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

[Malcolm Tent]

"So," Stanley said as we took our seats across from him. "We have your meeting scheduled for the Moonfiend Grotto. We're not on the best terms with the owner, but he's not EXACTLY an enemy. You'll need to pay the entrance fee yourselves, but without us, you'd never have gotten the chance."

I nodded. "The Moonfiend Grotto is one of the four? What about the other three? The ones you CAN get us into."

Personally, I doubted the Moonfiend Grotto fit the bill, given the whole trees thing, but Stanley knew what he was doing. He seemed to notice the brief hesitation, but didn't mention it, moving on to answering my question. "Autumn Dusk, Red Desert, and The Burning Plains. That's what WE call them, anyway. Most of them are HUGE, mind, but they all have trees somewhere in them. Regardless, those three are held by allied forces. Moonfiend Grotto is owned by the Bad Doctor, and he's no friend of ours, but like I said, we got you in to see him."

I cocked my head. "The Bad Doctor?"

"He owns the local hospital," my father said grimly. "Not that anyone goes there on purpose. It's the kind of place you take people who are probably going to die anyway. Sometimes he saves them. Sometimes he doesn't. Sometimes the former is worse."

"Sounds lovely," I said dryly. "Are we going to have problems if we go in there?"

He shook his head. "The Doctor is a scavenger. He takes people who can't fight back, but he tends to avoid dealing with the healthy. He CAN do it, mind, and it's messy when he does, he just considers it a waste of his valuable time."

I grimaced. "Got it. So what does this have to do with a gala?"

"A formal dinner," Stanley corrected sternly. "It's ostensibly a fundraiser for the hospital, but in reality, he holds them to identify potential subjects for his experiments. It's not unusual for an offer of expensive materials or medical aid to be tendered in response to him spotting a subject he takes a shine to."

"And people just LET him do this?" I asked in disgust. "No one stops him?"

Stanley grimaced. "Bloodcrest is…fraught. Danger around every turn. But more than that, it is a place of darkness and despair. In such venues, certain in demand skillsets can be difficult to come by."

Violetta rolled her eyes. "He means healers don't stick around. The Bad Doctor is a Bad doctor, but he's still a doctor. They're in short supply here. Alienate the Doctor and maybe the next time you get sick you don't get better. Maybe you die of your next injury. Maybe while you're IN the hospital. Or maybe you don't and just wish you had."

I gritted my teeth. That was horrible. Holding medical treatment over a whole town like that. I had the urge to take him out myself, but given the rest of them didn't bother, I was assuming that it would just make things worse. I'd just need to make my deal with him and be on my way. For now. On the way BACK however…well, that was a whole other ballgame. "So, when is this dinner?"

"He has them regularly," Stanley shrugged. "But the one we got you into is tonight. That was why I asked you down here. If you're going to be attending, there's a certain…dress code. I'm afraid your current apparel is unacceptable."

I scowled, looking down at my armor. The seal was an important part of my kit, though it was in dire need of an upgrade. I supposed I didn't need to have it on me, in any case. I could store it in Gehenna and still get the benefits. "How much are these clothes going to run me?" I asked him cautiously.

"Not much," he assured me. "My tailor is under contract, and she can just adjust some of my formalwear. Shouldn't be more than…six crystals?"

Without moving my head, I glanced over at my dad, who shook his head minutely. I let out a snort. "Six? I wasn't born yesterday. I think we can do a little better than that, don't you?" I left him hanging on purpose, since I had no idea of the actual value I was aiming for.

He chuckled at that. "Just testing. How about five?" Another head shake. I shut him down again. Finally, he sighed. "Four," he said with a sour look. "And you can keep the clothes after." That got a nod, so I agreed, and we shook on it. After that, I was sent upstairs to a cramped room with drapes along the walls and too many mirrors. An elderly woman who was so thin she looked like a skeleton with a cloth draped over it. I was kind of shocked, because she was A-rank, and that level of aging meant she was OLD, but I didn't say anything, just letting her poke and prod me for about twenty minutes.

She stuck me with way too many needles for someone who had to be rocking at least a Mythic skill in tailoring, but I kept my mouth shut and let her do her thing. Finally, when it was over, she quickly slipped me into the new clothes and showed me to the mirror.

I stared at myself in the reflection with interest, turning back and forth to get a good angle. "I look hot," I said smugly.

"Are you done?" Crell groaned from behind me. "Because we need to go or we're going to be late. Not that I mind the idea of not spending more time with the creepy murder doctor, but I'm pretty sure we want to make a good impression."

Sighing, I nodded along, following him downstairs. Outside the manor, to my surprise, a vehicle waited. Not a car or anything, but rather an honest to gods horse and buggy style stagecoach. It was a handsome vehicle, made of dark wood with gilded edges, and the horses hooked up to it were strong and fierce.

