Misbegotten Memories

For several seconds he could do nothing. Not even shut his eyes against the glare, which would have been a very smart thing to do. The flood of cosmic energy pouring through his domain and aura and mind apertures had entirely distracted him. It overwhelmed him utterly.

The remnants of the miasma storm were far less cohesive, fortunately.

Hector had time to return to himself before he had to fight again. He transformed a tendril of black mist into cosmic energy, then did the same to a hateful gust. All the while, his returning thoughts were latching onto a key question: what the hell had he done at the end?

The woman holding his hand in a death grip suddenly swayed. "Sorry! Bad timing…."

He caught Leah before she could hit the ground. At the same time, the force of her realm declined to a fraction of its former glory. Hector's domain had to work overtime to continue at half of its former rate. At least the lingering miasma was drifting about like a mundane cloud now, only occasionally stirring as if recognizing his presence. Hector sprinted free of the trap with Leah thrown over his shoulder.

Outside, he ran into the elderly Arahant Sage, whose sword was summoned. Hector landed on top of the old man. "Sorry! I couldn't see anything in the miasma."

Colonel Quinn and Transit were beside him in an instant.

The Stronghold Commander made clear his priorities. "Is Purification alive and well?"

"I think so. She fainted or something."

"Fainted." The word from Transit carried the vitriol of a curse. "She's not so frail."

Hector looked down at Leah. Just as his mental sense caught sight of the cause of their predicament, Transit spoke again. "Aes has judged her actions and found her worthy. The Sage of Purification advances to level eight."

Sure enough, the walls of Leah's soul were sturdier than they had been. They also felt warmer, he noticed. Like molten glass recently cast into a mold. Interesting.

"Let's get back to base," Colonel Quinn said.

They mounted up and reversed course. This time, Hector found himself riding with the two Titans and the robotic Jinn. "I didn't realize miasma patches could come alive like that," he said.

One of the Titans rumbled a response. "It must have been on the verge of taking form already. Bad sign if that is happening so close to the Stronghold. We need to close the rift."

The Jinn nodded. "It looks like the experiment worked."

"The Sage will need weeks to recover," the Titan rumbled.

As the others talked, Hector felt at his own soul. His reserves increased to about ninety percent in an instant back there. The intoxicating flood of energy came from when he shattered something in his foe. He was tempted to experiment some more. The only thing holding him back was the fact that his domain was beginning to hurt.

This was every bit as bad as the first day he'd trained his domain on chaos, three months ago. If history repeated, it would be a week before he could form cables or perform domain cultivation. In other words, a lost week of progress.

"Fuck it, I'm advancing, too."

The Titans laughed as if he'd made a joke. The robotic Jinn tilted his head in confusion.

Hector reached out through his externality aperture and drew on chaos until they were back on base. He went back to the command center and informed the sergeant major that he would be taking a break on Union Central for a couple of days.

The man froze, eyes darting around as he thought of possible objections.

"Relax," Hector said. "I'm not running away. Leah is out of commission for a while, so I'm going to advance to level seven."

The sergeant major finally found what he was looking for. "Your contract says you are supposed to clear your schedule with your supervisor. Since she's unable to perform her duties, you would temporarily report to the colonel."

"Nice try, Sergeant Major. My contract says that I need to clear my schedule with the Sage of Purification. I'll be back in a few days." Hector didn't wait on a response before traveling between worlds. He appeared on his floor of Tian Tower and wasted no time sitting down to resume his cultivation. The irony that just a day before he'd made grand plans completely different from what he now did was not lost on him.

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What did you do to improve your domain so rapidly?

Hector blinked at the text appearing before him. Before he could request it, his statistics appeared of their own volition before him.

Survey Results

Type: Xian

Level: 6

Body: 5.7

Mind: 6

Aura: 4.3

Domain: 4.9

Energy Reserves: 93%

His domain had gone from four point seven to four point nine in less than twenty-four hours.

"I fought a miasma storm with the Sage of Purification. It proved beneficial for both of us. She's unconscious from advancing on the spot and I received a huge infusion of cosmic energy."

On closer inspection, you have significant domain strain. You will need to fully recover before using it to avoid introducing structural damage.

