Chapitre 595: Old Friends (2)
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"I am glad to see that everyone is doing well."
"I'm glad to see you too."
Myr and Jon sat together at the bar looking at the TV which showed the police attempts to solve a hostage situation by a Pyromaniac on top of a nearby tower.
"You and your father are still doing those kinds of pranks?" Myr asked.
"You know us… we don't stop." Jon laughed.
"Hmmm… I love your world."
The world around them was as quiet as the mood Myr was in and he felt rather weaker than usual.
"I am glad you do."
Myr looked way different than what he used to be. Paler, quieter, happier, and a lot calmer. Somehow, Jon could read that atmosphere and he didn't like what he saw on Myr.
"So…" Jon spoke.
"Hm?"
"This is it?"
"Yes." Myr smiled as he sipped a drink, "At least I can manifest in this wonderful place."
After putting down his glass, Myr let his head rest on Jon's shoulder beside him.
Now he looked tired.
His long wavy hair and porcelain-like skin seemed to have been through a lot lately as those signs kept appearing on them. Jon used his opposite arm to move some of the hair on Myr's forehead to see some cracks on his skin and his blonde hair growing whiter from its roots.
Myr is dying.
"It's alright, friend." Myr smiled with his eyes closed, "It is freedom."
"Mirren and Miranda… they…"
"They won't know." Myr replied, "Their essence will separate at some point and I… will cease to exist."
"…"
"It is only fair."
Jon couldn't help but fix his body towards Myr and hug his friend properly.
"It's not okay." Jon said.
It was finally the time. This Aldmer known as Myr can no longer take form in the world. His existence itself is something that shouldn't have been a thing since the Era of Dawn. The Aldmer later devolved into the Altmer and the other Elven races and thus his existence (which came to be thanks to experimenting on the Elven Royal Blood and injecting a crazy amount of Magicka and Moon Energy) was always at some sort of risk. However, the part that was completely devoid of feelings and sympathy was how those who conducted that experiment channeled their arrogance and vanity into creating someone who is neither a man nor an elf, neither a male nor a female, neither free nor controlled. They created what they think of as perfect and forgot that imperfection is beauty and a straight line can't make a painting.
Now that creation is devolving into the natural forms it can take part in. A man and a woman, Mirren and Miranda, with Myr finally reaching the point where he can no longer assimilate or take form in the stable world of Mundus. A Realm like the Virtual Dream is the only place that can give him a chance to say goodbye.
To Jon, however, this is a tragedy.
Just like him, Myr is not a person of this world.
A visitor from another reality.
Jon maybe someone out of this Space but Myr is someone out of this Time. Still, the most people Jon and Myr could find kinship with are each other.
With a smile on his face, a tear slid down on Myr's cheek that Jon was able to catch. A tear that he kept floating on his palm as the last remaining will of Myr faded in this reality as well.
Two figures formed around the bar.
"Wow! This is the place we heard so much about. Look at all that glass." The goofy voice of Mirren sounded as he walked carefully around the place.
"It is crowded." Miranda spoke before she noticed Jon who was still sitting in a weird pose looking at his own hand which had a glowing droplet floating on top.
"Joni boy!" Mirren ran and collided with Jon's shoulder with his, "Where do we begin exploring?"
Jon smiled slowly and called.
"Venus…" His voice sounded a bit out of tune so he cleared it and called again, "Venus."
"Master."
Another figure appeared in the bar, this time it was the usually three-quarters naked Venus.
"Give Mirren and Miranda a tour like the one the others had." He said.
"But Master, they are already registered to have…" Venus replied as she checked her memory.
"Do as I said." Jon said before turning to the twins, "Venus will give you a small introduction to the city before making you choose a game mode to play."
"A game mode?" Mirren asked.
"A role to play." Jon said before looking at the TV screen of the bar.
"A crime show." The TV showed Jullanar and Isha shooting with guns at their chasers, "A car show." The TV showed Alina speeding through the roads with no traffic around her, "An art show." The TV showed Nurina buying everything that looked glamorous or luxurious, "A comedy show." The TV showed Hilda wearing a sumo suit and running through opponents, "Or a shit show." The TV showed Jonrad still battling old airplanes in bad weather where he can only get angrier.
