Chapter Text
“...uuughh…where the hell am I?”
Laurence woke up strapped down on a medical table. He was in some sort of dimly lit room, the floor and walls covered in dark green tiles. Dangling above him was a singular light, creaking softly by its rusted hinges.
…what…
He looked beside him to see a wall of shelves holding countless preserved jars of various strange specimens, the backboard illuminated with a bubbling, green glow. Demon eyes, purplish flesh samples, tentacled monstrosities, all sitting within the glass containers. Some of them had been opened and placed on the desk below.
A medical tray sat by him, with scalpels and forceps lined neatly across it. Not to mention the splatters of blood marked across the thin metal. Was it his blood? He struggled to move up, on account of his restraints but managed to do so slightly to inspect his body. Surprisingly, all his wounds were healed, even the massive hole in his body was completely covered up.
He guessed that where he was was actually real this time, everything looked pretty real to him. He remembered collapsing right after he killed The Destroyer…so where was he now? He didn’t remember anything after that, well, aside from that horrible thing he had experienced.
It had to have just been a nightmare. That was it, just a bad dream. He could just brush it aside and move on. He didn’t need to think about that, not at all.
It’s okay…it was just a dream…
“Aahh! He’s awake!” A voice sounded from the hall in the corner.
He watched as a woman in a lab coat with dark blue hair tied in a ponytail skipped out from the darkness. Her eyes sparkled with an uncomfortable amount of excitement as she approached him.
“So you’re the eidolon man everybody’s been talking about! At first, I thought I would never have a chance to see you, but then some people came in with you and asked if I could help heal you! Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited for something ever, it really was amazing.”
He was quickly put off by the sudden amount of optimism, he didn’t think he’d ever seen that much. “Oh, so you’re the one who healed me…thanks, I guess…”
“Oh it’s no problem,” She smiled sheepishly, “You don’t need to thank me, though I’m still surprised you managed to survive through that. Lacerations across the entire body, hundreds of broken bones, a stopped heart, an entire perforated abdomen, something quite intense happened, right? It’s really crazy that you can hold yourself together just with mana.”
She unbuckled the restraints strapping him down on the table, setting him loose, “I managed to heal or replace most of all the damaged parts of your body, though some of the parts still need to be worked on. Your bones and tissue have been repaired and your cardiovascular system has been reactivated, but for some reason, I couldn’t heal the missing skin over your body…strange.”
Laurence sat up and raised his arm up to his face. Slowly, he moved each of his fingers and rotated his wrist. The minor stings and aches every time he moved were no longer apparent, everything worked accordingly. His body now worked just like how a regular person would work, he no longer relied on mana for the time being.
He looked down to his chest and stomach. As the woman said, the flayed flesh was still there, all around his body. “Yeah…it’s always been there, I don’t think it could be healed,” He said, curling and raising his feet in curiosity, “...Uhh, so who are you again?”
“Oh, I’m Dendra Wainwright, the Throneguard’s specialist in all things eldritch and primordial. I research beings and enraptured like you. But enough about me, you’re obviously more interesting than me.”
“I am…?” He never thought about that. He was definitely something strange, even Cthulhu couldn’t find the reason behind why he never fully raptured.
“Of course! I’ve never seen any eidolist subject retain their human body after enrapturement. It could be that the process was applied incorrectly, or that something with the essence went wrong, I’ll need to look into that. But anyways, how does it feel to be this half-human half-eidolon being? Must be weird, right?”
“Well…I guess so–”
He was quickly interrupted by her bombardment of questions, “Can you still grow up to a wyrm’s full size? Can your body feed on essence? You’re pretty cute for an eidolon, y’know–”
A knock was made on the door. Dendra skipped back to the exit and creaked it open. From the doorway entered Kade, looking much better than the last time he’d seen him. More than that, he looked as if nothing had happened at all.
“Welcome back.” Kade stepped into the room, “Feelin’ better?”
“Probably.” He didn’t feel better. Well, his body did, but his mind was at war with itself. Something felt wrong. He thought he would have more time to think about what happened back there, but now it seems the world just wants to push him right into the swing of things.
“Good. Dr. Wainwright, is he all set to go?” He asked Dendra,
“Yes, though I wish I could have more time with him. I detected some anomalies inside his blood while doing his surgery, so you should bring him back here tomorrow if you’re going right now.”
“Got it. Thank you for all your work, Doc.” Kade turned to Laurence, “There’s new clothes on that table. Get dressed, and we’ll leave. We got things to do.”
