~~~
Jin’s neck hurt every time he talked, which meant he probably shouldn’t have been talking.
He did it anyway.
“Vipers in the den,” he said, because if he didn’t crack stupid lines, his brain was going to start replaying Trish’s fingers inside his throat. “But at least something’s going well.”
Warm trickles slid under his collar where her claws had punched through the Helldiver shield and into actual meat. He pulled a potion from his ring and tipped it down his throat.
Of the two guards who hadn’t just turned into cultist surprise packages, one finally managed words.
“What the fuck is happening?” he demanded.
The other jabbed a finger at Jin. “And who the hell are ye supposed to be?”
Jin rolled his neck, feeling the healing potion working its way. [Iron Howl] spun once around his finger before settling back into his grip.
Situation, Narrator? Jin asked mentally.
? I’ll compile a report. For now, answer them. ?
Okay.
“Short version?” Jin said. “Your shelter’s got a monster on the loose, that—”
He nudged the dead man at his feet with his boot. Karst. Friendly card?playing guard, up until the part where his eyes went full murder, and he tried to kill Jin and killed a fellow guard.
Karst’s eyes were still open, the black draining out of them now that whatever blessing had been riding him was gone.
“—was a cultist pretending to be your buddy,” Jin finished. “And there are more of him in this bunker.”
The two guards stared. Shock, denial, hollow anger. Jin didn’t blame them. If whatever happened to him—His reincarnation, new identity, The Primes and their schemes, thier reincarnator farms, and The Eternal One’s intervention—hadn’t happened, he’d have either screamed or laughed himself sick.
Probably both if he wasn’t already dead.
The one closest to the table found his voice first. “How can we trust you?” he said. “No offense, but your words don’t mean jack shit.”
Jin blinked. Then smiled. “That’s fair. That’s a really good question.”
“Alright, before I tell you that one question for you two. How long have you been in the city garrison?”
The man scrubbed a hand over his face, smearing blood across his cheek. “Almost five years now. We were born here. When nothing else worked out, we joined the garrison. So did my idiot brother.”
Jin’s gaze flicked between them. Same build. Same jaw. Same ‘what the fuck’ expression.
“Wait,” he said. “You two are twins?”
They both nodded like it was obvious.
“Aye,” the one on the left said. “I’m Flocki Werns. This dafty’s Brocki.”
“You’re only a minute older,” Brocki snapped. “Stop sayin’ it like you’re my granddad.”
“Still counts, baby brother.”
Jin’s throat protested when he laughed, a raw little sound that hurt more than the potion had.
“Thank you,” he said. “Weirdly, I needed that.”
Flocki squinted at him. “We need answers, no’ compliments, lad. You haven’t proved who you even are. You just dropped out of nowhere with a severed arm around your neck. Tell me that’s no’ suspicious.”
“Hella suspicious,” Brocki agreed. “Big suspicious.”
“Right. Answers.” Jin sighed. “You two know Marcus Winters?”
Flocki’s face scrunched up, and Jin could see his eyes moving all around as if trying to go through everyone he knew of, and then finally lit with recognition. “Aye. The scary-lookin’ one. He’s friends with the Commander, ain’t he, Brocki?”
“Ye Flocki,” Brocki said to Jin, “he comes down sometimes to play cards with us. The one who cheats like a bastard.”
“Nice. That makes this easier.” Jin’s mouth tugged up. “I’m his nephew.”
They gave him another once?over. Brocki’s gaze landed on Jin’s hair and stayed there.
“Oh,” Brocki said. “Yeah. I see it.”
“Same stupid pretty hair,” Flocki added.
“Love the family bullying, truly,” Jin said. “Anyway. Congratulations. You’re both drafted.”
“Drafted?” Brocki asked doubtfully.
Flocki frowned. “Drafted into what, exactly?”
“Special services,” Jin said, spreading his arms, which just made more blood drip, and He had a hazy realization that he was at the moment splattered with blood and flesh, with a faint puncture in his neck and with a dead cultist lying at his feet.
Grinning slightly, he continued. “Very exclusive. Very dangerous. Amazing benefits, including a chance of not dying in the next hour.”
