Rebecca knew this day would come. She had known it for years.
Still, she couldn’t help the faint sense of dread as the end drew nearer. A part of her almost wished it would simply start, rather than leaving them trapped in this tottering silence that was slowly driving her mad.
But those were a normal woman’s woes. Her mind was above such things, and she quickly put a lid on it as she focused on the task at hand.
“Here?” Rebecca asked, pushing a giant pallet of metals forward.
Titanic amounts of preprocessed steel, copper, and gold sat stacked before her, enough raw material to bankroll a small city.
“Yes. Thank you, Alexandria.” Dragon’s voice came from the drone as the ginormous mass of metal was quickly carted away, disappearing into the manufacturing lines like water into dry earth.
All around her, machinery filled the air with a constant electric hum.
What had once been a simple forest had become a sprawling industrial complex. Buildings staffed by nothing but automated manufacturing lines churned out powersuits after powersuits, while a dozen more facilities worked just as tirelessly, producing tools, materials, and infrastructure to further expand her production line.
The speed of development was terrifying. Cauldron’s support had helped, certainly, but the real cause was far simpler.
With her restrictions rapidly fading and any obstacles to her progress quietly removed by Contessa, the AI simply grew exponentially.
Her unchecked progress would have terrified Rebecca mere weeks ago. Swaths of production facilities spread across different Earths, legions of powersuits, and a growing arsenal of every piece of tinker technology Dragon could obtain. It was truly a force that could take over the world.
Pity it still wasn’t enough.
“Do you require me for anything else?” Rebecca asked.
“No. The lift will be repaired soon, so it’s all right.” Dragon’s voice remained unfailingly polite, and even to Rebecca’s cold-reading skills, nothing sounded off. But it didn’t take a Thinker to understand that the AI did not particularly like her.
“I see.” Rebecca remained quiet for a moment, pensive. “Anything to report from the Anomaly?”
“He left after killing the Teeth and subduing the Butcher. He’s currently consuming the large amounts of blood we acquired for him,” the drone said, sounding troubled.
Rebecca grunted. The dismantling of the Teeth did little to bother her, but it eased her mind, just a little, to hear Dragon’s reluctance toward killing. If by some miracle they succeeded in killing Scion, Dragon would be in the prime position to rule what came after.
She wasn’t so simple-minded as to think Dragon would turn into some Skynet, but she knew how easy it was to fall down the slippery slope. One compromise after another, each one easier than the last. It was a wonder Dragon had maintained herself this well despite everything done to her.
Rebecca almost envied it.
“Has he divulged anything else of import?”
“He’s remained tight-lipped about the method used to kill him in his prediction. Although I believe that is partly due to his distrust of Cauldron.” Dragon’s voice grew more worried. “From what he’s implied, I suspect he’s also afraid of Scion gathering information from us if he explains too much. Beyond that, he has only offered simple advice. Make as many suits as I can, and prepare Earth for evacuation.”
Rebecca merely grunted as she watched the facility. “We long suspected Scion had some form of precognition of his own. That isn’t surprising.”
It was par for the course. She saw no reason the creator of powers would not gift itself with the same advantage. Still, what else could they do but simply hope otherwise?
Killing the Entity was a long shot in the first place.
“Are the arrangements going well on your end?” Dragon asked.
“You probably already know most of it.”
“...Whatever could you mean?” Dragon asked innocently.
Rebecca rolled her eyes at the polite fiction. She didn’t doubt Dragon had already compromised most of the PRT. They had Thinkers and skilled consultants on the payroll for cybersecurity, but she doubted any of them could bar a literal AI for long.
“The PRT has been put on soft alert,” she continued anyway. “I’ve sent a few messages to my contacts in the United States government and had them begin preparations. The Vial Capes that owe us favors are being put to work. But there is little more we can do than tell them to be ready. Large-scale preparation would cause more panic than good.”
“What about the Earths?” Dragon asked.
“Contessa has pushed things into motion in a few places.” Rebecca shook her head. “But that’s it. We never invested too much into the other Earths.”