The whole thing was B-rank, obviously, because what lunatic would make an A or S-rank mode of transport that only moved on land for short distances, but still, it was a stylish way to travel to our destination.

"This is pretty nice," Crell noted as we climbed in. "I could get used to this."

"I don't disagree," I admitted. "I might look into getting one of these for the WCP. Could you imagine me rolling up in this thing to an elder's council meeting? Just tell the guards to watch my horses as I swagger inside."

"Yeah, the elders seem like the kind of guys who love finding horse crap in their hallway," Crell said dryly.

I shrugged. "Well then they'd better not keep me in the meeting too long, then. It's like a built in timer for any social events I have to attend. It's genius. I wonder how hard it is to drive these. Hey, driver, how-" I leaned over, pulling back the curtain of the window separating the padded interior box from the front of the coach and froze.

"Um…is that a dog?" I asked dumbly.

Blinking, Crell leaned around me, staring for a moment, then nodded. "It is. It's a dog." The dog in question, a small terrier of some kind, nodded to us calmly, a pair of reins in its mouth. As it did, its big floppy hat slid forward slightly, though it stayed mostly in place.

"Sorry," I said politely. The dog gave a short bark and a nod, then turned back to the front of the coach. I closed the curtain. "So we're just going to pretend that didn't happen," I told Crell bluntly. "Because I'm very confused and I don't think that dog can answer my questions. Anyway, you remember the plan?"

He groaned, but nodded anyway. "We need access to the Moonfiend Grotto. The Bad Doctor controls the gates."

"Yeah, did anyone say WHY he does that?" I asked after a moment. "Because I feel like the Moonfiend Grotto doesn't seem very medical. Like what exactly does he use the place for? Or does he just sell access?"

"Nope, he uses it," Crell grimaced. "I asked Stanley about that while you were off getting fitted. Apparently there are several venomous sea creatures in the grotto's ocean area that produce toxins the Doctor uses. Paralytics, pain relievers, even a few mutagens. Shady stuff, and he pays people to collect it for him. Charges samples for the exit."

I grimaced. "Great, the ocean. My favorite place. And that'll be in the opposite direction of any trees I assume, which is annoying." I didn't know Callie was near trees, but I didn't know exactly how near them she'd be if she was. I had no real way to check because Callie, in her messages, had revealed that she was currently inside of a large castle complex and wasn't really allowed outside the walls.

Belsara claimed it was for her and the babies' safety, but Callie was pretty sure she was just being held hostage. She didn't seem to mind though, because the babies WERE safe, and she was gaining a lot of stats from it as she waited.

We were still discussing what to do exactly when we arrived when the coach stopped. I frowned at Crell, then pulled the curtain to find the dog gone. Sighing, I climbed out, patted the nearest horse, then gestured for Crell to follow me. We headed up to the door of the large, creepy looking building, greeting the guards. "We're here for the formal dinner," I told them bluntly.

The first guard, a large red haired man with a nasty scar over one eye and what looked like a permanent scowl on his face, raised an eyebrow. "You got an invite?"

Crell did, it turned out. He reached into his coat and handed the man a piece of dirty grey paper. The guard read it, scowled, and then handed it back. "Fine. Go in then. No fighting and don't touch the wisps."

I had no idea what that meant, but I nodded anyway, and we slipped past them to hurry inside.

When we got there, I realized that the whole 'don't touch the wisps' thing was self explanatory. The building was ancient, covered in mold and rotting wooden boards, but the lights were coming from floating clouds of multicolored gas that cast the whole thing in an eerie, almost haunting spectrum.

"Which way do we go?" I asked worriedly, looking around for some sort of guide.

As if summoned (and maybe it had been), a flash of grey light the exact color of our invitation flitted up to hover in front of me. It circled me three times then zipped away, only to come back when I didn't follow. It waited impatiently, and then as soon as I started moving toward it the little thing zipped off, just slow enough to be kept in sight. "Nevermind," I said dryly. "I think I got it."

We trailed after the wisp for about ten minutes, trying to stick together in the twisting run down hallways. Finally, we reached a large open room with a dining table, red carpets, and chandelier. As soon as we entered, the lights flared, transforming the world around us from a creepy run down hospital to a well lit party. Even the air was warmer. I shot Crell a look and noticed he looked as unsettled as I felt.