Brocki leaned closer to his brother, not bothering to keep his voice down. “Sounds like that fraud who robbed us, brother.”
“Now that you mention it…” Flocki gave Jin a long, slow look that went over the armor, the weapons, the dried gore. “I think this one might be legit, brother.”
“I know, but…”
Jin huffed a laugh and turned his attention away from the bickering brothers.
? Our comms are compromised. The entity ‘Trish’ has destabilized local space with her actions. However, due to your extremely reckless actions, we have managed to harvest a small portion of her power. I can only keep that yield isolated for a couple more minutes before the integration process will automatically start. ?
“Nice,” Jin muttered. “I’ll look at that in a second.”
He turned his eyes back to the brothers, who were whisper?arguing in the universal tone of siblings everywhere.
Now that he wasn’t bleeding out, he studied them properly. While they had identical height, dark hair, and a sturdy build, it was their eyes that differed; Flocki's were a piercing light gray, and Brocki's were a deep, dark shade.
The armor they wore was typical city garrison issue, and Jin could tell there were some enhancements engraved in it recently that kept the gear functional, though it wouldn't be enough to actually be helpful for what was to come.
He wanted their assistance not only for the battle but also to bolster his credibility and renown among the bastion and its populace. The situation had the capacity to become advantageous, provided he managed and executed it well.
To face the cult's remaining forces with just him, Rudy, and the Silvers group would be a suicide mission. He wouldn't be able to reach the nexus of the ritual with so many enemies blocking their path.
Narrator, Jin thought.
? They are currently wearing mass-produced Uncommon-grade armor, which provides minimal protection and has no specialized enchantments. ?
Figured. Do I have something I could use? He asked in his mind.
? There should be given the sheer number of items and loot we have yet to sort. I’ll get you a list. ?
Hmm, that would be awesome. He thanked the narrator and turned to face the brothers. Time to dangle something shiny.
“Alright, boys,” Jin said, raising his voice. “What do you usually run? Leather, plate? Swords, spears, bows? Also, just so we’re clear, this is forced conscription.”
“I told ye,” Brocki muttered to Flocki. “That’s how they get ye. It’s always ‘special services’ this, ‘exclusive’ that—”
“Heavy line,” Flocki cut in, answering Jin. “Shield wall. Tower boards. Broad blades. At least that’s what Brocki and I wanted to be.”
“Mostly,” Brocki said. “We’re no’ pretty, but we won’t fall over.”
Jin spread his hands. “Great. Shield meat. My favorite kind.”
Both of them froze. “Wait—”
“Nah-uh,” Jin said, already reaching into his ring while reading the list narrator had come up with. “No backing out now.”
He pulled out two sets of steel plate armor, which he didn’t remember he had looted from, but with a quick glance with his skill, told him the two sets were rare grade and built to take hits.
He dumped them at the brothers’ feet. Their eyes went wide.
He scrolled through more gear. Two large steel kite shields appeared, another rare grade item, and then, to complete the collection, he added two broadswords that the narrator recommended, one gray and one bronze, to the heap. Also, rare grades.
The Werns brothers stared like he’d pulled a dragon out of his pocket.
“Where in the Emperor’s frozen ass did you get all that?” Flocki asked.
Jin shrugged. “Know some very dead cultists who didn’t need them anymore.”
He jerked his chin at the armor. “Suit up. Fast. Whatever happens in the bastion, if it gets its claw on you, you’ll want more than hopes and prayers between it and your lives.”
Whatever shock they were dealing with, training habits ran deep. They stripped out of their current armor, moving fast but not sloppily, then hauled the new plate onto each other. Buckles cinched. Straps tightened. Chestplates settled and flared once as enchantments keyed to fresh essence signatures.
?A couple of notes from the harvest,? the Narrator said. ? I can extrapolate some of the entity ‘Trish’s’ nature. She is not human. ?
That's the most obvious thing you’ve said all day, Jin thought.
? I’m not joking. The density of pure Darkened One blessings within her was significant. I can safely say she is related to the Darkened One in some capacity. Either a direct kin or a bearer of its blood. Managing her full status will take time and more data on her.?