Ren picked up the stack of neatly folded clothing. It was a white shirt and a pair of black leggings, without any tears, no stains, perfectly clean. He quickly slipped them on and held the fabric up to his nose. For once, it didn’t smell like sweat, blood, and seawater, but refreshingly floral. It didn’t feel real.
“You sure he can’t stay any longer?” Dendra called out, “I can perform the blood extraction today, I’ll make it quick!”
“Sorry, Laurence has some things to get over with,” Kade twisted the doorknob open, “But thank you for the offer.”
Kade guided him out of Dendra’s room and into a hallway intersection. The rough, stone walls had pillars chiseled into them, along with figures who caressed a bright flame within their palms. Bats fluttered in the shadowy recesses hidden in the ceiling as rows of armored soldiers marched in and out of the several pathways.
“You were unconscious for three days, y’know.” Kade said.
“...Huh…What happened during that?”
“The Destroyer’s anti-magic field was lifted and we were able to escape. The remains of the machine were later uncovered from the battle and transported here, probably to study its tech or melt it down for metal.” Kade explained, “Your entire body was broken from the fight, thankfully Dendra was able to patch you up.”
“So…where am I now?” Ren scratched his horn, “This doesn’t look like the city or the palace.”
“This is The Stronghold. Located underground, between The Citadel and the Lihzahrd Temple. It’s the main base for the Throneguard. Nothin’ special is going on, I just need to tell you some stuff.”
People varying from heavily armed soldiers to regular men bustled from one end to another. Although varying in differences, they all had an aureate emblem affixed somewhere around their equipment, the exact one from Kade and the others.
“So,” Kade took out a piece of paper and unfolded it, and began to read from it, “As stated by Yharim, because you were shown to be capable of controlling your abilities, you are now to be housed within The Citadel for an indefinite amount of time. During those times, you are to attend the necessary procedures given to you.”
“If you for some reason are not capable of controlling your abilities,” Kade continued, “Then you will be returned back to The Abyss. All Throneguard personnel with registered access still can order your immediate imprisonment or execution for any justifiable reason. You got that?”
“Yeah…” Why the hell am I even here, is what he wanted to say. He’d never wondered why he was still doing things in The Citadel. He had just gone with it for the longest time, as he does for basically everything in his worthless life. What really was so special about him?
Kade pressed down a lever to his side as a great metal door slid open. They exited the intersection and into a grated iron path fixed against the rock face of a lush cavern. Around Laurence were protruding formations blanketed by moss and foliage, a pool of water situated under him.
They continued down the path and into another doorway. Upon the entrance, what laid before them was a gigantic hangar, the cobbled slate walls illuminated by the molten glow of the machinery inside. Across the hangar were racks extended from one end of the building to the other, framing up thousands of firearms and guns.
Trays of artillery parts were situated across the edges as workers scooped the parts up and filtered them into an inner cylinder. Conveyor belts protruded from out the walls to back into across the ceiling twisting and turning in a network of production, carrying newly forged parts to assembled weapons to boxes of ammunition. Other teams carried racks of fully-built weapons to large cargo cases, sorted them in, and shipped them away.
Kade pulled him through the factory, squeezing through whatever space there is to reach the end of the room. “This is the forge. Out here, basic firearms are mass-produced, and in there…” At the back was a heavy hydraulic door with a sealed vault lock. Kade clenched the rotating lock and twisted it open.
The hydraulic door opened with a metal hum as a wave of heat blasted out. Through the door it was the temperatures of an active volcano, the polygonal walls were paved in thick layers of concrete. Crucibles of molten metal were placed in batches everywhere with anvils and furnaces. A curtain of molten metal flowed down at the end.
And hung up on the walls and dangling down from the ceiling were weapons, forged out of exotic material and fixed with a variety of ornamental designs. Thick waves of mana emanated off the weaponry, filling the air with mystical arcana.
Kade stepped to one of the racks and gripped a weapon that was holstered in. “Though those tentacles are very effective on their own, it’s better to have more opportunities…” He drew out the weapon and handed it to Laurence.
A long spear, it was, with three crystalline prongs. A pitchfork of sorts, cold blue steel making the head and staff. The fork surged with a familiar type of magic, one he had experienced all too much in his time in The Abyss.
“The Tenebreus Tides. Yharim ordered it to be given to you. I think it suits you.”
He gripped the handle tightly. He looked at the glinting, prismatic blades, the runes carved upon its surface.
“...” He took a moment to spout out his words, “...What does Yharim…want from me?”
“Hm?”
The lava bubbled in a stream before them. The furnaces crackled and sizzled.