"Ah, our guests," came a booming, amused voice. "Welcome." We turned to find a man standing up from the table. "I've been looking forward to meeting you." The man was huge, face covered with a long beaked mask that hid his eyes behind blank, birdlike lenses. This, I realized, was the Bad Doctor. "Please," he said, gesturing us inside. "Come and sit. Come and eat. We have so much to discuss, you and I." I grimaced, but eventually nodded. I had a feeling this wasn't going to be much fun. Best to get it over with so we could get going. Callie was waiting.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

The formal dinner was unsettling. We were offered seats of honor next to the Doctor, which was odd on its own because he shouldn't have even known who we were beyond 'friends of Stanley'. Despite that, though, he was fawning over us as politely as possible, making it clear he recognized us as important for some reason. I didn't like it.

Luckily I wasn't here alone. Crell was infinitely better at this game than I was. The former spymaster of a ruthless despot who ruled over a sealed world, and who planned a coup against said despot which we helped pull off, Crell was a political beast, and I knew I could trust him to handle this.

Unfortunately, the Doctor himself hadn't gotten the memo.

"We're so pleased to have you here," he said silkily, pouring me a glass of wine I definitely didn't trust him enough to drink. "I admit, when I heard the son of Elijah Wyndham was in the city, I didn't quite believe it."

Ah, that was it then. He didn't know who I was, exactly, he just knew my dad.

"Did he really make that big of an impression last time he was here?" I asked, genuine curiosity in my voice.

My dad had clearly done some impressive things in Bloodcrest, but I hadn't really had the time or inclination to ask about them. Judging by the Doctor's attitude though, my dad's antipathy was…well, maybe it WAS still shared, but there was clearly a one sided respect there. I couldn't help but be curious what he'd done to deserve that.

The Doctor, it seemed,wanted to avoid talking about what my dad had done almost as much as I wanted to hear about it. He smoothly changed the subject. "So, you're hoping to gain access to the Moonfiend Grotto?" He asked casually. "What might you be searching for inside?"

"Fish," I answered immediately. "There's a very rare type of trout we've heard about in there. The Fiendwrack Trout. I'm told it can directly strengthen Impact."

We'd done a bit of research on the place before coming here, because we all agreed it was a bad idea to confide in the Doctor. The Fiendwrack Trout was real, in fact, though not worth enough for me to bother searching for. Impact was great, but it wasn't getting my wife back.

The Doctor chuckled. "You haven't touched your wine. Please, try some. It's my favorite vintage."

I frowned behind my mask, but decided it was better to be accommodating. Of course, I wasn't an idiot. I reached for Zagan silently, and as I picked up the cup and tilted it toward my mouth, I breathed a long stream of green flame into it. The flame hit the wine silently, rolling through it and purifying the drink. Not just of toxins, but of all poison, essentially turning it to clear water. I tipped it back, draining the glass in one pull before slamming it back down. I smiled at him through the gap that had opened in my mask. "Delicious. Now, we're hoping to get access to the Grotto sooner rather than later. Can you tell me what you'd require to let us do that?"

He nodded cheerfully. "Of course, I'd be happy to share that information with you. But first, I hope that you might be willing to help me with a small project."

"We don't really have time for a project," I said bluntly. "We really need to go, maybe when we come back we can help. We can leave as soon as we contact my friends. They're waiting for us now so I don't want to leave them hanging."

He chuckled again, but this time there was something ominous about it. "Why, I don't think that will do. You see, the wisps have faded. You need a guide to get out again. I'm afraid the halls can be a tad confusing. You know, I was so excited to hear Elijah brought his brat here. His power was so…fascinating. But unfortunately his relationship with the Ralkyne was too complex. You, however, have no such protection. I half expected you to bring guards, but instead, you just brought this diplomatic fop."

"Hey!" snapped Crell. "I'll have you know that I can be very impressive!"

I grimaced at the Doctor. "What the hell do you want? Don't think we're so easy to contain. I can leave here anytime I want."

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure," The Doctor grinned. "You see, I've prepared rather thoroughly for this little game. You came here to request entry to the Grotto? Well you'll be pleased to know you need look no further. You entered the Grotto minutes after passing the front door. Outside realspace you have no hope of spatial shifts or recovery artifacts returning you to your previous position."

"So what?" I spat. "You turn us into one of your little experiments? I heard all about those."

Laughing, he just shook his head. "Silly child," he cooed. "I'm not going to turn you into anything. You're ALREADY one of my experiments. You have been since you entered. Drinking the wine I gave you was simply the icing on the cake, as it were. But don't worry. The paralytic you ingested will slowly penetrate your bloodstream as you run from the monsters currently coming to catch you, and only once you've completely collapsed will they finally retrieve you and bring me to me for study."

I blinked at him. "You…you're not nearly as smart as people seem to think, huh?"

He just sneered. "Enjoy your false confidence while it lasts, boy. Even an S-ranker would fall before that toxin. It's only a matter of time before-" He was cut off by the thump of my staff smashing into his mouth, sending his mask spinning off into the distance. Glancing behind me, I casually released ten of my A-rank demons. "Kill the monsters he mentioned, and capture any of the experiments that seem like they might still be people."