The lack of parahumans on most Earth variants had made large-scale influence seem like a poor investment. Not to mention that, in Cauldron’s early years, they’d had their hands full just managing Earth Bet.
“I see,” Dragon said, disappointment clear in her voice.
Rebecca had a response ready. Something cold and practical about abandoning that kind of naivety. A few doomed worlds couldn’t compare to the sheer destruction Scion would bring if left unchecked.
But Rebecca held her tongue.
She really was getting stressed.
Rebecca exhaled slowly. “Any insights on where Eidolon is?”
“I checked nearly every camera in the world. His last known trace was at the Texas PRT headquarters,” Dragon said. “After that, he completely disappeared.”
Rebecca couldn’t help but frown. What the hell are you doing, David…
The Dragon drone remained silent for a moment before a sigh came through the speakers.
“The only thing we can do is hope the worst doesn’t come to pass.”
Rebecca let out a dark chuckle despite herself. That summed up Cauldron’s plans for the past decade. —I couldn’t help but feel a faint curiosity about where the hell this blood was going.
The blood bag in my hand finally went empty, collapsing in on itself as I lowered it from my mouth and exhaled.
Power filled my veins.
It was hard to describe. I could feel my very existence elevating, like some invisible hand had grabbed the core of me and dragged it one step higher on the food chain.
Was this what it felt like to be a Pokémon?
My blood churned beneath my skin, as if it wanted to leap out of my veins and grow teeth.
[Feat Achieved! Rank Up!]
[+1 Silver Gacha Ticket]
[Rolling Silver Gacha Ticket]
[Bellowing Dragoncrest Ring]|Rare Item|Dark Souls — A special ring granted only to the most accomplished sorcerers at the Vinheim Dragon School. The ring is engraved with an everlasting dragon and boosts the strength of magic cast by its wearer.
I pulled it from my inventory and couldn’t help but admire the silvery ring. A blue gemstone sat in its center, polished smooth, with the image of a dragon engraved beneath the surface like something trapped in ice.
“Ho!”
Prelati appeared at my side, his eyes greedily locking onto it.
“What a powerful mystic code…” He turned those hungry eyes toward me and held out his hands like a beggar at church. “Would you take pity on this old soul?”
I snorted and tossed it to him. “Take it.”
Prelati caught it with all the reverence of a priest receiving a holy relic, then gave me a mocking bow as he slipped it onto his finger. The Butcher stood mindlessly behind him, silent and still, a puppet wearing a human shape.
I rolled my shoulders and let myself enjoy the new weight of power settling into my body.
It had taken a bit to drink all that blood, but damn if it hadn’t been worth it.
Now came the fun part.
I reached into my inventory and summoned my familiars. Ridley appeared in a burst of displaced air, landing with a heavy thud before lowering himself to the ground. A moment later, another wave of darkness spread across the floor, gathering into the armored shape of Igris.
“Igris,” I said, giving him a nod. “Thanks for before.”
Igris simply shot me a thumbs up, always the badass.I smiled, looking between him, Ridley, Prelati, and the Butcher.
“All right, fellas. It’s time to hunt.” I laughed. “Let’s see how long it takes to speedrun to Godhood.”I quickly explained the assignment to each of them. All of them were strong enough to handle most capes, so I was confident in the plan.
“Doormaker,” I said. “Give me two doors. Quebec and Eagleton.”
Two portals opened in the air.
Ridley rose with a low growl, wings shifting as he stepped toward the first door. Prelati gave one last delighted look at the ring before he and the Butcher vanished through it as well.Igris stood aside and bowed his head toward me. He would be remaining in Boston to clean up. I nodded as I strode toward my own portal and stepped through.
Eagleton greeted me with silence.
The place was bare, empty save for the occasional building I knew had the Machine Army in it. No one close enough to get caught in the crossfire, either.
Perfect place to test things out.
I took a deep breath and slotted in the Frenzied Flame.
The power stirred inside me, its eldritch flooding my mind with wondrous promises, but unlike before, it was not so overwhelming.
Gold fire crawled over my skin. Heat distorted the air around me as the ground beneath my feet began to blacken.
I laughed.
“Burn.”