Wish upon the Stars (Original Superhero cultivation sci fi litrpg)

[Malcolm Tent]

We arrived back at the Hermetic Hall in a hurry. Elodie, sensing our approach, appeared before us, ethereal as ever, her brow furrowed in confusion. "You're returned," she said slowly. "What can I do for you? I'm afraid if you wish to challenge again, you may not-"

"We need help!" I blurted out. Deanna was swaying on her feet, Ever since we'd emerged into the less suppressed area around the Hermetic Hall she'd been unsteady. She said that Drexel was trying to force the change back to Chloe to take over. We hadn't even known he could DO that, but gods gonna be gods, and that was the reality, so we were all kind of panicking.

Elodie blinked in surprise. "What are you talking about? What's happening?"

I blurted out the story in the most concise way possible, tripping over my own words as I spoke so fast my mouth barely kept up with my thoughts. Luckily, Elodie was an A-ranker, so she had no issues following my speech.

"The Mindplague?" she muttered worriedly. "I've never heard of it. But I don't like the sound of that at all. You were right to come here. Unfortunately, I'm not able to make the decision to help her. I'm just a keeper. The Master of this Hall is my Lord's firstborn son, Kane. He'll be the one you need to speak to."

I nodded quickly. "Understood, but can you do something to help her?" I nodded at Deanna. "If he breaks out we're screwed." I very carefully didn't say his name. I wasn't sure if I needed to be a carrier for it to transfer but it didn't seem worth taking the chance. Keeping things vague should be safer.

She frowned. "Get her inside. The Hermetic Hall is a hall of sealing. Just like it sealed your Domain before it should be able to suppress this darkness for now, at least until we can beg Kane to intercede."

Nodding, I swept Deanna up and rushed forward, carrying her into the hall at my top speed. This time, the statues didn't try to intervene, probably because we had Elodie's permission, and once we made it inside, I felt a surge of terrifying power descend from above, slamming me to my knees and shrouding both Deanna and I in bright light.

Suddenly, everything special about me just…vanished. Like someone flipping a light switch. My strength, my speed, my Domain, my connection to Callie. All of it went out like the flame of a candle in a harsh draft, and I was left gasping on the floor, feeling for all the world like a new born baby screaming my first breath. I dropped Deanna, writhing on the tile as I tried to process what was happening, and then…it was over.

I sat up gasping, my lungs heaving like great bellows, flexing with all the power of my nearly one million points of Might. It took a second, but I finally stabilized, blinked around at the others as I reestablished my equilibrium.

Staggering to my feet, I wheezed out "What the hell was THAT?" at Elodie.

"That was the Hermit's Hold," she said bluntly. "The top tier suppression of the Hermetic Hall. Otherwise how did you think we were planning to seal a god, fragment or not? You're fine, it's not permanent, obviously. It just took a second to calibrate properly. We didn't want to risk messing up the suppression. How's your friend doing?"

I grumbled in annoyance at not being warned for a second, then turned and knelt to check on Deanna. Triggering Dantalion, I scanned her as best I could, checking for any signs of either Chloe or Drexel. I got nothing. As I was checking, she groaned and her eyes fluttered open.

"Shane?" she rasped. "What happened?"

I stood, pulling her up with me. "You were almost forcibly possessed. Elodie activated the Hermetic Hall's defenses and suppressed Drexel's influence, but it's only temporary. If we want a proper seal, we need to talk to Kane, Deveskane's first born."

"I'll escort you back," Elodie said formally. "Kane doesn't guard any of the trials, he has his own chambers." Her voice sounded more…respectful, than it had before. Like she was observing a strict etiquette.

Frowning at her, I raised an eyebrow. "What are you not telling me?"

"A great many things," she said bluntly. "But I've said all I can. Are you going to follow me back or not? Payment will need to be discussed with Lord Kane himself."

"Not like I have much choice then," I sighed. "Lead on." I gestured ahead of us, allowing her to go first (not that it mattered, given the immense rank disparity). She didn't need to be told twice. Gesturing for us to follow, she led us down a long hallway, stopping in front a mural painted across the back of a rounded alcove with a statue in it. She reached up and pressed the eyes of the statue and it began to turn, the stone floor grinding as it dropped away to reveal a tight spiral staircase.

We descended, and when we reached the bottom Elodie flicked her fingers, lighting a row of torches along a long, thin corridor lined with teal engraved panels made of some kind of smooth stone. The flickering flames cast an eerie light across the engravings, creating a sort of movement effect that made it look like dark creatures were waging war across the walls, only inches away from us.

Finally, we reached the end and she gestured us forward. "He's on the other side of the mirror," she warned. "Just…be careful. He doesn't like being disrespected, so keep your comments polite. If you remember that you should be fine."