Crell just snorted as I turned back to the Doctor. "So, I didn't drink your paralytic," I said conversationally. "And as far as I can tell, you leaned WAY too hard into Focus. I could almost see you getting lost in your own thoughts just then. You have no chance of beating me in a fight under almost any circumstances." I had almost as much effective Might as I had TOTAL stat points thanks to my triple point bonus, not to mention my Vitality and the power of my Domain.

The Doctor stared at me in horror, his expression empty and shocked. Crell laughed as he stepped up beside me. "You know, I was half expecting this to turn into some kind of locked room escape trial when he started talking."

"Nobody has time for that shit," I said coldly. "I have a wife to rescue. The Doctor here is going to be as helpful and friendly as possible in accommodating us, because if he's not, I'm going to beat him nearly to death with my staff, then heal him up and do it again until my arms get tired. And I have very strong arms."

He glared up at me bitterly. "What do you want to know?" he gritted out.

"I want to know where the entrance to this place is," I said immediately. "I'm letting some people inside. Then you're going to take me to the nearest forest inside the Grotto." I needed to use Yama, but I REALLY didn't want to look at the karmic lines inside this hospital. Karma was more than just a map, it was a reflection of the world as it was, and I had a feeling the karma in here was not particularly pleasant to look at.

Obviously, the smart move would be to wait to get to the actual woods before checking on the chain. If Callie was here, I would see it immediately and be close enough to search, if she wasn't the chain would lead me right back to the exit, most likely. Seemed like a win win.

The Doctor staggered to his feet, glaring, but didn't dare to try anything. Instead, he turned and skulked out of the room. I shot Crell a look and followed, trailing behind the malicious medic as we were led through the seemingly endless hallways. I silently cursed myself for not activating Dantalion on the way. The wisp had distracted me by moving JUST fast enough to force me to hurry, which I suspected was the point.

This time I didn't make that mistake, I triggered my information demon, not bothering to boost it with my staff, because A-rank was plenty for this. It didn't take long to arrive at the front door. When we did, I glared at the Doctor, considering what to do…but eventually I remembered what Stanley had said. I cracked him upside the head, knocking him unconscious as I stepped past him to push the door to the outside open. The chill air of Bloodcrest hit my face as I noticed the pair of guards from earlier rushing me for an attack.

My staff snapped out, crashing into them like a meteor and putting them both down temporarily. Knocking people out at A-rank wasn't easy, exactly, but having more than my normal share of Impact helped give my attacks that little bit of extra heft. The two of them dropped and I reached for my scan ring, placing a quick call.

Within twenty minutes, reinforcements arrived. My whole crew as well as Stanley, who had come in person. He glanced at the unconscious guards and Doctor with a grimace. "Well at least they're alive," he sighed. "I assume this was a trap?"

"Apprently he remembered my dad," I said dryly. "Making friends wherever you go, huh old man?"

My father sniffed loftily. "Lions do not concern themselves with the opinions of sheep."

"Do they concern themselves with sleeping on the couch?" my mother asked sweetly. "Because I can have a den made up for his highness if that's his preference."

I snickered at their antics, then turned back to Stanley. "So, did you know the hospital was IN the gate? This place is a shallowing apparently. Once we entered we ended up trapped in some labyrinth we didn't even realize was part of the Grotto. Dr. Dumbass there used wisps to disguise the spatial distortions by pretending it was all part of the dinner. Then he tried to poison me."

"You have a life nova bloodline," my mom said in disbelief. "You could just burn it clean in a second if you wanted to."

"If he'd gotten me," I pointed out. "Which he didn't even manage. I used Zagan to breathe fire into the cup. Ended up drinking pure water. Once he was convinced I'd been drugged, he lapsed into the stereotypical villain speech, so I smacked him in the head with a stick and made him bring me to the door to get you guys."

She grinned at me. "That's my boy. So, have you checked if this is the right place yet?"

"I don't think using Yama inside that place is a good idea," I grimaced. "He's going to bring us out into the woods and I'll check from there. If we're at the right place it'll give me a line right to her, if not the chain will lead back to the entrance."

"Except," my dad sighed. "If there's another gate in there. Remember the land of endless summer is a Webworld. It's connected, even broken. Don't take for granted that this will be the last stop. Chances are good we're only on the first step of the journey. Even that requires us to confirm we're in the right spot though." He turned to glare down at the Doctor. "Hey, jackass. Wake up and bring us inside. We've got places to be." I tried not to laugh at the twitch when he heard my dad's voice. Admittedly, I didn't try very hard.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

Entering the Moonfiend Grotto was definitely an experience. One moment we were in the spiraling hallways of the labyrinthine hospital, and the next we were emerging onto a small, dark sanded beach.

