesh, yet without the downsides. I think that it would be a viable way to become more effective.”
“While I admire your motivation, there are two issues, Graves. First is that while the limbs technically can be made just as powerful as the person they would attach to, that doesn’t mean said person can use that power to full effect. You’d be consigned to using foreign enchantments on a limb that has to be used more like a tool than what it’s meant to be, which is a part of you. I don’t need to mention how debilitating that would be in battle for a Knight. Second, I don't think we’re on the same page as to what’s going to happen after you’re recovered. Graves, I was planning to retire you. It’ll take years to recover from what you’ve been through mentally.”
Graves went quiet, my gaze turning to Hallowlight.
“Have you seen how bad it is?”
“I have. His mind is still a mess, but I think you’d be surprised as well. His belief in his Commander kept him together, and you didn’t let him down. That means something. Also, a little advice. If able, I don’t think you should take him out of service so quickly. His sense of normalcy no longer lies in civilian life. A great change like retiring combined with a sudden onset of recovery from what he’s been through won’t mix well. I recommend keeping him with your Legion. Let him keep to the structure he’s become familiar with.”
“Hm, I suppose you’re right.”
I sighed a little, turning back to Graves. As much as I wanted to retire the man and let him rest for the rest of his life after surviving a Death Shrine of all things, Hallowlight probably knew more than me on the subject of retiring veterans with trauma like that.
I looked back at Graves.
“Very well Graves, your retirement is hereby delayed. But I’m going to give you and what will be your private doctor some instructions. I understand that you want to continue the fight, but I’m not going to make a man with your trauma continue as if nothing happened.”
“I understand, sir.”
“Mm. Now, as for your limbs. Am I to understand that you want to replace them with enchanted prosthetics? All of them?”
“If it means higher combat effectiveness, then yes sir, I do.”
I saw how dead serious he was, but then again, I saw little other emotion in him. Part of me wanted to reach into his mind and find out what was stirring in there. The man was different, obviously, but this kind of attitude was a little jarring for me to see.
The only thing I could think of was to simply go along with it and hope that the sense of duty would help him more than it would hinder his recovery.
On the topic of prosthetics though, I got some ideas rather quickly.
I spent a few moments thinking in silence. Although it would have to be worked, it was possible that the material that the Death Shrine was made out of would turn out to be perfect for these purposes. It was engineered specifically to integrate with any body that it grew into. On one hand, it could be used that way to deliver the worst torture imaginable. On the other hand, it could be repurposed as the medium for neural control.
Prosthetic limbs were no mere proof of concept. I had already developed the enchantments for controlling artificial limbs with the mind, but the process was convoluted and had a steep learning curve for non-summoners. The ease of access wasn’t there, but since it was still technically better than nothing, it was offered to the few soldiers of the Legion that ended up needing it.
With the Death Shrine though, a connection could be made directly to the nervous system on the biological level. Combined with enchantments, and the limb would be artificial, yet technically perfect in function.
If that were the case, then not only could Vigor be streamed through it like a sword, but depending on the materials and strength of its empowerment, it could scale with the user. In such a situation, Graves would be correct. He’d be far more effective in battle with an advantage like an enchanted and versatile metal arm.
I nodded to him a few times.
“Yeah, I think I can make some prosthetics work for you. It’ll take some time to develop them, but it can be done. Still, go ahead and get your limbs healed back. We can just remove them when the time comes if you’re still adamant about the surgery.”
“Understood, sir.”
I turned to Hallowlight, who gave me a small smirk.
“Making me heal a man you’re just going to chop up again?”
“Pretty please?”
“Hmm, on one condition. I’m there when you do the surgery. I’m quite interested in what you’ll devise.”
“Sounds good to me. It shouldn’t be more than a month or so. That’s also about when I plan to have everything ready for my Crown.”
With those words, I turned to Terrace, whose eyes widened.
“The great John Cooper getting another Crown? Must be good material you got your hands on.”
“An Authority Eleven King Blood of Despair, just about fully intact. A Broodfather as well, though I don’t think either of us understand how it can be used just yet. It’ll be a part of what I’m going to research.”
“I don’t even want to know how you got your hands on something so impossible, especially after the Unholy Light corpse you brought. You have quite the knack for getting your hands on rare materials.”
“I was going to have you come to me when I was ready. I’ll be in touch until then since I’m going to be studying Invocation technology, so we can coordinate materials. Whatever it’ll cost me, just send me the list.”
“Bah, this one’s on the house. You just brought in billions of coin worth of Paragon material and strategic resources from those vaults you raided. The Pope won’t care if I have this one subsidized. Also, let me study the Broodfather instead. This is the kind of thing you leave to the master.”
“I’ll have my own samples, but very well. No complaints from me.”