Cool, Jin thought. So not just a cult freak. She’s the boss’s kid.
? Jin, she is not only powerful but highly sentient, which makes her very, very dangerous,? the Narrator added.
“Love it when you’re upbeat…” Jin muttered softly, dragging a hand through his hair. It tugged where dried blood stuck strands together. “Argh… I do have those things for this, but first…”
He turned back to see both twins fully geared, helms tucked under their arms, shields ready.
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“You two get the doorway,” Jin said. “Anything comes through looking like Karst did at the end… You aim for the neck, and you don’t stop swinging until it stops twitching.”
Flocki caught his shield with a grunt. “We’re killing our own now?”
“Not your ‘own’,” Jin said, nodding to the corpse on the floor. “Your ‘own’ tried to ventilate me and carved your friend’s throat out—” Jin pointed at the corpse of another guard.
“—he stopped being our ‘own’ at that point. I’ll cry about it later. Right now we’re staying alive.”
Brocki swallowed, then slid his arm through the shield straps. “Wrong eyes, neck first. Got it.”
“Don’t push out,” Jin added. “Just hold the door. I’ve taken a lot of damage, and I need a couple of minutes to not feel like paste.”
Jin noticed their eyes shifting to the blood covering him and the slowly mending puncture wounds on his neck.
They both saluted and turned to the corridor.
“Oh, and if you hear me groaning and screaming,” Jin called, “that’s my skill.”
He heard Brocki mutter something that sounded like, “He’s scarier than the freaking…,” and Flocki smacked him lightly on the helm as they took up position.
“Release the floodgates,” Jin said under his breath. “Hit me.”
? Initiating harvest merger,? the Narrator said, ? Brace yourself. ?
Suddenly, he felt as if a sledgehammer had hit his chest, expelling air from his lungs with a harsh grunt.
"Argh," he landed on his knees hard, thankfully having already gotten off the table, he grasped the edge of the table for support just as the waves of harvested power finally reached him.
With a ferocious intensity, the raw power surged into his being, shredding all and anything in its way. As the pain intensified, the presence of the eternal sovereign stars within him flared, repelling the surge and easing the pressure.
Dark, branching veins started spreading like a morbid map originating from his chest and running all over his body.
? We are almost done… Stay strong, Jin. ?
What do you think I’m doing! Jin let out a dry, rasping cough. Crimson droplets mixed with dark tar splattered across the floor.
By the time the process finished, he was on all fours on the cold floor.
“I swear… the harvest is getting… more and more… painful,” he rasped.
He rolled onto his side and pushed himself up. Every muscle complained. He fumbled a talisman out of his ring and slapped it against his chest. The paper floated up, dissolved into a wash of cool air that swept over him, stripping blood, grime, and lingering tar from his armor and skin.
? Good job. You maintained consciousness through the merger. ?
“Yeah,” Jin muttered. “Show me what we got.”
? Yes. ?
A familiar panel unfolded across his awareness.
? PARTIAL HARVEST: [TRISH] ?
? STATUS: CONNECTION FORCEFULLY SEVERED—YIELD INCOMPLETE BUT SIGNIFICANT?
? HARVEST SUMMARY ?
STATS
└─ [22.041] VIT ? (Limits already reached). Redirected the stat to Reduvia.
└─ [23.011] STR ? (Limits reached) Redirected excess stats to Reduvia.
└─ [11.111] END ? (Limits reached) Redirected.
└─ [12.245] DEX ? (Limits reached) Redirected.
└─ [13.561] FOC ? (Limits reached) Redirected.
└─ [07.099] INT ? (Limits already reached) Redirected.
└─ [02.021] SOUL ? (Limits reached) Redirected.
VITALITY
└─ [582.12] units restored
BLESSINGS
└─ [10.0432] wisps of The Darkened One’s Aura (quarantined)
└─ [10.455] wisps of Blessing of The Darkened One (quarantined)
└─ [01.991] wisps of ? ? ? Blessing (quarantined)
LATENT AURA
└─ [38.233] units gained
LORD FLAMES
└─ [13.104] units Divine Lord Flame (unrefined – locked)
SKILL FRAGMENTS
└─ [19.774%] fragments of "Void Grasp" skill.
