NOVEL NEXT Arc 4 | Last Resort (Part 28)
LAST RESORT
Part 28
[ Congratulations! Dawn has arrived over your domain. The scenario has concluded. ]
[ Reward: 1,000 Crystals for completing a scenario! ]
[ Threat Level – Local: Nearby denizens within a 23-mile radius of your dungeon are aware of your presence, consciously or subconsciously, because of your choices and the events of the previous scenarios. Your Dread effects increase in potency. ]
[ Total Essences Collected: 54. Success! You received 5 Dungeon Expansion Points! ]
[ Dungeon Expansion: 5.4/50 - You currently only have 1 dungeon (North Cedar Lake) in your control. Successfully collect 446 essences to create a second dungeon in a location of your choice anywhere around your world. ]
[Congratulations, Mark Castle! Your domain is expanding. Continue to feed and grow, and be the best Death Core you'll ever be! ]
[ If you wish to stay anonymous, please avoid drawing attention to yourself by eliminating all the delvers! Or be ambitious and dominate your world! ]
As I waved off the notifications popping up from my periphery, I found Alan by the lakeshore, naked and half-buried in the mud. The eye Kevin stabbed earlier was swollen shut, but it was already knitting itself back together. It would heal up completely in an hour or two, but for now, Alan looked like hell. Penelope sat beside him, skin slick as fish oil, tail flapping lazily, her hair hanging in ribbons down her chest. She twirled the silver knife in her hand, dragging it lazily across Alan's chest, teasing him awake. Not too deep. Just enough to make him hiss as his skin sizzled from coming into contact with the silver blade.
"I'm up, I'm up," he grumbled, hauling himself into a sitting position. Mud peeled from his shoulders in clumps. "You can get that off me. You know, could've used one of ya dragging a delver to the bottom. Saves me a lot of trouble."
Penelope giggled, but then shook her head. "Come upon the easy waters, lost the passion of the screams, 'till swift death lies only a spiritless bore…"
Alan snorted. "Well, okay, freezing the lake was an extra nice touch. I'll give y'all that. The Immaran Guild better cut us a hefty paycheck, thanks to your spectacle, Penny. Sorry about your sister."
"Prettily, she goes." Penelope grinned and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Many sorrows, many blessings."
They noticed me hover near them and they turned and bowed their heads.
"That was quite an eleventh hour," I said, impressed. "You all kept me on the edge of my seat."
I was on a post-delving high. And, to be honest? I'm not really used to it yet. Maybe never. Satiated by their essence, fear, and terror attracted a different effect on me each time. Sometimes, it would actually make me experience and feel their emotions as if I was delving in the room with them, facing down Demon, Goliath, or the werewolves.
I could still feel the delvers' white-hot fear on that ice when the sirens did their loopty-loop, playing with them to raise the tension in the air, and making the delvers dodge, run, scream, and fight for their lives. Alan did well as a dominating presence during the encounter. Man, I could practically cut the air with a knife, their terror suffusing the power within my Core like filling a baby up with milk. I could literally just fall asleep right now if I wanted to. Unfortunately, Dungeon Cores don't really need sleep, and I kind of missed it. I was surprised none of the delvers dropped to red on the lake encounter, but I was smiling, flinching, and overall just having a good ol' time throughout the spectacle, feeding on their essence would have been an icing on the cake. But I'm satisfied with tonight's delve overall. Which means when they return, they'll be extra sweet, I thought. I've grown to like them. And I'll miss them when they die…eventually.
Besides Leo Grady, I never had survivors who could remember their whole experience in my domain and returned to town intact. Well, mostly intact. That's new.
Should I be worried now that they're free? Maybe.
After I give them their rewards, should I just kill them right now to keep the dungeon secret? Technically not against the rules, but I hesitated. I could handle three of them. I could be mean and keep them here until the next night, forcing them to delve all over again (like Leo Grady). But a part of me was curious where this thread would go. It was exciting not to be afraid.
So, I'll be a good little juvenile dungeon and let these worthy humans go and have their prize…after a trip to the hospital, of course.
See? I'm not a monster.
"Alan's right. Well done about freezing the lake, Penelope," I said to her.
"We aim to please, we aim to entertain…" Penelope sang a soft melodious tune that Circe and Calypso harmonized with from the lake with a few notes from Lady Marmalade. The latter two were play-swimming by the shallow waters, throwing Lope's severed arm to each other like it's some kind of baton, twirling it around in the air and slapping each other with it.