The grotto, or at least the part of it we'd stepped into wasn't exactly what I'd expected. I'd pictured a big open shoal like the ones back where I'd met Crell, but the beach we stood on was a relatively cramped affair, just ten feet or so of curved shore wrapped around a tiny cove that was pushing inward.

"It's this way," Stanley said, gesturing inland. "The woods are in that direction."

"How do you know all this, anyway?" I asked as I glanced around. "And why did my dad specifically come to you to be our guide? I admit, it seems weird that you decided to tag along given your position."

Stanley chuckled as he led us away from the shore. "He came to me BECAUSE of my position. I've currently all but accepted leadership of Ralkyne, but back in the day, I was still just the heir. I used my clout to fund and enable my hobby of exploration, and I've been through more of the gates of Bloodcrest and explored more deeply than anyone else in the city."

"He means he used to be a lazy good for nothing who spends all his time running away from home," my dad added wryly. "Though he DID manage to make it sound really impressive."

"If I was good for nothing," Stanley replied loftily. "You wouldn't have hired me."

My dad shrugged. "True, but 'good for only one specific thing and mostly ass at everything else' doesn't really roll off the tongue the same way." He grinned at the other man, clearly teasing, and Stanley just rolled his eyes.

The walk to the forest was surprisingly pretty uneventful. We didn't get attacked or stopped by anything, which kind of shocked me. When we arrived at the treeline, I had everyone step back and I reached out for Yama. To my delight, the chain from my chest did NOT lead back the way we came. It led off into the distance, heading mostly northwest. "What's that way?" I asked, pointing toward the spot in question.

He grimaced. "A nest," he said slowly. "And one that I really would have preferred to avoid if possible. That's where we need to go?"

I didn't love the sound of that, honestly. "A nest?" I prodded. "Of what, exactly?"

"They're called Alakriyas," he winced. "Imagine a hyena mixed with a scorpion, with the jaws of an alligator and the talons of an eagle. They're highly territorial, so most people just avoid them, but they're VERY dangerous. They nest in large groups, kind of like colonies. They build their nests on veins of infinity crystal and similar items, weaving the spatial energy into complicated constructions. They also EAT the stuff, and it makes their armor freakishly hard to pierce."

I groaned. Of course there were space eating monsters nesting on top of the spot where Callie was. Or rather, the spot that could get me there. Because while it WAS possible that my chain was just leading far past the nest, his introduction made it clear there was another, more likely possibility. There was another gate deeper into the Webworld, and the Alakriyas had built their nest on it.

"How many of these things are there?" I asked grimly. "And what rank?"

"The queens are S-rank," he grimaced. "The soldiers are A-rank, and the workers are B-rank. The nest has been there for a while. People don't go down there much, the Alakriyas mostly eat spatial energy, but Domain capable Ascendants are FULL of that, so they've been known to grab and immobilize travelers and drag them down into the nest. To my knowledge, no one has ever come back."

"Well now," Lark said excitedly. "What an interesting species. I'd love to capture a few. I'm something of a taming hobbyist, you know."

I had not known that, but I DID know his daughter, so it didn't surprise me at all. "How many queens are there?" I asked worriedly. Lark was a monster, and I was sure he could take care of himself against almost any number of those things, but I was less sure he could hold them all back at once if there were too many. If they went around him and got to us we'd all be screwed.

"About a dozen," Stanley grimaced. "There's a reason no one has cleaned the nest out after all these years. It's not worth the cost."

I glanced at Lark, and he nodded casually. "Well, maybe we can help with that," I said slyly. "If we can, would you be willing to make an arrangement with us to take over this place. I have a feeling the Doctor won't fight us too much on gate ownership. And if he does…well, my dad is always looking to make a deal. Leaving him alive doesn't mean leaving him active."

He blinked at me. "Wait…you're proposing you CLEAR the nest and hand it over to Ralkyne as an asset?"

I shrugged. "I mean, I'm not planning to use it for anything, and I try to make good use of effort when possible. If we have to clear the place anyway, I don't see why I wouldn't want to make some money on it. Assuming you have assets you want from them and things you're willing to trade. Crell can take care of the details, he IS my master of contracts."

Of course, this assumed that the nest was our actual destination, but given the way my life worked, I kind of figured it would be. Lark didn't seem to care one way or the other, and my dad looked pleased, so I guessed he was happy I'd considered it.

We headed off in the direction of the chain, moving through the forest quietly so as not to arouse the Alakriya before we arrived. Finally, we came to a cliff overlooking a large rocky valley. I grimaced at the site. Where the surrounding area was full of trees and greenery, the valley was the polar opposite. Barren and desolate, even the rocks it was made of looked dead, crumbling away into dust the blew desolately over the flat expanse of nothing at the bottom.