└─ [13.502%] fragments of "Soul Strangle" skill.
└─ [27.331%] fragments of "Spatial Anchoring" skill.
└─ [22.229%] fragments of "Corruption Spread" skill.
└─ [11.111%] fragments of "Null Resistance" skill.
└─ [08.903%] fragments of "Aura Suppression" skill.
FRAGMENT MERGERS
└─ [Novice] Spatial Anchor (10) – partial consolidation of Spatial Anchoring
AFFINITIES
└─[06.777] Void affinity (excess shunted to astral)
└─[01.123] ? ? ? affinity
OTHER
└─Memories isolated for processing.
└─? ? ? Bloodline flagged and quarantined.
? PARTIAL HARVEST COMPLETE ?
“All my stats have reached the limits?” Jin asked.
? Yes. All your core stats have reached the current threshold. The only remaining step before ORDER III is the manifestation of your aura. ?
“And this is just from a partial harvest?” Jin frowned. “Four, five percent?”
? Approximately. Hence, my earlier assessment that she is very dangerous and not a ‘human’. ?
“Yeah. Feeling that.” Jin stared at the floating numbers for another second, then focused on the weirdness. “What’s with the question marks and the bloodline tag?”
? Unclear. The foreign bloodline is being held apart from your main systems. Your soul and body stars are suppressing and slowly assimilating it. If they have not purged it, I hypothesize it has some utility to your path. I will not merge it without your express consent. ?
“Cool. Add ‘mystery bloodline’ to the pile of things Future Jin can freak out about.” He exhaled. “Show me my status, but keep it brief.”
? Understood. Pulling your mantle reflection. ?
o__________________________________________o
NAME: Jin Winters
AGE: 17 years old.
[ORDER II] ENTITY | High Mortal Rank
TITLE: The Soul Truly Beyond the Stars of Fate, The one who harvested Divinity, The Eternal One’s Blessed.
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
THE MANTLE OF HARVEST
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
? BOON
"What mortal hands would barely reap, the Bearer's touch shall always yield more—when the harvest blade learns new domains, all gathered yields eternal gains."
└─[MANIFESTATIONS]: CHAINS OF HARVEST
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
? CULTIVATION PATH
『 THE PATH OF ETERNAL SOVEREIGN 』
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
"Reality bends not to strength, but to absolute understanding. The Eternal Sovereign walks between mortal perception and cosmic truth, wielding consciousness as both weapon and crown."
【PAGE ONE: THE FIRST THRESHOLD, TRIESSENCE STAR FORMATION.】
└─ [STARS FORGED] 2/3
【First Star: The Eternal Sovereign Soul.】[ASSIMILATE]
【Second Star: The Eternal Sovereign Mana body.】[MANA CORE]
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
? AFFINITY
???? Major Affinities
? [CRYO]
? [DARKNESS]
? [BLOOD]
???? Minor and forming Affinities
└─ [SPACE]: 79.002%
└─ [VOID]: 21.021%
└─ [EARTH]: 25.012%
└─ [FLESH]: 12.012%
└─ [LIFE]: 14.441%
└─ [THERMAL]: 31.012%
└─ [KINETIC]: 28.012%
└─ [???]: 01.123]%
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
? STATS
? [BODY]
└─ Vitality: 100.00 [+]
└─ Strength: 100.00 [+]
└─ Endurance: 100.00 [+]
└─ Dexterity: 100.00 [+]
└─ Resistance: 100.00 [+]
? [MIND]
└─ Intelligence: 100.00 [+]
└─ Essence: 100.00 [+]
└─ Focus: 100.00 [+]
└─ Will: 100.00 [+]
? [SOUL]
└─ Soul: 100.00 [+]
└─ Insight: 1.111
└─Karma: 0.01111111
…
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
? MARKED SKILLS [5/5]
???? [Adept] [OMNI-READER'S VIEWPOINT (GROWTH TYPE)] (99)
???? [Adept] [SPELLSHOT SYNTHESIS] (51)
???? [Adept] [SPELL WEAVER’S MATRIX] (62)
???? [Novice] [INEVITABLE DOOM (GROWTH TYPE)] (49)
???? [Novice] [THERMOKINETIC ENGINE (GROWTH TYPE)] (04)
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
? BONDED SKILLS
???? [Novice] Reduvia's Shadow
└─ Darkness Born [Bond Lv. 4] (Inherited)
└─ ?????