"My lord," Alan said. "Kind of you to grace us with your presence. Are you disappointed that Kevin is still alive? Wait, is he still alive?"
"Yeah, he is. I thought I would be upset but…" I lingered in the silence for a long moment. "He'll be back. I can feel it. And he has proven himself, to be honest. Oracle told me a few days ago that returning delvers have higher essences because of what they experienced here. I reckon he racked up quite a reserve of essence within him, which I can't wait to taste when he returns. Maybe when I was human, I'd chew you up for not killing him, but time now moves differently for me. The whole world moves differently for me. What I'm trying to say is that I'm not upset. Not really."
"…A delve of champions…?" Penelope suggested.
I shrugged. "There's only five so far. Six if we count the child, Danny Bird. I'm sure there will be more in the coming years."
Alan grinned. "Then I will harvest Kevin's essence when that time comes. How're the delvers?"
"Recuperating. I'm giving them a few minutes to breathe before I send them to the after credits," I said jokingly. "But I'm here to check on you, actually. How're you doing?"
Alan shrugged. "Eh. Fine."
"You sure? You seemed pretty upset earlier."
He scrubbed a hand across his face and took in a big lungful of air. "I'm over it now. A silver blade in the eye is a hell of an experience. Felt like a ship's anchor got lodged into my skull while they were poking it in there." He looked at me. The joke didn't land. "Well, never again. I never want to experience that. If I see a delver carrying silver next time—low Resolve or not— I'm killing them right away. Take their heads clean off before they can even draw blood."
I narrowed my gaze at him, and Alan barked a laugh. "Kidding. Not gonna do that, my lord. I know the rules. They won. I lost. And the world keeps on spinning."
"Well, I also came here to say that I'm sorry about your brothers."
"Part of the job, sir." He gave me a quick, ugly grin. "Although—Christ—it was something watching them die in front of me, you know? I may have overreacted. Clouded my judgement. First time for everything, I s'pose. They'll be back, right? Also Penny's sis?"
"In a week, yes."
"Good." He let out a relieved sound that was half a laugh, half a curse. "Means I'm alone doing all the freaking chores around the farm till they come back, which sucks. I'm gonna give them extra work for dying, that'll teach 'em." He barked another laugh and shoved a wet hand into his damp hair.
Penelope tossed the silver knife into the shallow water like it bored her already. Circe snagged the blade midair, held it to a tangled tress, and brushed her hair with it like a comb. Calypso waved at me with Lope's severed arm. Leaving Alan's side, Penelope crawled over and joined them then, and they'd shredded Scylla's corpse into a confetti of muscle and bone and were tossing the pieces like confetti at each other. Their laughter made the birds from the nearby trees take flight.
Alan laid back down and sighed, resting to speed up the healing process. "They're fucking weird," he muttered endearingly. He turned to me. "Oh, yeah. Thanks for the clothes, boss. Besides Kevin, did the other two made it, too?" Alan asked.
"Yep. Bloodied, wounded, but they'll survive," I said. "Even Lope with a missing limb."
"No shit? Congrats to them. Maybe Lope can return for a rematch. We certainly gave them a good tumble though. I hope they enjoyed it."
"You know they don't, Alan. Most of their friends are dead."
Alan laughed and looked up at the growing morning sky. His good eye narrowed against the glare."Oh…yeah. I keep forgetting that, to us, this is just another Tuesday. For them, it's the most life-changing experience of their lives. I was hoping for a lone survivor though."
"Why only one?"
Alan smirked. "Makes it more tragic. Makes it more exciting."
Penelope sang from the water, "Sorrows… sorrows to you, sweet wolf. Lonely are the coming days; we bequeath our companionship with glee."
"Lovely for you to offer, Penny. I might take you up on that. I host Brisket and Baby Back Ribs on Thursday nights for football with my brothers. Maybe I'll invite that fanged Dolce & Gabbana coat rack too, if he doesn't mind coming down from his ivory tower." Then he remembered something. "Shit. Luke and Garth are gonna miss the game next week."
"And don't worry, Penelope. I'll upgrade your physiology so that you can stay in human form a little longer for Alan's BBQ," I said.
"The sirens will sing of our long friendship." Penelope went back to playing with her sisters again.