Normally I'd have made a joke about how I was always polite, but we didn't really have the time. I nodded and then stepped forward to look into the mirror. I reached up, and so did my reflection, and when we touched, things…flipped. I didn't know how to describe it, but I was inside the mirror and he was outside. Or nothing was outside? I didn't know, but I was somewhere else now.

That became even clearer as I turned and took in the complete lack of other people around me. The others didn't seem to have followed me. I assumed Deanna at least had stepped through, but maybe they'd separated us somehow.

"Huh, creepy mirror hallway," I observed. "I'm sure this will end well."

A chuckle rolled up from the depths of the darkened hall, bouncing off the walls until it sounded like an army was laughing at me. "It might, oh chosen of Atlas."

I blinked at that. "Wait…you know who Atlas is? Adam Atlas? The Heretic God?"

"I do," the voice said softly. "After all, I was one of his worshippers when I was human. He died before my ascension, so I doubt he remembers me. At one time, he was quite popular." The voice, still bouncing creepily out of the darkness, paused. "Well, are you going to come down here, or are we going to shout at each other across this hall all day?"

"Sure," I said dryly. "That's not ominous at all. I'll just head into the depths of this dark forbidding hallway where no one can hear me scream."

The voice chimed in cheerfully. "I could hear you scream."

"Not helping," I said ruefully as I strode into the dark. "But thanks for trying." The hallway seemed very similar to start, but the deeper I got the more things seemed to change. Finally I arrived at the end of the hall where a middle aged man sat sipping a cup of tea. He was sitting in an overstuffed chair sipping his drink and reading a book, and he smiled urbanely when he spotted me. A roaring fire lit the space, but one I hadn't seen until I entered the circle of light it cast. "Kane, I presume. Or should I call you by your full name, Deveskane?"

He beamed at me. "Well reasoned. Not wholly accurate, but not wholly inaccurate either. I am not Deveskane, per se, but I am a memory of him. The other memories manifested into independent beings, but I, as the first, was the most heavily imprinted with the personality of my former self. So I both am and am not Deveskane, though you may call me that, if you wish."

"Well, in the spirit of honesty I'm not Atlas's champion," I clarified. "My wife is. We have a soul bond, which is probably what you're sensing."

He hummed, nodding in understanding. "I see. That explains a few things."

"Yeah," I said, choosing to change the subject. "So, do you also know Drexel, or…" I tried to lead him back to the topic at hand.

He shook his head. "No. I got a basic understanding of the creature from the scan during my suppression, but I don't recognize it. I suspect it predated me by quite some time, and possibly Atlas himself. Hard to say. Regardless, the fragment is malicious and quite petty. You were right to bring your friend here. Had she succumbed to the possession fully there would have been no chance to save her."

I sighed in relief. "So there IS a chance. You can help?"

"I can," he nodded. "In fact, it would even benefit me to do so. Such a fragment would provide me with fascinating research material for quite some time. The question, however, is whether I CHOOSE to do so."

"I assumed you would demand a price," I sighed. "Go ahead. What do you want? Need me to steal something? That's a popular request."

He grinned. "Oh not at all. In fact, I want you to do the exact opposite. If you came here for Atlas, I assume you're heading to the Temple Mount?" I could practically hear the capital letters, but I had no idea what the term meant.

"I…guess?" I said slowly.

He snorted. "The Temple Mount was Atlas's personal mortuary. It was where he interred the corpses of the gods he killed. I assume you know why such a thing would be useful?"

"God flesh can be used in certain rituals to resurrect dead deities," I confirmed. "I've been involved with that kind of thing before. You're saying Atlas has the materials needed for his resurrection there? But you don't want me to take them?"

"Not take," he assured me. "Place. I want you to carry a fragment of Deveskane with you to the Temple Mount. As for my reasons…I couldn't tell you. I just feel that you might accomplish something. I don't know what measures he may have taken there, or how it will be useful, I just feel very strongly this is an opportunity. Divine instinct can be quite prescient, you know."

I wasn't sure either. God flesh was only one of the necessary ingredients for divine resurrection, and I didn't even think I knew what all of them WERE. The rituals the vanished gods used had involved some nasty stuff on Hatescream's part. Still, I wasn't against the idea of carrying a divine fragment with me, especially not once we headed deeper into the Chasm. It wouldn't be doing much anyway.

"Fine," I said after thinking it through. "I agree, just help me save my friend."

"Very well," he said energetically, surging to his feet and clapping his hands together. "An adventure then. What fun. I'll be keeping the fragment of the Mindplague, of course?"

"Yeah, sure," I waved him off. "I don't want it. It's all yours. When do we get Deanna in here?"

He chuckled at that. "Why, she's already here." He snapped his fingers and the fire flared, the light circle expanding and revealing a large flat ceremonial table, with Deanna lying atop on top of it, apparently unconscious. "Now then, how would you like to assist me with a bit of psychic surgery? Yes? Excellent, then let the operation begin!"