"That's fine. I'm going to advance anyway."

You are taking less time to reach level seven than you took to reach level six.

"I'm sure you overheard me explaining my situation to Darius."

You intend to take advantage of the beneficial environment on Aes while you can. That is a rational choice based on the information available to you. I have decided you need additional context to make better decisions. If the world of Aes truly falls, humanity ends everywhere.

Hector paused in his efforts to stare at the ceiling. "What the hell? System, people need to know about this. The whole fucking multiverse is ignoring an existential war."

People do know.

"Who? Who knows? Because this is the first I'm hearing about it."

Foresight. Transit.

"Of course Evelyn knows. What is she doing about it?"

She is preoccupied with more immediate dangers.

"More immediate dangers. Are those dangers as serious as everything ending?"

The issue she dedicates herself to is equally serious.

"I'm almost afraid to ask."

I do not think it is necessary for you to concern yourself. Foresight promised she has the means to handle her issue. Transit and Aes need you. They are planning to close Stronghold Gamma and move its soldiers to Stronghold Alpha. Reconquest Command knows that this is a mistake, but they don't believe they can hold Gamma.

He was almost afraid to ask his question. "Why is it a mistake?"

The dependency between universes and humans does not go in a single direction. Your universes depend on humans as much as humans depend on universes. The externality of a human soul is the buffer between a universe and the primordial. If the number of humans in a given universe declines too far, the buffer will be insufficient to protect reality. Despite what is claimed, Aes retains a small population who have never left their world. Stronghold Gamma and Stronghold Beta defend the main approaches to one of the inhabited regions. If Gamma falls, sooner or later Aes falls.

"Fuck. And they can't hold Gamma because a new rift opened?"

Because ambient miasma prevents effective military action. The soldiers would die before they reached the rift. Command believes their options are to either lose the Highlands or lose the Highlands and the soldiers at Gamma.

"Are they sure the population is critically low?"

They are not certain. I am.

"Then we need to close that rift."

Correct. They plan to begin withdrawing from Stronghold Gamma in three weeks. You must close it before then.

"This would be a lot easier if you revealed your existence to Transit."

That is not necessary at this time. You should be able to do what is necessary.

Hector felt like he was teetering on the brink of a nervous breakdown. Why had Evelyn put him in touch with the System? Was it a whim or some sort of plot? Was he supposed to be a stopgap measure to keep Aes on life support while she handled more important matters? If that was the case, it would have been nice if she respected him enough to have an honest conversation. He would have agreed to help.

Of course, it was just as likely Evelyn did all of this by accident. He knew how fallible her abilities were first hand. The day Professor Rahman schooled Evelyn in the use of her ability stuck in Hector's mind. In an ideal world, that guy would have the overpowered abilities. He would definitely maximize their utility far more than Evelyn or Hector did theirs.

The strain on your domain can be repaired by advancing to your next level. I will have a bottle of uncut spirits delivered to expedite the process.

"You have access to Xian resources?"

They belong to Sirius.

Hector blinked, remembering the Xian shopkeeper who had tricked him into the tournament that almost cost him his life. "I thought they couldn't export uncut spirits?"

It is his personal stash.

"Wait. You're going to steal from him?"

I have evaluated the morality of the situation already. Sirius will cease to exist if Aes falls. He would not prefer that outcome. Therefore, I am justified in redistributing a couple of bottles from his collection. I will adjust his rent downward by the value of the goods taken from him.

"It's still stealing, System."

Theft is a highly subjective concept, Hector. Governments practice something similar to it through eminent domain laws, fines, and taxation. The wealthy and powerful coerce those beneath them into unfavorable contracts. Manipulative individuals trick the gullible. My redistribution will not involve violence or a loss of wealth.

"I'm not sure you understand what it's like to have something taken from you."

I am certain your perception of these matters is obscured by societal convention. The uncut spirits will be delivered to you. If you consume them, I will reimburse Sirius for the loss.

Hector snorted. "You realize I don't like him, right?"

You object to theft, though. I believe that will predominate over your distaste for him.

The damned System had him figured out, it seemed.