"Wanna join us with the after-show?" I asked Alan.
He shook his head. "Doubt they'd want to see the guy who's been trying to kill 'em all night. I'll give 'em a pass. Send my regards, congrats, break a leg, all that. I like them. Very impressed." Suddenly, he perked up. "By the way, what are we gonna do with the new kid?"
"Er, Xavier?"
"Yeah. We gonna make him an official part of the dungeon or what? My pack's kinda full."
"That depends on what his sister will do."
"Well, resident or delver, the kid has potential. Just saying."
I smiled. "I'll keep that in mind."
I watched the morning light now expanding across the horizon, pushing back the darkness. There was a huge body count today: Nine of them, including Jessica's body, Roy Sherman, and Jared McArdle. I could've made them disappear into the void. Shunted them into nothing and kept the ledger neat. Wiped them out so clean nobody could find a single strand of hair and the world would keep turning as if nothing happened. But since there were survivors, they should have a cover story before I sent them out into the world, whether they like it or not. I still had to protect myself and the residents of my domain. I couldn't just let them go to tell the world whatever without me controlling the narrative. That's crazy! That's handing over too much ammunition that might bite me in the ass, which meant I couldn't tell them who I am. Giving my true identity to Leo and Tessa a few weeks ago was more out of pity after what I put them through.
Look, I had no obligation to reveal myself to anyone who delved within my domain. To them, I am the terrifying eldritch entity that lived in the mountains, and that's all they needed to know. I had to remain "incognito" to other humans for the next couple of years before I strike against The Seat.
I'd need another draft of [ Rumor ].
Especially for Jessica. She'd make a good signal to those devil-worshipping freaks, one that would spell my intent in big fucking letters that the cult couldn't ignore. They still had no idea what happened on the plane crash and what caused it. The Seat probably suspected me, which put them on edge already, but by how much? Finding Jessica in such a grisly manner, hundreds of miles away from the crash site when it didn't make any sense why she would be in the mountains, would be proof.
It would also make them think twice about attacking me, wondering how dangerous I was and what else I was capable of. Appearances were everything, and the illusion of "unlimited" power was too tempting not to use.
Yes, I needed to plant Jessica's body for them. Not just as a warning against The Seat. Her corpse would be a brightly-lit flag that I planted in their mother-fucking yard. It would say I wasn't done with the Hodges and his sect. They were just the first and their pathetic deaths didn't satiate me in the least. It would say I wanted everything.
I wanted all of them.
This was a declaration of war.
6-CAR PILE-UP LEAVES 9 DEAD IN LINN COUNTY.
by Toby O'Malley, KGWA Staff
Sat, December 9th 2023, 2:01 PM
A late-night collision involving six vehicles has left nine people dead, two missing, and three others hospitalized and in critical condition, according to the Linn County Sheriff's Office. The crash occurred shortly after 7:15 a.m. Saturday near the intersection of Old Cedar Route and Highway 26, about eleven miles north of Point Hope.
Authorities say the wreck involved a head-on collision between a northbound oversize truck carrying construction and logging equipment and a compact sedan due to icy conditions. It caused a chain reaction involving four other vehicles traveling in the opposite lane. By the time emergency crews arrived, several cars were engulfed in flames and are wrecked.
"Visibility was low due to a heavy fog, the road was wet and icy from an earlier storm. We are still investigating the cause, but it appears to be a tragic accident. Of course, we are not ruling out any other possibilities," said Chief David Dilworth of the Point Hope Police Department during a Saturday morning press conference.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Witnesses who arrived at the scene shortly after the crash described what they saw as "a wall of fire." One motorist, who asked not to be named, said, "You couldn't even tell how many cars there were at first. Everything was just on fire."
Nine individuals were pronounced dead at the scene. Two are still unaccounted for, including the driver of the oversize load truck. Three survivors—whose names have not yet been released—were transported to Evergreen Medical Center in Point Hope, where they remain under close observation. A spokesperson from the hospital have told KGWA that two of the three are expected to recover; the third is still in critical condition.
Among the deceased were several local residents of Point Hope believed to be returning from a trip near Cedar Lake, though authorities have not released a full list of victims pending notification of next of kin.
Chief Dilworth emphasized that the department is coordinating with state investigators to piece together the sequence of events. "We're looking at speed, weather, and possible driver impairment," Dilworth said. "Right now, there's no indication of foul play. It's just a heartbreaking night for our community."
