ALL NOVEL 99 - Darkness
The world was reduced to its base components. Matter, spirit, rhetoric - these concepts, the composition of the living, melted into a primordial soup. The senses coalesced into a droplet of ‘being’, hanging from the precipice of the world above death. There was no sensation. No emotion. All was comforting and conjoined.
Lieze was not herself. She was something else. A fathomless ‘existence’ in the nebula of oblivion. She could perceive the environment around her without seeing it. She could ‘reach’ and ‘pull’ and ‘touch’, limited only by the primitive remnants of her ape brain demanding that she make sense of the situation.
She ‘remembered’. The sudden onset of death. The moment of elation prior to annihilation. She felt ‘worried’ and ‘anxious’ and ‘saddened’. From the nothingness emerged the self, and from the moment of its inception, she was a spirit no longer, but a wanderer of the void.
Her feet touched the invisible floor. A great light illuminated her features from below.
She blinked.
“...I’m dead.”
The void reacted to her admission. In the distance, shades of black morphed into unrecognisable shapes. There was something *yanking* at the strings of her soul, suspending her above the crucible of light lapping hungrily at her ankles. A presence - one so mighty and cosmic that she must have seemed like an insect in comparison. The false eye in her skull ached with knowing.
“No…” She muttered, “I’m… something else. I’m between the planes of life and death.”
Her mortal body was a phantom - imperceptible but just out of reach. She was missing something on the outside. Her soul had been separated from its shell.
Something emerged from the dark. A mass of knotted tendrils, its true size without depth and impossible to measure. Within the infinite centre of its design stirred a simulacrum of the infinite void - a hole so fathomless that it threatened to drag Lieze inside with a mere glance. She could tell straight away that it was the beast responsible for her immaterial suspension.
“The Blackbriar…” She ‘spoke’, and her words took on a facsimile of life, “This will be the second time I’ve spoken to a God. Funnily enough, I was on the brink of death last time as well.”
The valleys of her brain tingled with understanding. The beast had no mouth, but was more than capable of speech. Its unimpeded words thumped against the walls of her skull, threatening to bore out of her like parasitic larvae.
Scion…
Your mortal body has failed you…
But do not be afraid…
My power shall grant you life anew…
“This doesn’t seem like the sort of thing you’re supposed to be doing.” Lieze replied, “What is this place? Some boundary between my world and the next?”
The Material…
The Spiritual…
The Astral…
Your body is suspended between two realities…
I have interrupted the sacred proceeding of life into death…
“You’re more straightforward than the Gildwyrm.” She noticed, “In that case, you wouldn’t be willing to reveal the purpose of the Scions to me, would you? I don’t really like being kept in the dark about everything.”
Seek the Scions…
Seek the Gods…
Remake the world…
“Why are the Gods suddenly meddling in mortal affairs?” Lieze asked, “I assumed there would be… rules against that.”
Great sin…
Great punishment…
“What about the Light in Chains?” She gazed into the Blackbriar’s void, “Am I playing into the Gods’ hands? Am I just some pawn in a celestial pawn? I don’t have any interest in the politics of divine beings, before you try to rope me into something troublesome.”
The Light…
The Light…
Great and terrible Light…
“I suppose a straightforward answer is asking for too much…” Lieze clicked her tongue, “Can you resurrect me? I can’t accomplish much when I’m starfish-sprawling on Tonberg’s streets.”
Life…
New life…
Yes…
A contract…
“You have terms?” She rolled her eyes, “You’ve already replaced half my body with your damnable thorns. What more could you possibly want?”
Reject…
Control…
[Overwrite]
Are you sure you want to forget the following skills?
[Heavenly Favour - Destroy Undead] [Heavenly Favour - Antimagic Pulse]
[Y/N]
“You… want me to sacrifice my Heavenly Favours?” Lieze asked, “I’m not too sure about that. They’re quite useful.”
No…
Possess…
Replace…
“Replace…” She repeated, “You’ll change them? The ‘gems’ of divination and abjuration?”
Yes…
New life…
Replace…
She was being led into something. A God wouldn’t lower itself to bargaining with mortals if there wasn’t something truly supreme to gain in the process. The Blackbriar was offering to spread its influence to her lesser-used Heavenly Favours. The result would most likely be a pair of extraordinarily powerful abilities, but Lieze wasn’t certain of what she stood to lose.
“-And you won’t resurrect me unless I agree.” She predicted, “I was right all along. I am just a pawn. All of the Scions are. We’re a means to something greater, aren’t we? Something I’ll never live to understand…”
Contract…
Accept the contract…
New life…
“Fine. I accept.” She replied, “What choice do I have? I’m not ready to die.”
Those two words were enough. The Blackbriar’s gargantuan form vanished in a roiling tear of spacetime, as if it was resisting the will of some divine landlord all along. The metaphorical ‘floor’ beneath Lieze’s feet disappeared, but instead of falling, she was rising away from the surging light nestled in the void’s infinite undercarriage.
WARNING!
ABILITIES LOST:
[Heavenly Favour - [Destroy Undead] [Heavenly Favour - Antimagic Pulse]
Calibrating Subject [Lieze Sokalar]
Please Wait…
Vomit curdled in Lieze’s throat.