"This is where the nest is?" I asked, eyes scanning the valley. I didn't see any nests. Or animals. Or anything except dust.

"Beneath this place," he corrected. "The destruction is from the constant microquakes that accompany their construction. They reinforce the substructure but the ground around it gets quaked into powder. Careful with it. If you fall in you'll pass through the dust like air. At first. Once you sink a bit it covers you up and suffocates you."

Frowning, I slipped into Yama, checking on my connection to Callie and the twins. Sure enough, the chains led right down into the valley. I eyeballed the exact spot, checking the angles. Using Dantalion and some clever motion to triangulate based on the changes in the chains, I was able to estimate how far down the gate was. "Alright, give me a minute. I need to check some things before we start this off."

Dantalion, boosted to S-rank, allowed me to slowly map the nest, discovering exactly where the majority of the Alakriya were. "He was right about there being twelve of the queens," I noted. "And…damn, about a thousand soldiers. I can't even count the workers, but they're B-rank so it basically doesn't matter."

"So how do we draw them out?" Stanley said, scanning the deceptively smooth floor of the valley. "If we drop in we'll be vulnerable. They can move through the dust like its water, and see in it too."

I smirked, reaching into myself for access to Brad's power. My staff surged with strength, pushing the demon a tier higher, and I held a hand out dramatically. "What dust?"

There was a SURGE of energy as Brad's power slammed down on the valley like an orbital strike. All the others could see was a cylinder of bare space driven into the dust like some angry god pounded it in with a mallet. Between one breath and the next, a huge open hole was exposing the interior of the valley.

It looked weird. Loops of twisted space reinforced with crystalling fractures of infinity crystal and hard packed dirt spiralled in shapes that defied explanation. I followed the chain down to the bottom of the pit, where the twisting tunnels got denser until the condensed into a sphere of pulsing spatial energy, crystal, and rock. From the empty space, screams echoed out. Deep within the pit I could see the strange skittering forms of the Alakriya emerging. I grimaced. Stanley hadn't been wrong about the description, but he'd undersold how weird they looked.

"Lark," I told Morgan casually as a series of the monsters exploded up toward us. Grinning, the vampire exploded into a TORRENT of bats, the creatures wrapping around the S-rank monsters and whisking them away to another battlefield. The rest of them were still coming toward us, but rather than wait for my say so, Abel took it upon himself to act.

A blood red ocean burst out to cover the space in front of us, intercepting the beasts, and I heard their screams as they were subsumed. To my shock, even as I watched they started to decompose, dissolving into even more blood to feed Abel's Infinite Blood Sea.

"Domain," I said as I stared. "You created your Domain. Why didn't you mention it?"

He shrugged. "Just more of the same. No reason to brag. It'll hold them for a bit. I assume we're heading for that rock orb?"

"We are," I nodded. "But I'll get us there. Keep them off me." He agreed, and I focused on the paths between us and the entrance to the gate. Cosmic Waltz emerged, and I pushed myself a little by elevating it to S-rank. I was able to handle the strain a bit better because of the powerful strength of my igniting blood as I tapped into the Cosmic bloodline.

Rather than focus only on that though, I also called up Yama. I'd had an idea I wanted to test for a possible Archdemon. Sure enough, as I watched the threads of karma manifest, I was pleased to see the paths of space followed them surprisingly closely.

"I've got us a path," I said absently. "I'll open it up." Cosmic Waltz wasn't really meant for this, but I was hoping the combination would enable me to create a stable way to connect two points so my friends could move safely. I raised a hand, focusing, and grabbed hold of the connection between me and the gate (my target). With a heave of effort, I flooded the strand with Cosmic Fire.

The link caught ablaze, coating it with the spatial flame, and I gritted my teeth and HAULED on the fire. Slowly, like a line expanding into a straw, the flame began to open, tearing a tunnel through the world. I clamped down on the groan of effort with a heroic burst of willpower as I tore the tunnel open wide enough to fit a person. "Go," I spat, gesturing to the now open portal in front of us. Through the circle, I could see another door, sitting in the middle of a stone chamber waiting for us.

The others nodded, beginning to file through. I held it as long as I could, but eventually the strain was too much. "LARK!" I bellowed up into the sky. "Let's GO, we're leaving!"

A maniacal cackle rose over the valley as a swarm of bats funneled into the gap in reality. I watched until the last bat was through, and then, without pausing, I hurled myself into the gap, not letting up until I fell out the other side of the spatial pathway, hitting the ground with a loud grunt. I groaned as I lay there, head swimming. I was NOT doing that again without an Archdemon form. Still, proof of concept. I couldn't wait to tell Callie.