The stretch of the highway where the accident occurred was closed for more than four hours as emergency crews cleared debris and other hazards. Power lines were also damaged in the collision, leading to a brief outage affecting several homes along the northeast side of the mountain.
A memorial vigil is planned for Sunday evening outside the Point Hope Community Center at 6:30 PM.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information or dash-cam footage from the area at the time of the crash is asked to contact the Point Hope Police Department's traffic division.
After the Immaran Guild sent me the ten thousand crystals and a bonus of two thousand, which Elvis said came from "fans," I put some of it to good use by staging the pile-up. It barely used six hundred crystals to summon the vehicles, some pyrotechnics, the illusion and conjuration spells to make it realistic, and also to clean up the bodies so it didn't look like an animal (aka a werewolf) attacked them.
Then, I staged the highway crash. It was pretty telling that The System favored much more technologically inferior worlds than the modernizing ways of Earth. All related materials to Earth were pretty cheap in the System market. Even the word "Dungeon" was a big freaking hint that Earth was an afterthought to The System. If I was placed anywhere else, I doubted I'd last this long when I have to learn their culture, language, magic, their world, and, oh man, I didn't even want to entertain such a scary idea.
Yet here I am, lucky as a duck.
Five hundred crystals was enough to convince the world an accident happened on Highway 26.
I gave Kevin, Vivian, and Lope quite a fright when Old Growth suddenly burst out of the forest and quickly tangled them with his paralyzing vines; the venom putting them to sleep. I took the healing potion from Vivian's pocket and telekinetically shoved it down Lope's throat so that he wouldn't die.
And voila! I had three survivors.
Then, thirty minutes later, I watched as a bunch of humans gathered along the lonely stretch of the highway, trying to "rescue" them. They were far away from any danger, but the illusions were doing their job without anyone noticing. The majority of mortals on this planet was not trained to keep a lookout on odd spells and other magical effects, which I am very thankful of, especially when the spells I was using were rather on the low-end. Anyway, I was just happy to see these many people so close to me. It had been quite a while since I've been surrounded by them. And no, watching through Oracle's nanite eyes while he spied on everyone across the county didn't count.
So, I watched the doctors and nurses operated on the delvers when they arrived at the Evergreen Medical Center and "saved" them. I followed as they rolled them into the Intensive Care unit for a couple of days, and then transferred to their own private rooms once they recovered. The Yates got to share the same room, separated only by a flimsy partition, and Grandma Margie and Lauren had been by their side ever since. The witch even said a couple of prayers for Vivian and Kevin that Oracle explained to me was some sort of Celtic protection ritual, which I realized he just googled the answer. To my surprise, there was a a tiny strand of magic in her incantation that I could feel through The Ways, but it was more for comfort and to strengthen one's faith than a true abjuration spell.
Then, I bided my time.
Until one night, I found each of them alone, and I paid them a visit. A little spurt of Old Growth's venom into their IV bag, administered by a syringe, would incapacitate them for the next ten, maybe twenty minutes, but still conscious. Enough time for what I wanted to do. Enough time for them to listen to what I have to say.
I signaled to Oracle.
It was time to offer the gift.
Long past the visiting hours, as the under-staffed nurses and nursing assistants of Evergreen Medical Center did their boring rounds, and as the two lone doctors on duty were currently having a flirtatious smoke break outside, Duke Henry slipped into the hospital without anyone noticing. It was very easy to do when Oracle turned off all the cameras before morphing into a copy of one of the head nurses on duty, who's currently eating a Caesar Salad in the break room while scrolling aimlessly through her phone.
Henry strolled in through the ambulance bay. He'd traded his usual aristocratic black coat for a stolen white coat by one of the doctor's lockers in the staff room, his broad shoulders fitting it like a wolf in a choir robe. He even put on a stethoscope around his neck, though he held a note pad like a weapon. There was a bit of theater in him. I liked that about Henry.
He walked the hall with unhurried steps, reading the door placards as if he might stop and ask a patient about their recovery. The floor beneath his boots squeaked in that treacherous way linoleum does, announcing his presence. Fortunately, no one noticed. Oracle followed him at a distance, blending in with his new disguise.