She flipped her body over just in time to dump yesterday’s breakfast onto the road. Her limbs were inflicted with paralytic torpor. Sensation returned to her nerves as idling blood began to flow once more, and her mind sparked with life as its supply of oxygen returned.
“Briar’s Thorns! She’s been raised!” The muffled voice of Drayya echoed in her ears, “Marché! Find me something heavy so I can crush her skull!”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” A nasally voice replied, “She’s alive! Just look at her!”
Lieze’s throat continued to burn as the two argued on. She took in a refreshing gulp of air before rising to her feet, flexing every muscle she could think of with a cathartic stretch one could only manage after a long night’s sleep. She felt like a stray poke could just as easily knock her down again.
Lieze’s HP - 1 / 290
Secret Quest 'Resurrection!’ Complete!
Description - Recover at least [1] HP when your HP is [0]
Reward - 5,000xp
Level Up!
You are now level [34]
HP + 5 MP + 50
MIND + 1
“Urgh…” She spat out the remnants of her sickness, “What a palaver…”
[Supreme Regeneration] Activated
Remaining Heavenly Favours - 0
The Blackbriar’s mending corruption knitted together the sorry state of her innards. The needle hole carving a path through her heart was gauzed with black flesh, lining her ventricles with patches of thorns. As the seconds ticked by, her vigour returned. She was alive once more.
“Goodness.” Lieze sighed, “That’s what I get for pushing my luck.”
“That’s not possible.”
Drayya spoke plainly. She seemed more disappointed than shocked.
“You were dead.” She said, “Not unconscious. Not paralyzed. Dead.”
“Plenty of people have been brought back from the dead.” Lieze replied, “If I remember correctly, Ricta IV once suffered from a fatal bout of consumption, and a priest-”
“Do you see a priest here!?” Drayya interrupted, “You’ll have to forgive me for being ever-so-slightly confused as to how you managed to awaken from death with the ease of overcoming a common cold.”
Would it be wise to divulge the truth of her resurrection to Drayya and Marché? The Blackbriar’s influence on her body was already apparent. How difficult would it be to convince either of them that she was offered a divine contract from the Lord of Maggots itself?
“...The Blackbriar prevented my death.” She revealed, “My soul was suspended between this realm and the next. My duty as a pawn of the Gods is not one so easily refused, it seems.”
“Amazing…” Marché’s eyes glimmered with interest, “Conversing with a God… what an honour that must have been. Only the Sages were ever known to commune directly with our caretakers.”
“Well, it wasn’t the first time, so forgive me if I found its incoherent prattling a tad frustrating.” Lieze replied, “It didn’t seem like the kind of privilege I’ll ever be granted more than once, so don’t go thinking my body is expendable all of a sudden.”
“That’s rich, coming from you.” Drayya said, “What did you think was going to happen, speaking to Master Sokalar like that? Did you honestly entertain the idea that he might allow you to live if you puffed out your chest and spoke confidently?”
“I didn’t expect anything.” Lieze paused, “...I’m tired of him. I’m tired of all of this. I said what I meant, and if I see him again, I’ll gladly repeat it.”
“If he does see you again, I doubt you’ll have the chance to say anything.” Drayya lowered her head, “You’re a real fool. The same fool you’ve always been.”
“If you dislike it, you can join him.” Lieze replied, “I’ll do this by myself if need be.”
“No…” She sighed, “No. I’m not going to do that. And neither is Marché.”
“Please don’t put words in my mouth…” The man in question frowned, “...But, you are correct. We’ve accomplished so much without the Order’s aid. The dream is not yet over.”
“Don’t try to sound smart about it, you fool.” Drayya slapped the back of his head, “We’re murderers, plain and simple. Lieze just so happens to be the exact sort of lunatic we need.”
“We’ll need more than lunacy if we want to oppose my father…” Lieze muttered, “Things have been simmering for a while, but we’re enemies now. This war suddenly has a third party, and Alistair is no longer the only factor we have to worry about.”
“Gods… why can’t it ever be simple?” Marché rubbed the back of his head, “Let’s start by returning to the cemetery, I suppose. Sokalar was kind enough to leave me and Drayya alive, so he’ll be working under the assumption that we’re going to report to the district perimeter.”
“He’s planning an attack?” Lieze asked.
Marché nodded, “Retribution. So much for the eastern district. If we don’t find a way to come out on top of this war, then we’ll end up crushed beneath the weight of two overwhelming forces.”
“Take the alleyways. I don’t want us being spotted by any of the Order necromancers.” Lieze said, “Then… yes - we’ll have to move from the cemetery. We can’t enforce our will over the eastern gatehouse, so retreating to the arcade in the northern district is our best option. It’s defensible and far from the main conflict.”
“Back from the grave and you’re already returning to duty.” Drayya smirked, “Well, there’s no rest for the wicked, I suppose - and there are few individuals in this world more wicked than us.”
With the matter settled, the three of them set about gathering up the scattered divisions of their army, departing for the cemetery afterwards where Marché’s cultists had regrouped following the battle. None of them seemed pleased at the idea of ceding territory they’d worked so hard to claim, but there were no objections to Lieze’s suggestion of relocating to the northern district.
The true war began that day. A war between humanity, the undead, and a foolish trio in over their heads with far too much confidence to spare. All the while, yet greater machinations stirred in the background with Lieze at the foetid centre.