"Crime show." "Comedy show."
The twins chose different things in the same breath before looking at each other surprised they were not in the same mind for once and just brushed it off as each was going to do their own thing.
"This way, Master Mirren, Mistress Miranda." Venus guided the two outside the bar as Jon just returned to his heavy atmosphere.
There was little he could do for Myr.
After a while, Venus returned to Leon as well as the four other Sins. The bar became silent and all the characters left the place like robots.
"Venus, create a character with the last entries of Myr." Jon ordered.
"By your orders."
Just like so, Venus started fabricating a character with an appearance similar to that of Myr, an expressionless one with a lifeless attitude of an NPC.
Jon kept staring at his friend's image for a while before offering that floating tear in his hand to the image and in an act of arcane fusion, he kept that tear as the last possible memory of Myr in that character.
"Well, this is sad."
Yet in a deep part of the bar, a voice spoke.
"Sigh!" Jon couldn't help but let out a long breath and steel his nerves for what was coming.
The owner of the voice was a man sitting alone in a dark corner who was someone that even Venus didn't know about. Her reaction to it was by attempting to categorize this invader as either a character or a foreign entity failed as Jon signaled her to stop and for the other sins to go on with their business.
"I've seen you putting on this appearance once before." Jon spoke, "That time at the Heart of Chaos."
"Of course, my friend. A Shadow like myself finds it hard to imitate his usual image in a reality where he shouldn't exist much like your friend Myr here." Shadow spoke as he walked closer to Jon.
Jon and Shadow meet again after a while. This time, however, Shadow took the form of a human male. Weird enough, his appearance was more visible this time than that in the Heart of Chaos. He was wearing normal black jeans, a white shirt, a black jacket, and a black baseball cap. His face was that of an Asian man with black hair and mildly handsome features.
"She is very beautiful." Shadow stood beside Jon and commented on Myr's character.
"Myr prefers to be addressed with He."
"Sorry." Shadow raised his hands apologetically.
Jon didn't seem to be speaking but Shadow, on the other hand, was looking at Jon with all smiles.
"You beautiful motherfucker." Shadow laughed, "I know you are in a heavy mode but look at you, you finally made it." Shadow slapped Jon on the shoulder, "Creating your own reality. Do you have any idea how hard that was for me? I've seen immortals fail to achieve it but you… you defied a whole set of rules and still made it the way you want."
"Whatever." Jon replied.
"This is it, friend. We can finally advance further with our plans." Shadow's excitement didn't die even with Jon's cold attitude, "Having more than one reality is advantageous, the enemies will surely attempt to destroy everything in their wake so make sure to hide all those you hold dear in your reality and put a lock on everything."
"…" Jon didn't reply as he opened a bottle with his teeth and gave Shadow his back.
"The Heart of Chaos is on the move, friend. All the stories shall be rewritten."
"Are you done?"
"Me? Yes, a long time ago!" Shadow replied, "It is your turn to be done. Once the Heart of Chaos makes his move, you, me, and the rest should be there to maintain the narrative."
[A/n: For more light on Heart of Chaos thingy, check out SCP-3812. There's a new video on youtube that finally explains my main inspiration from it and its effect on the DNU Multiverse.]
Jon ignored Shadow for now and kept staring at Myr's character as if to recall its features for the last time before waving his hand and ordering the character to go away.
"I can help with that, you know." Shadow said, "If you want me to go down and fetch his ghost, I can recreate your friend as a Shadow Demon."
"Is that what you do to your loved ones?" Jon asked.
"Oh, come on! Don't make it sound like it is a bad thing. Shadow Demons are residual memories that regain the structure of their former selves. It is some sort of reincarnation but they are not really independent souls anymore. Something like those things you call Daedric Creatures."
"Sorry, I am not interested in your offer."
"Whatever." Shadow shrugged his shoulders, "I just came to say congratulations anyway. I hope when the time comes, we sail through the Abyss together once again. This may be the last time you see me until then."
"What about the other Shadows?" Jon asked.
"Well, you'd have to ask them yourself." Shadow said and walked out of the bar.
Jon knew very well that Shadow was never a single entity. Not someone that can be traced as one person. Shadow is a link through him which many entities use to reach out to him. That Shadow just now was the one that met him the least, in fact. He is also the same Shadow that saved him in the Heart of Chaos once.