The Yates room was near the end of the corridor. Lauren had taken Grandma Margie home hours ago since the old woman needed sleep, and they wouldn't be back until visiting hours resumed tomorrow morning. Vivian and Kevin lay in separate beds, divided by a flimsy curtain, the hum of their monitors filling the room with a soft mechanical vibration that was easy on the ears. They stirred when the door opened and closed shut with a click. The venom from Old Growth was still fresh in their blood, freezing them up from the neck down, though their eyes and their head could still move.
[Fractal Omniscience] bloomed through the hospital like roots in the walls, my awareness expanding into every corner, every shadow, and with every breath all mortals held in this building. Their thoughts came to me as clear as sound of the heart monitors the Yates were tied to.
He's not real.
He can't be here.
We made it out. We made it out—
Their minds were louder than their mouths could ever be.
"Evening," Henry said, his voice low and velvety, turning his charm up to a maximum. "Don't strain yourselves too much. You've had quite a week."
Vivian's lips twitched, a small sound crawled out, no more than a whimper. Kevin's heartbeat spiked on the monitor.
From two doors down, Oracle entered Lope's room, his heels ticking against the tile. Lope's eyes fluttered open, and there he was, standing by the foot of his bed with a clipboard, sporting a very exaggerated grin. Oracle let out a little red glint on his right eye just to let Lope know that the figure staring down at him was no human at all.
Lope tried to move.
Couldn't.
Tried to scream.
Couldn't.
I whispered the words through both Henry's and Oracle's earpiece; and they only had to repeat them. "You three did very well." His voice filled the room, calm and somewhat amused. "You lived where others didn't, which is no small feat. Your survival deserves recognition. Our liege sees that. He rewards those not just who is worthy, but who have satiated his amusement."
Kevin's eyes rolled toward Vivian. Hers toward him. Neither could speak, but their panic was loud enough for me to hear.
Down the hall, Oracle tilted his head in perfect synchronicity with Henry, and together, they said in unison, "You fought. You bled. You lived. That makes you special."
Henry's smile deepened, shark-like. "And for that," he said, "He offers you a gift."
I felt their confusion, their desperate questions gnawing at me like rats scratching at the walls of their skulls. What gift? Who is He? Why us? The fear was pure and frantic. Even as I stand here in my domain, miles away from them, it was delicious.
"Anything you wish, anything you fancy," Henry said softly, leaning closer to Kevin's bedside. "Anything. All within the breadth of His power, of course, for which it is already immense as you can already attest." He let the words hang in the air like hooks waiting for the big bite.
No one spoke at first. The monitors beeped their slow, uncertain rhythm. I could feel it then, the ache of choice gathering in their hearts, and I smiled as they grappled with their reality. Mortals never understood that gifts like these were always the most dangerous part of any story, on any dungeon (not just the Death Core, or so I've been told).
Henry tilted his head, waiting. I didn't have to say anything yet; I could feel the storm building in Vivian's mind before the first word left her lips.
"My brother…what…happened to him?" She asked.
Across the room, Kevin let out a harsh breath through his nose. "Don't listen to him, Viv. This is a goddamn trick. They came to finish the job." His eyes flicked to Henry's face, searching for recognition, a hint, some flaw in the disguise. "You still want us dead, don't you? I know who you are. I'm gonna fucking tell the cops that you're a—"
"—A vampire?" Henry's smile widened. "Oh, please. Tell them who I am. See how far that works for you, Mr. Yates."
Kevin didn't say anything back.
"Where's Xavier?" Vivian asked again, firmer this time. "You know. I know you do."
Henry's expression didn't change, but I could feel him hesitate, a rare crack in his usual composure. I whispered into his earpiece, Tell her he lives.
He obeyed. "He's alive and well taken care of."
Vivian's eyes watered, half from relief. "Okay. Where is he then? I want to see him. Is he here with you?" She looked at the closed door behind the vampire.
Henry's gaze softened by a shade, though the light in it was still biting cold. "No, he's not here. But you wouldn't recognize him," he said.
Kevin turned toward her, shaking his head. "Viv, stop."
But she didn't listen. "Then if he's alive," she said, "My wish is for him to come back. Bring him back to me. Bring him back normal."
Henry glanced at the curtain, as if consulting some invisible jury. I fed him the answer: He belongs to me now. Tell her that.