I took off a ring with that, handing it to Terrace.
“Both corpses are in there.”
“They’re in good hands. I’ll prepare the basics as soon as I can. Just make sure to let me look over your Invocation work when you get it done. As smart as you are, I need my own peace of mind if I’m putting new and untested work on someone’s body.”
“...No promises. I’ll get eyes on it and let you know.”
“Hmm.”
He frowned at me, my eyes diverting and turning to Anderson.
“That’s all I needed. Time for me to get out of your hair.”
“Not going to see your mentor first?”
“I’m not going anywhere near the capital for the foreseeable future. Besides, I don’t need him stabbing me. A bit of yelling over the Aerial will work for now.”
“Hehe, he might tell me to stab you for him.”
“Please don’t. I have more use for some of your information actually.”
“Oh? Do tell.”
“Vetsmon. I was wondering where he was.”
“Ooh, I’d like to know too.”
Willow perked up, the two of us pressuring Anderson with our eyes.
He chuckled a bit, then focused on me.
“You’re not taking away my star pupil to go galavant in the dark corners of the continent.”
“You’re teaching him?”
“...Something like that. Either way, he stays where he is. He’s not done with his training.”
“Knowing you, he probably won’t be done until he’s a Sovereign. Not that I’m complaining. I just wanted to know if he’s over at the Pillars of Creation.”
“Yes, he is. Things will be continuing over there for some time, and since we’ll need to pull back and consolidate forces thanks to recent events, his presence there will be especially necessary.”
“Yeesh. Just don’t work the poor guy to death.”
“That will be up to him.”
“Hm. The Order are a bunch of slave drivers apparently. Either way, good to know.”
I nodded and turned back to Willow and Ignatius.
“I’m sorry that I can’t stay.”
“We understand, John. I hope you know that you’ll have a haven here if you ever need it.”
Willow pulled me down for a hug, the two of us staying there for a few seconds before I rose and shook Ignatius’ hand one more time.
“Take care of yourself, John.”
“As best I can.”
With that, I linked my arm back with Umara. With a head nod to Anderson, we left the room.
After that, we were escorted to the Holy See’s airfield where I boarded one of my own aircraft. Erhan was there waiting, my ever proactive butler.
Before boarding, Anderson exchanged a few more words with me.
“Cooper.”
I turned back to look at him, his face slightly more serious than usual.
“I know you’re knocking on the barrier too. I don’t know where you plan on going, but you won’t be able to do it if you break through. You’ve already gotten a glimpse at what happens to those not prepared. Don’t get too excited and end things before they’ve even started.”
“Maybe you should just tell me everything you know about what’s beyond the Barrier.”
“It’s a metaphysical dimension of cosmic powers and universal concepts capable of being utilized only by those who have acquired enough spiritual awareness to reach beyond the veil, usually through practicing death.”
My eyes widened a bit, taking in all his words for what they were worth.
Then, he shrugged.
“There’s not much else that can be explained in words. After all, the things on the Horizon are beyond fleshly sounds. While language can invoke the realization of concepts in the minds of the conscious, as you’ve discovered, awareness brings attention. I think you already have enough of an idea yourself. At this point, the only additional step you can take forward in your understanding is breaking the barrier itself and finally removing the veil. So continue to be tactful in how much you expose yourself to the beyond while you still have the advantage of weakness and naivety.”
“...Very well. But what does practicing death mean? Surely simply killing more people doesn’t bring you closer.”
“Not inherently. Where one man finds death before the corpses of his enemies, another finds it within a sealed room, starving and silent.”
“Death in this context isn’t what I’m thinking it is, is it?”
“Likely not. Finding that meaning for yourself is half of the test.”
“How philosophical.”
I sighed and reached out, the two of us shaking hands.
“Goodbye, Anderson.”
“Goodbye, Cooper.”
We separated, and I continued onto the plane with Umara.
We sat down on a plush couch, and soon after we were in the air, the nose of the plane pointed to the Island of Continuance and heading there at Mach 3.
Erhan walked over after everything settled, receiving my attention.
“Sir, I’ve been asked to inform you that your team desires a meeting with you. Would you like to divert course?”
“No, keep our heading. Tell them that if they wish to follow, they can be flown to the island. I’ll be waiting there.”
“I’ll send the messages.”
“Has the estate been sterilized?”
“By the end of the day, it will be.”
“Thank you.”
“Would you like some beverages, sir?”
“No, some time alone will suffice.”
“Of course, sir.”
Erhan bowed a bit before walking out of our room, Umara leaning against my shoulder as Isolation enchantments went live around us.
The two of us stayed quiet as I felt ringing in my ears, the silence deafening.
I simply sat there, feeling the aches through my body for the 45 minutes that it took to arrive.