? EQUIPPED EQUIPMENT
???? Iron Howl: Soulbound [LVL 3]
???? Essence Edge: Soulbound [LVL 3]
???? Zephyr Stride
???? RESONANT BANDS OF THE DUAL FLOW
???? WHISPERLINKS V1.0
???? HELLDIVER'S MARK
???? Ring of Crimsion Aurelian (Spatial storage ring)
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
? ACTIVE EFFECTS
???? Divine Blessing Residue: 0.0001% (fading)
???? Latent Aura: Awakened (not yet condensed) [169 Units]
???? Lord’s Flame: unsparked [24.101 Units]
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
【WARNINGS】
???? Fate Variant Signature V
???? Karmic Anomaly Present
…
o__________________________________________o
“Neat,” he said. “Any chance we get something useful out of this guy?”
Looking at the dead cultist lying nearby, Jin briefly felt his chains of harvest coiling under his being, wanting to slip into the corpse. Jin suppressed those thoughts as he deposited the body into his ring.
“Nope, let’s just store the corpse for now.” He said.
? Good. ?
“Any chance you have found something useful for our current situation?” Jin asked the narrator.
? Yes ?
? This cultist bore a minor blessing of the Darkened One. Corruption integrated into his essence channels. Behavioral triggers keyed to specific signals. The cultists embedded here are most likely sleeper cells. It is plausible that they were originally ordinary personnel, subsequently altered through corruption and mind manipulation. ?
“Those triggers,” Jin thought. “Same flavor as the tar upstairs? Is Trish the one flipping the switch on them?”
? Negative. ?
“That a hard no?”
? Yes, the essence pattern of their corruption matches other harvested cultists. When compared to the entity ‘Trish’, the only commonality is the Darkened One’s blessing. Her signature is distinct. ?
The Narrator continued.
? Additionally, when I nearly penetrated her status, she noticed and reacted immediately. I infer she is a rogue element within the cult structure. She appears to be operating according to personal whims. ?
? Also, when Trish revealed herself and when the guard in this room triggered, I detected a faint psychic resonance. ?
“So there’s a mind?fucker in the bastion,” Jin said, rubbing his temples. “Fantastic. Any idea where?”
? I traced its origin downward, to deeper bastion levels. ?
“Of course. That’s where the civs are.” Jin breathed out slowly. “How long until our company shows up?”
? Two to three minutes before they reach this room. I recommend reinforcing your new assets. ?
“Keep trying comms,” Jin said. “And track that resonance if it pings again. Also, if you can, find Reyana.”
? Acknowledged. ?
Jin pushed himself to his feet and moved towards the door.
Taking his place next to the twins, he felt their nervous energy as they stood watch by the door, bracing themselves for the unknown.
“Welcome to special services, boys,” Jin said as he moved past them, patting thier shoulders lightly. “First task: round up any cultists, not die doing it, and expand our merry little band of volunteers.”
“Forced volunteers, ye mean, sir,” Brocki said. There was a thread of shaky amusement under the words. And something like excitement.
“We’re right with you, sir,” Flocki said.
Jin blinked. “When did I become a ‘sir’?”
“The moment ye handed us these shinies,” Brocki said, knocking a fist against his breastplate. “If ye had more of this stuff, you’d never run out of volunteers. If there's one thing I’m sure of, it's that we have too many brats wantin’ to prove themselves.”
“Idiots, the lot of ’em,” Flocki said. “Us included.”
Jin snorted. “Then you two have the honor of being my left and right hands.”
“Aye,” they said together, banging swords against shields.
Alright, Jin thought. I’ll go fishing. You keep sniffing out that mind mage.
He stepped into the corridor, Iron Howl loose at his side, twins on his flanks. The bastion lights hummed above them.