 

[Malcolm Tent]

"Shane, you ok?" Abel called as he stood guard in front of the gate. The others had fanned out, securing the entrances to the chamber, and he was the closest to me personally. "That was…really impressive actually. And trust me, I know what I'm talking about. I know enough about space to be shocked you pulled that off."

"New trick," I gasped. "Work in progress." Honestly, the fact that I could SEE the destination physically and that it was close enough was the only reason that had worked at all. I had MASSIVELY underestimated how much effort that would take.

My mom knelt down next to me. "You know, just because Calliope isn't here to yell at you for attempting dangerous experimental moves in combat doesn't mean you should DO it. I'll be telling her about this, and I'd expect to be yelled at. Which you deserve, you self destructive idiot."

"Sorry Ma," I grimaced. "It's been a long time since I hit a wall like that. Gotten used to pulling off my nonsense on the first try."

"That's not as reassuring as you seem to think it is," she huffed as she helped my to my feet.

Chuckling, I triggered my life nova bloodline, burning nine drops to flood my body with energy. "Lark," I called to the vampire. "How did you do? I know I cut off your fight early, but did you manage to take out any of the queens?"

"Ten of them, actually," he said cheerfully. "I only had two left when you told me to disengage. They were injured though. I kept seven of the ones I beat, and even grabbed a couple workers. Lovely little monsters, I'm planning to start a breeding farm on one of my empty planets. I'm curious to see what they'll do with a full planet to terraform."

"Well that seems safe," I said dryly. "But sure, go nuts. Just maybe make sure the planet in question is at least a galaxy away from me or anyone I know."

He sneered. "Back in my day, we had more spine than that."

"Probably because you had to keep growing them back after people ripped them out when you did something stupid." I pointed out dryly.

"That's not…" he trailed off. "That didn't happen that often. My spine has only been ripped out like…eight times. Nine tops. But hey, we're getting off track. Shouldn't we be going through this creepy giant door? It seems fun. What do you say guide-man, do you know where this goes?" He shot Stanley an arch look.

The other man shook his head. "Not even close," he said bluntly. "I told you no one has been down here. The nest is too dangerous. Actually, should WE be down here? We might want to leave, if they come back-"

"They won't," Zeke, my dad, Lark, and I said at the same time. We all locked eyes with a chuckle at the unintentional echo.

"They won't," I repeated. "They lost eighty percent of their main combat force. More, technically, but still The last two queens are injured, and they'll be retreating to gather their strength. Besides which they're animals. Animals don't attack a superior predator when they're injured. Lark kicked their asses up and down the valley with ease. They're S-rank creatures. They're smart enough to know when they're beat."

My mom nodded. "It's true, we're safe for now. But don't underestimate the territorial instincts of a prideful beast. We shouldn't stick around too long. Even if you don't know exactly where that door leads, can you make any guesses? Maybe based on some other gate that looks similar? Anything is better than nothing."

Stanley grimaced, but nodded. "I can take a look. The gates do tend to reflect their interiors. Reading them can be a bit of an artform, but I daresay no one has seen more of them than I."

I frowned. I hadn't really considered that. In fact, I hadn't known the gates were all doors. I hadn't seen one for this place when we came through the hospital, but to be fair, they might have just left it open. We hadn't noticed where the breakpoint was at all, so use missing the entry was understandable.

Stanley stepped forward running his hand over the carved white surface of the door. Despite being down here in this literal mudhole, the door was pristine, almost glowing, and it had delicate scrollwork and designs carved over every inch of it.

"A city," he said slowly. "A huge and beautiful city of gold. That's all I can find."

"Better than nothing," I smiled, patting his shoulder. "We appreciate the help. Are you coming along with us? If not, I can have Lark run you home. You've lived up to your end of the bargain and then some, and you still need to make arrangements to take custody of this place."

The Ralkyne weren't all A-rank, they couldn't have held onto power without someone at the peak. Stanley's father was an S-ranker, albeit one that rarely showed his face, and I was sure he would come out of retirement to take control of this gate. To my surprise, he shook his head. "No," he said firmly. "I've spent my life exploring the gates of Bloodcrest. I'm not missing the chance to be the first one through a newly discovered gate."

That shocked a laugh out of me. "Wow, I wasn't expecting that. But fair enough. Everyone get ready, we're moving out as soon as possible. We need to explore beyond the gate. Lark and I will be going through." With Mornax bumped up to A-rank (he hadn't hit tier nine yet), I would be the most durable person here besides Lark, and that was without my armor. It was safest for the two of us to be the first ones in. "The rest of you will be here waiting in case we run into trouble. Post up and prepare to fight if we end up retreating."