He regarded Vivian again, eyes dark between sympathy and boredom. "Your brother is changed, my darling," he said. "He bears a curse not easily removed, which I doubt you can even do on this world. He belongs to my liege now."
"No, his place is here. To grandma, Uncle Kev, and me. Please. He's all I have left."
My many-eyes hovered above the farmhouse where Xavier, his form still tethered to the dungeon, was under Alan's watch. For the past few days, Alan had been teaching him how to hunt, to listen to the forest, and the way of the wolf. At this exact moment, the boy slept peacefully in the guest room. From Alan's daily reports to me, Xavier was acclimating well living in my domain and getting ready to join the pack once I've gotten around to expanding their numbers, which hadn't happened yet. I was busy observing the survivors and cleaning up with the aftermath.
If I granted Vivian's wish, if I severed the lycanthropic curse pulsing within Xavier's blood, and cut the thread binding him to the System, what then? I've already taken his essence, his soul, was it still possible?
[ An Essence is not a Soul ], said The System on my periphery.
Well, okay, a shadow of his being, then. I'm still new to this. I kept mistaking the two when Essence was just the reflection of his mortal form. But wasn't me killing them was like reaping their souls anyway?
[ Dungeon Cores do not reap souls ]
Sheesh. Yes. I get it. I reckoned that's another entity's job, some cosmic eldritch horror I had yet to meet, and I probably wouldn't like it when that day came. Does Death, aka The Grim Reaper, exist in the cosmos, System?
The System did not give me an answer.
You're no help sometimes.
Anyway, Xavier didn't have an essence now. An essence that he probably had since he learned how to speak and walk, molded and carried it with him until now. Until he met me. Until I took it all away.
[ A Dungeon Core cannot bequeath an essence once consumed ]
Oh, now you answered me? But could an essence be regained by other means?
[ With time. With growth. Until Death. ]
But it would no longer be the same essence that Xavier had before. If I cut Xavier free, he'd live. Probably. He'd grow back his essence, piece by piece. But what might grew back was never what was lost. Flesh heals, but the new skin might feel foreign…even corrupt. I wondered what would remain of him after the System's taste faded from his blood. Would he remember the strength? The hunger? Would he miss it?
Would he be like Danny Bird, mute and with broken memories?
Would he remember me?
A silence stretched, fragile as glass in that hospital room. I let Henry know what I've decided.
"Vivian," Henry said at last, "if that is truly your wish—to undo what he has become—then my lord can break the curse." He leaned forward, and he went off-script. "But know this: it will cost you the gift you've earned. All of it. You could have anything — power, the answer to the universe, even untold fortune—and you'd spend it to fix a thing that isn't broken, only different. He is still your brother, but he has a purpose now. You can even visit him if our sire allows it. But to serve my liege is a gift, a cosmic providence. You'll be wasting this reward and his potential to be an excellent hunter."
"That's not a life that Xavier deserves. I want my brother back," Vivian said. "That's my final decision."
Henry looked at her for a long while, and when he spoke, it was slow and deliberate. "As you wish, Ms. Yates."
He reached into the inside pocket of his coat and withdrew two sleek, matte-black cards. They caught the fluorescent light like a blade's edge. He placed one before Vivian, the other before Kevin, letting his gloved fingers linger on the plastic a moment too long as if testing their weight, or savoring their significance.
"My liege rewards you both," he said, straightening. "Ten million dollars each. A modest sum for surviving the impossible."
"Buying our silence, you mean," Kevin muttered.
Vivian stared at the card as if it might sprout fangs and bite her. Kevin, on the other hand, leaned forward, eyes glinting like a man who's just glimpsed the gates of heaven.
"Ten million," he said, the words slow, tasting them. "That's...good. But if your boss can just make things happen, why stop there? Why not, say...three hundred million?"
Henry tilted his head, listening to the voice only he could hear. Then he smiled again. "Is that your wish, Mr. Yates?"
"I mean…we were there in the first place to steal from your vault so that we can have a better life somewhere else. Turns out it was fake and many of my friends ended up dead. The least you could do is add more zeros. It can't be all for nothing. I can buy power with money."
"Three hundred million," he repeated softly. "Granted."
"Shit. Really? Wait, um, can it be five hundred…no! Er, a billion dollars? Yeah. A billion. Give me a billion dollars."