The plane was landing before long. We felt the jolt of the wheels hitting the runway, and soon we stepped off.
When we did, I looked up and saw a faint Psykic signature in the sky. The details provided by my Aerial said that it was the Declaration, my colossal pet project, circling the island cluster well over a hundred thousand feet in the sky.
As its first outing, it would be up there for quite some time conducting stress tests. In fact, it wouldn’t be touching the ground for at least another two months.
Turning my gaze back down, Umara and I followed Erhan to another of my estates.
I hadn’t yet stepped foot inside this one. It was built quite some time ago, around the same time I had all the safehouses around the main continent constructed. The Island of Continuance had long been inhabited and made secure by the Sector 4 teams and researchers here. Now that the entirety of Wonderland had moved in, empty buildings were being filled, and I was following.
This estate was built near the outskirts of the main Citadel that had been built by the Mantle. Around the estate was nothing but flat ground, dirt, and a budding garden. Beyond that were tall walls of stone and metal covered in growing vines. Beyond that was the rest of the city, still mostly ruins of that bygone era. While demolition efforts had been ongoing so as to remove any dark corners for lingering Shades to hide in, there hadn’t been many personnel to carry out those menial and low priority tasks.
There were now, but it would take time for things to settle. It was a good thing I was here to oversee that.
We walked into the estate, warm but unfamiliar. It was too quiet and empty despite the furnishings.
I turned to Erhan.
“Turn in for the day, my man.”
“Understood. Have a peaceful evening, sir, madam.”
He bowed to us, then left, leaving Umara and I alone in the living area.
I moved to sit down at a nearby table, a bottle of alcohol appearing in my hand with a glass.
I poured some hard liquor, downed it, then poured some more and swirled it in the glass.
I felt Umara pluck it from my grip right after, watching her down it as I did, her face scrunching, barely holding back a cough.
Still, she put the glass back down so I could refill it. Once full, the glass lingered between us.
After some time and silence, Umara moved over and hugged my head without warning, whispering.
“I’m so proud of you.”
No response came. I simply sat there in her embrace, formulating my thoughts.
It was an understatement to say that I was enraged. Nothing about what had happened in just a couple days was according to my plans. Years of work had been evaporated overnight.
Yet perhaps all of that was false as well. While I had technically failed, that had been the ultimate goal. More than that, what came of it, while not to my benefit, still ended up benefiting others.
My Iron Legion had been thrown in a cage called the Talerria and Raven territories, but although they could no longer go rabid like they once did, that didn’t mean they were any weaker. The foundations I had built were designed to survive without me. That was decentralized command, and so even with me out of the picture, Iron Legion would continue to function anyway.
They would continue to receive supplies since Graves’ knowledge didn’t contain the locations of our manufacturing infrastructure. Not a single factory besides those that had always been public knowledge had been raided and were still operating, even if at reduced capacity. That was the same for our war materiel, which came from the island I currently sat on.
Iron Legion had been restrained and weakened, but only slightly. They had still slaughtered millions of the Scourge, had still bought humanity some time and hope by annihilating their infrastructure through the north.
There were a thousand little thoughts, deductions, explanations, and closures for this situation that ran through my head all at once, but it all felt like a screaming white noise that only served to give me a headache.
I tried to ignore it all within my wife’s embrace.
“...No matter how much I think it through, it doesn’t feel any less shitty.”
“...I think that just means that in all his intelligence, my husband is still human.”
“Would that be why I failed?”
“It would be why you had dared.”
Releasing her hug, Umara lifted my gaze to hers.
“You keep speaking of failure. John… Your failure produced the only thing the demons and monsters of this world have ever feared. In the impossibility of it all, you annihilated everything in your path. Now, all that you’ve made has returned, and you left nothing behind, but hope.”
She smiled a bit and stroked my face, my eyes simply gazing into hers.
“That’s all they needed, John. They didn’t need the eradication of the Scourge or the death of their Kings, the unachieved that makes you speak of failure. They just needed hope. You dared to give them that much, and now humanity rallies.”
“...They don’t need me anymore.”
“They do. You’re too powerful to fade away. One of these days, you and I will be dragged right back into the fight. When that time comes, both of us will need to be powerful enough to handle it. That means you haven’t failed, because the job isn’t done.”
I stared at her, feeling the breath of her words on my face.
There was nothing that could be said to make me feel better about what happened. I knew all my words and complaints were contradictory, that nothing I was saying or feeling made sense.
Still, hearing her console me soothed my soul in a way I didn’t know I needed.
I lowered my head into her collar, snaking my arm around her and picking her up. Like that I carried her to the bedroom.
“Let’s rest, my love.”
“Let’s.”
We silently disappeared into the bedroom, and for the first time in a while, I went to sleep unknowing of what I’d do the next day.