My mom looked unhappy, but surprisingly didn't argue. I was glad she trusted me enough to let me do what I needed to do. I nodded to Lark, who stepped up next to me, and we moved toward the door carefully. I incarnated Mornax, releasing my hold on Brad to push him a rank higher. It wasn't much of a strain since Mornax was only tier eight, a rank higher was easy to withstand.

Grabbing the door, we pushed it open, stepping inside. I had my hands up, staff summoned, and was ready to fight, but to my surprise, when I stepped through, I found that there was no one inside. In fact, based on the dust patterns, it looked like there hadn't been anyone here for a very long time. I looked around slowly, studying the place. It was massive. Huge vaulted ceilings, white marble floors veined with gold, it had a deeply sacred look to it, aside from the dilapidated appearance.

"Blood," Lark said immediately, nostrils flaring. "I smell blood. And lots of it."

My staff snapped up as I let Dantalion gather information. "Which way?" I asked him slowly. "I think we should check it out."

He gestured off to the side. "Through there," he said, eyes locked on that spot.

We crept forward, door still open and friends still waiting there just in case. When we reached the corner, I leaned around. What I found on the other side confused me at first, then made me sick. A splash of gold was painted across the wall. It was splattered across the surface, some of it tossed like liquid, some of it sprayed in an almost arterial fashion.

Which was what gave it away. The golden blood. There was no body there, nothing besides Lark's word and the pattern, but I trusted Lark to know blood. I swallowed hard. "What is it?" I asked quietly. "What did it come from?"

He sniffed lightly. "Smells like angel," he said in a casual tone. "Big boy too. That's a lot of bird juice."

"Charming," I grimaced. "Can you tell how long ago it's from? It doesn't look recent."

He shook his head. "I'm good, but I can't date blood spatter by smell. There are a few scent markers that denote age, but they're very general, and after a certain point they degrade too much to be usable at all. This is from at least five hundred years ago. I can't tell you any more than that."

"Do you smell any more?" I asked, almost afraid of the answer. Stanley had said this was a city, and we'd only seen one small part of it. If no one had been here to clean up the blood, chances were good this wasn't the only abandoned spot. Maybe the whole city was abandoned. Or maybe it wasn't and whatever had killed this angel was still here.

He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. "I'm getting…something. Not close."

Turning, he started walking, past the corner, the door, and into a hallway. I hurried to catch up, staff at the ready. He led me down a long corridor with colossal vaulted ceilings and high stained glass windows, emerging into another, even larger chamber.

This one…well, I didn't wonder what the gold stuff was. It was clearly blood. And it was dripping from the corpses of angels.

Impaled against columns, slumped against walls, some lying on the ground seeming crawling for the doors. Easily a dozen angels, and all of them at least A-rank. I could still feel their Impact, trapped in their bodies in a way I hadn't seen before. "Huh," Lark said cheerfully. "Someone should fire their decorator."

Rolling my eyes, I turned to glare at him. "Can we not make fun of the mass murder site?" I asked. "Like I get being disaffected, but there should be a limit. These are angels."

"Rats with wings," he said bluntly. "But I'll forgive your ignorance because you're so young. Trust me kid, angels are just flying people, and they suck just as much. But fine, I'll be…nice. I assume you're about to ask me how long ago this happened?"

"I was going to guess five hundred plus years," I shrugged.

He snorted. "Pretty much. Again, no solid timeframe, but I can assume that they were killed around the same time. That's obvious. Now tell me what isn't. You're spinning up that information power right now, right? Use it. Tell me what you don't see."

I frowned at him. That was surprisingly…generous. For him at least. But I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I decided to humor him. My eyes scanned the room, looking for commonalities, information, or like he said, gaps. I saw nothing but death. Corpses scattered around willy nilly, all in different-

"The bodies," I said in surprise. "They're all dead, and mostly in dramatic ways. But there's no damage around them. No blood that isn't theirs. At least I don't think."

"Show your work," he prompted.

I pointed at the nearest corpse. "All the blood near that one is coating his chest and wings. It pooled under him, but it's in close proximity. Not to mention-" I cut myself off, unwilling to continue the thought.

Lark wasn't having it. "Not to mention?"

"All the blood in here is angelic," I finished. "And most of it is around the bodies. That means one of two things. Either the person who did this was ALSO an angel…or they butchered all these high ranking warriors without taking a scratch in return. Judging by the condition of the bodies and the lack of structural damage my guess is the latter. This wasn't a fight. It was a slaughter. Whatever did this was MUCH stronger than the angels in this room."

He nodded in satisfaction. "We have a winner. The question becomes, when you add that to the earlier scene, why did it do this at all? Why was that body missing when these are still here…and where is the creature that committed the murders." I swallowed hard, eyes scanning the room around me. I wanted to know that myself. Because if it was still here, I had a feeling we needed to find it before it found us.