“Why am I even getting involved with this stuff…Why does he still want me here?”
Kade exhaled, looking forward, “The Godseeker’s crusade, this war we’re fighting, is nothing but a struggle. It isn’t fought with calculated attacks or two towers throwing stones at each other, it's fought with relentless attrition. The goal of every battle is to cut off all of The Resistance’s opportunities until they’re left with only the exposed heart.”
“And that’s where you come in. With what I’ve seen, from what you can do, all it takes is a little push further…and there’s no doubt that you can kill a God.”
Laurence shuddered. He knew he was going to be a weapon…but one that kills Gods?
“I’m…not like you or Yharim…I don’t hate the Gods…”
Kade turned around, the molten metal casting a ring of fire around his silhouette. “Do you have a goal? Something you want?”
Something he wants…what did he want? There wasn’t much he really set himself towards, but he knew that there was one thing that stayed the same. “...I want to learn about my past.” He said after a moment of thought.
“Then we’ll help you. We’ll help you find that out, in exchange for your service.”
Battling The Resistance and killing Gods? Was that what he would do to unearth his past? He understood that this was difficult, but with nothing else to do anyways...what was the harm in trying? If he could kill The Destroyer like that, who knows what else he could do?
And his past clawed him. He could see it in every corridor, beckoning him. Taunting him to uncover its secrets. If that was the only ambition he had, then he would take it.He looked back up at Kade, at his odd proposal. He had already made his deal with Cthulhu with the same benefits, but now he would take any of them to find out. Not like he had much of a choice, though.
"...Okay then." He said.
That was it. That was what he would achieve. He was to find out his past. He had always wanted this, but he never truly set himself to find it. He didn’t know if this newfound ambition was of meaning or another fabricated distraction, but it didn’t matter. He would find out if it was the last thing he’d do.
But a part of him felt…fear. From what he had felt back in the desert, from the little fragments of memory he’d seen…was it worth it? Was it worth going that far to find out? Would he be disappointed? Would he regret it? Were there things he’d rather live without?
…No. He needed to know. He needed to see.
The two exited the forge. Passing back from the hangar, back to the hallways, and to a new room. A metal-plated pad elevated high by a set of stairs. The pad was glowing in yellow light, contrasting with the dimmed blue LEDs of the walls.
"Well, it was nice seeing ya again, but you should go rest for now. This is a warp back to the palace." Said Kade, "We have residency suited for you there, when you get there there should be people to escort you. Stay there for the time being, I have some business to take care of."
The two exchanged waves and The man climbed up to the teleporter as a flash of yellow light surrounded him.
And as he saw the figure of Kade warped and distorted behind the light, moments before being beamed away, he thought of that so-called bad dream. The words of that pale corpse.
Find out…
…Fool.
His ambition. It was the former.
Kade's smile faded quickly after Laurence beamed away, turning around and marching away from the room. He straightened his clothing and roamed to the regal staircase at the center of the hallway intersection, Every foot down twitching his fingers. The ancient pathways to the olden Lihzahrd Courtroom had colossal statues of fierce reptilian warriors guarding the walls.
The ancient courtroom, tattered and blazed by embers of its past, derelict and decaying. The Godseeker stood at the center of the room, his auric armor glinting out from the darkness. The Gilded Titan.
"Beautiful, isn't it? How such intricate architecture could be made for its time, truly miraculous." Said Yharim,
"...What drives you to do these acts, Yharim? Send your men down into a dusky pit with no supplies, vague instructions, and intend for us to fight a mechanical beast when even the air there was killing us?" Questioned Kade, fuming with anger. "You knew the extent of The Destroyer's abilities, so why did you do such a thing? We all would be dead if it wasn't for Laurence, and you knew that the entire time."
Yharim turns his head and helmet around. His nine-foot statue towered over him. His cuirasses snapping together as he spoke:
"You believe I sent you down there because of the 'problems' that machine was causing? Fool. I never cared for any of that land. I sent the execution team down there for Laurence. To see what his actions are in a real fight. How he adapts to the conflicts given to him and his otherworldly sense of solutions. Laurence will grow to be one of my greatest beings at my service. These executions are mere stepping stones to unlocking his true powers."
Kade stared in blasphemy, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists.
"I know Laurence. I’ve seen how he acts, and how great he is…yet…you'd give up the lives of others for the favor of one man?"
"...Laurence is no man. His potential is staggering, I can sense it from his mere presence…and I know you’ve seen it as well. Now, I believe our meeting is over, away from my sight."
Kade turned away and stormed out of the chapel.