And it didn’t take them too long before they ran into the cultist… a whole lot of them.
~~~~
Reyana Silvers
…
Reyana’s teeth clicked together when she hit the floor.
The impact drove the breath out of her lungs and slid her across rough stone into something wooden. Crates rattled, one tipping and smacking her shoulder on the way down.
She lay there in a gout of flour dust, staring up at a ceiling crisscrossed with pipes and venting.
“Fuck,” she cursed.
The Helldiver mark on her chest still tingled from the forced teleportation. She pushed herself up onto her elbows, then to her feet. Every bruise she’d collected in the last twenty-four hours decided to file a complaint at once.
“Teleported out at the start of a fight,” she muttered. “Left the boys with that thing. Dad and Joe would never let me live this down.”
She was in a small room with shelves of dried goods. Sacks of grain. The tang of spices. A big oven hummed softly through the wall, faint heat bleeding through.
“Some sort of storeroom,” Reyana mumbled. “How far did I fall? At least I’m not back all the way to our Safehouse. That would have been tragic.”
Reyana tapped her ear. “Jin? Rudy? Joe?” she tried.
Nothing.
“Of course,” she said. “Why would comms work when we need them?”
She dusted flour off her armor as best she could, slid her blades free, and eased the storeroom door open.
The corridor outside stretched long and straight, lit by essence lamps spaced just far enough apart to leave shadows between them. Doors lined both sides—more storage, maybe bunkrooms further down. No voices. No boots. Just the hum of wards buried in the walls.
“I need stairs,” she told herself quietly. “Stairs, then idiots, then murder.”
She stepped out, closed the door behind her, and started down the hall.
She got three steps when every instinct she owned screamed. She moved before she understood why, backpedaling hard.
The air in front of her split.
A razor-thin line appeared mid?corridor, hanging at chest height. It tore wider, the stone and air around it bending like someone was pushing a thumb into the world.
Her mantle rose on reflex.
With a new set of light armor, Joe made Reyana could now let her mantle power’s slip through partially. Shadows poured up from the floor around her boots, crawling over her calves, wrapping her wrists. Her blades came up without conscious thought.
The tear opened wide enough for a person to step through.
So someone did.
A female walked out of the rift like she was hopping off a train.
It’s her! Reyana's mind screamed, but she was also confused.
The female who was out was indeed the one she remembered others addressing as Trish, but she was too clean. There were no traces of gore; her eyes were back to normal caramel. Just the same neat hair and bastion armor, not even wrinkled.
If Reyana hadn’t watched that skull explode and regrow, if she hadn’t felt the horrifying pressure under that cheerful voice, she might’ve bought the act.
Trish’s gaze locked onto her. It skimmed over Reyana’s stance, weapons, and the shadow clinging to her, then brightened like she’d found a present under a tree.
“Oh, hi!” Trish chirped. “Not the one I was looking for, but it’s a start.”
She flicked her hand behind her, and the rift zipped closed. The corridor seemed to shrink in size without the hole in reality sitting there.
Reyana didn’t move. Her weight sat balanced, easy to shift. Every nerve in her body screamed, predator. The one in front of her just happened to be smiling.
“I was hoping I’d land right on him,” Trish went on. “But tearing open space this crudely always messes up the aim.” She wrinkled her nose, like that was mildly annoying. “It’s like shaking a box and seeing where all the pieces land.”
Reyana tuned out the tone and locked onto the content.
Find him?
Yeah. No prizes for guessing which one.
Trish took a step closer, and Reyana looked at her expression and saw only happiness.
“Any idea where I can find that little thief?” she asked. “He stole something from me without permission. That’s so naughty.”
Reyana’s grip on her daggers tightened.
Trish’s smile widened, teeth a little too white.
“C’mon,” she said. “Don’t be shy. If you tell me where he is, I’ll kill you fast.”
Reyana’s answer was wordless.
Her mantle rose, death?tinged white essence coiling around her.
If Trish wanted a path to Jin, she was going to have to carve it through a Reaper.
The corridor hummed between them, stretched thin as wire.
Then Reyana moved.
~~~
? ? ?