"A billionaire? With a wealth like that, people are bound to ask questions who you are, Mr. Yates, and how you accumulate such rapid wealth. My liege has no intention of shielding you from their curiosity, and his generosity has a limit. If you wish to stay anonymous with a billion or hundreds of billions of dollars, delve again. Wish to be anonymous. Wish to be respected by the one percent. Wish to be in the inner circle of the world's power. The threads of your future is limitless if you delve again."
"Delve…you mean…?"
Henry merely smiled, and that gave Kevin his answer.
"I'm not fucking going back there. No way."
"It's your choice, Mr. Yates. A billion dollars, you say?"
Kevin sighed. "Fine. Bring it back to three hundred million. Make me filthy rich, why not? I can live with that until I turn eighty."
"Uncle…"
"We survived, right? That's like a kink to these assholes? Murdering people and giving them money after they've suffered enough? You know this won't buy my silence. I am gonna tell the world about you and what's going on in that mountain."
Henry remained composed. "What I love about haunted houses, or in this case, a haunted mountain, is that humans love to explore and be close to the danger, even if it's make-believe. We both know that's not the case here. How many will you send to us, Mr. Yates? My liege will be happy either way. And the more you remain within our orbit, the more likely you'll delve again."
"I said I'm not going back. Never."
Henry smirked. "If you say so."
In Lope's room, Oracle also made the same deal with him, handing the same black card connected to a discreet bank account in Switzerland for ten million dollars.
"You may speak your wish, Mr. Sanchez," Oracle said.
Lope's gaze was heavy-lidded, his skin clammy with lingering adrenaline. It was obvious what he was going to ask.
"My arm," he rasped. "What if I want it back? I don't want to be….I don't…"
"That can be done. It is one of my lord's divine right."
"But not the same," he said, bitterness coiling under his tongue. "I want it better. You get what I mean?"
Lope's hand groped for the TV remote underneath his pillows. He jabbed the power button and the TV snapped to life: Falcon and the Winter Soldier racing across the airport as Spider-Man chased after them.
Lope pointed at the screen. "Make it like that," he said, pointing at Bucky's arm.
Oracle watched him, stillness folded around them like a clean sheet. For an instant the robot looked amused, as though the request was some weak attempt at a joke. Then, he realized Lope wasn't kidding.
"To what purpose will you use a cyborg arm for?" Oracle asked.
"To kill all of you," he said.
There's a delicious certainty when someone named a target, when cowardice fell away and a raw, primal bone took its place. I liked the clarity and the simplicity of such promise. I eagerly studied Lope's face and saw a thread filled with possibilities. He will delve, alright. But when?
"Ever since I woke up, I've been dreaming of that place," he said, voice cracking. "The monsters. The mountain. The forest. It's never over, is it? Whatever lives up there still wants me."
Oracle tilted his head. "You are a peculiar one, Lope. I am eager to witness your feats as an adventurer. Never once did your Resolve faltered. A true worthy delver. We are proud to usher your growth in what little time you have in your mortal life. It has been an honor."
Lope shifted uncomfortably. "Um…okaaaayyy…will I have the arm now? Can your god give me that?"
Oracle reached forward, fingertips dancing over the gauze-wrapped stump of his arm, and the air shivered as my power surged outward from their form.
The smell of ozone filled the room. Flesh met metal, sinew knitting into steel, circuits fluttering awake. Tendons twisted with braided cable as The System grafted a frame of black alloy to the remaining humerus, wrapped it with synthetic muscle fibers that hummed quietly. When the pain hit, Lope's back arched against the bed and he screamed. Oracle exploded into a massive nanite swarm, covering the entire room inch-by-inch, turning it into a sound-proof chamber. None of Lope's screams escaped for the nurses and the doctors to hear nearby.
Fingers unfolded into lock-pick tips, a blowtorch nozzle that retracted with a soft click, and a sword-like bayonet slid out with a clean, eager hiss. The forearm hid gears and pistons that glinted in the right light, with metallic muscles that could lift two thousand pounds comfortably, maybe twice as more with extreme effort.
It looked like he wore a black metal sleeve from afar. He bent the metal fingers into a fist and crumpled the bed's metal railing with a sound like a bunch of soda cans crumpled together. The monitor squealed an alarm and then settled back to its slow beeping.
"What happens now?" He asked.
Oracle smiled. "There is only one thing more beautiful in this world, Mr. Sanchez. Delve. Delve again."