Aside from that, the other Shadows are nothing but ghosts that are simply there to drive him nuts more than what he already is.
That is the truth about Shadow.
But now the time has finally come, the time to face those old ghosts and be ready to face their old grudges. One of those grudges is right in Winterhold, specifically in the College itself. A large innocent-looking floating orb known as the Eye of Magnus and the ones who are coming for it are the monks of the ancient order of the Psijics.
And they are finally moving towards it.
Jon switched the screen in front of him towards Alina. It is time for her to take the lead of this dangerous fate.
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Chapitre 596: To Blackreach
After the construction of the new dock of Hsaarik Head town in the most frigid part of Winterhold, the Dare Mercenaries and the Dare started to mobilize a lot of resources between the main city and the new town in order to keep an active front.
Just the other day, Jon and Wulfur erected a large statue on the shore of the town for a great warrior riding a bear and holding an axe with many small statues following the main one. This depiction was for Ysgramor and his Companion during the Return, the sacred event which happened on the land of that place.
In a way, this town was to be another low blow to the unfriendly neighbor known as Dawnstar and a way to spread the population of Winterhold making it the official fourth settlement.
But as always, there was a secret behind the construction of this town. Something that Jon was planning for since the early phases of his business.
The Ancient Dwarven ruins of Alftand were somewhere between New Saarthal and Hsaarik Head and Jon wasn't ready to let any lowlife get their hands on his most important treasure or spread any news about it before he started claiming its riches for himself. This drove him to discuss fortifying the Wayward Pass with Jarl Korir and spending a fortune of his own pocket in order to build a quick garrison and some towers in that area.
Usually, Wayward Pass is a point that is almost impossible to conquer since most of the Winterhold scouting forces cover that place well and a small militia can defend it against a dragon even. However, Jon wanted that spot closed and if the Jarl wouldn't close it for him, he would go and collapse the mountain on it if needed.
By the end of the week, Jon had three strongholds in very vital areas. New Saarthal, Hsaarik Head, and Wayward Pass. Those three points triangulated around the ancient ruins of Alftand.
Why all the control madness? It is because today is the day when Jon conquers an actual Dwarven City active with its army of Machines and its population of Falmer.
By the Dawn of this day, Jon stood on top of the cliff descending down the ice mountain to the secret entrance of Alftand which by its part, a secret entrance to the lost city beneath Winterhold, Blackreach.
Prior to this, Jon had met the Mage known as Septimus Signus, the madman who turned out to be Nurina's ex-husband and the servant of the Daedric Prince of Forbidden Knowledge, Hermaeus Mora. Septimus has explained to Jon, in his crazy gestures, how to access Alftand and gave him the key to the most secure city.
This key was a ball object with the size of Jon's fist known as the Attunement Sphere and it is an object capable of performing Tonal Manipulation in some unhearable frequencies to the normal senses. Jon has spent some time studying the tones produced by the sphere and has deducted a few key runes to the Ancient Dwemer Magic.
Still, invading Blackreach is one thing and reaching it is an entirely different dilemma that Jon has planned painstakingly for. Unlike how things are done in the game, real-life ancient ruins are not only filled with enemies but with far more untold dangers every piece of wall has the potential to collapse if a fight between the explorers and the ruin dwellers led to an accident, there's an endless list of unfortunate possibilities that will surely turn into a disaster.
Still, the sight of 100 Dare Troopers was magnificent enough to settle the worries in Jon's heart. This won't be the first conquest he takes part in but the first official one under his name. They are practically going to attack a city that has a standing army.
"The Plan is simple. One hundred troopers will be all it takes to delve into the ruins under the leadership of Mjoll the Lioness, leader of the exploration teams. Once the threats are taken care of, the excavators shall join. The Mages shall coordinate between the Exploration team and the Excavation team to deal with any issue of a magical nature. Our main objective is to reach the deepest spot of Tower Alftand since we are entering from the top and heading towards the bottom. Once we reach the deepest point, Boss Jon will lead the advance into the unknown underground area. All the Assigned Captains of Ten must notify their troops about the threat we are facing which will vary from lethal Dwemer Animunculi to warmongering Falmer savages. I suppose you all know what to do. Don't disappoint."
The one who gave the strategy talk was Alina as she addressed the captains of the troops that will participate. Jon left the planning for her since she was the strategist of the whole thing.
Aside from that, Jon will be with the front group to deal with any problems that may arise. Alina will be with the Mage group, and Wulfur shall accompany the Excavation group. Aside from the main three figureheads, the others shall participate by exchanging roles with the previous three in case they need to go back to the surface.
And thus the descending began.
Workers have been working on the icy glaciers for days establishing emergency wooden bridges to the nearest access point of Alftand then a tunnel was dug into the ice until the ruin was revealed.
The teams of ten descended one by one to not overload the bridges until everything was fully in order. Outside Alftand, the Dare Corps established an operation center and secured the area with greater numbers.
After the hundred fully went inside Alftand along with Jon and the rest, the place outside became quiet waiting for the results of the decisive project.
Meanwhile, Alftand opened its doors to Jon and the exploration teams.
Hundreds of years have passed since anyone stepped foot in those corridors and hallways of the Dwarven Towers but now the Nords entered fully equipped to loot, scavenge, and conquer. The sound of steam flowing through the non-erodible bronze pipes, the steam engines hidden behind the cold slabs of stone, the suffocating scent of Dwarven oil, the cracking of the machinery that kept itself in perfect shape across the ages, it was all overwhelming to many of those troopers who walked into a Dwemer construction for the first time.
"The Dwarves were really masters of construction. Everything they built was meant to last." Jon exclaimed.
"It is not your first time in one of those places." Mjoll spoke.
"Neither it is yours." Jon replied, "Alright, Commander Mjoll, you are leading the way in."
"Understood."
Mjoll, one of the Nord Heroes of Winterhold, rallied her people ahead and spread the formation of the troopers to better adapt to the tunnels of the Dwarven tower.
The careful digging of the company left many parts of Alftand intact unlike how things went in the Game when many parts of the walls were broken which led to breaking some of the pipes leading the steam and ice to flood some parts of the interior. The scenario may have repeated itself but the damage was minor compared to the shit show of excavation it would have turned out to be if Jon let riff-raff explorers go in.
It wasn't much until the teams met their real opponents.
Jon was right, this was going to be a lot harder than it came in the game. Alftand is much larger from inside and the mind map he had from his memory won't be of much use. If a single game character faced a single Dwarven Spider Worker in each corridor then within these hundreds of corridors, reality had it that tens upon tens of Dwarven Spiders were everywhere in the corridor and even crawling on its walls as real spiders do.
"SHELL FORMATION!"
Mjoll shouted as each couple of teams joined together and covered themselves with shields like turtles while the Dwarven Spiders descended upon them as a rain of metals to raise a clink with each clash and the sparks flashing like the workplaces of a hundred smiths.
The Dwarven Spiders attacked relentlessly with their pincers as the shields resisted their futile struggle to ward off the invaders and only rendered them victims for blades that rose from the shield array.
Meanwhile, Jon was standing behind the formation with little to no protection from the incoming enemies. He simply stood tall joining his arms together and when a Dwarven Spider noticed his solemn existence at the back of the line, it bounced towards only to be smitten by a flying hammer made of Daedric energy.
While the teams successfully defeated the spiders without casualties, Jon realized that even with his troopers, this whole expedition was going to take longer than what he anticipated or wished for. He let out a sigh and walked ahead leaving the place for the excavation and scavenging team to come and scrap all that's left from the fight.
One duty was left for the exploration team after getting rid of the Dwarven Animunculi and that is sealing the wall hatches which produce those pesky machines. Jon has fabricated a sealing technique that uses Tonal Manipulation to disturb the Dwarven constructs, something akin to an EMP effect that lasts as long as the seal stands. This way, he will completely stop the Ruins from producing more enemies and make it safe to conquer the city until they find the secret Animunculi production line.
The plan was perfect. One thing, however, Jon didn't foresee. He downloaded a mod before his reincarnation which will make him almost want to kill himself in the following days.
_____________________
A/N: It has been 10 days since I posted the last chapter. I may have not told anyone but I am having some PhD qualification exams. I will be extremely busy for the entirety of June and July but I will keep writing for the sake of the world. No riots, okay?
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