Doom Wielder

Star Warrior Quadrilogy Book 4

Isaac Hooke

Contents

BOOKS BY ISAAC HOOKE

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Epilogue

Tane Ganeth

White Essenceworks

Dark Essenceworks

Dark and White Essenceworks

Emerald Essenceworks

Gray Essenceworks

Skills

Afterword

About the Author

Acknowledgments

Stay In The Loop

BOOKS BY ISAAC HOOKE

Space Opera

Star Warrior Quadrilogy

Star Warrior

Bender of Worlds

He Who Crosses Death

Doom Wielder

Military Science Fiction

ATLAS Trilogy

(published by 47North)

ATLAS

ATLAS 2

ATLAS 3

Alien War Trilogy

Hoplite

Zeus

Titan

Argonauts

Bug Hunt

You Are Prey

Alien Empress

Quantum Predation

Robot Dust Bunnies

City of Phants

Rade’s Fury

Mechs vs. Dinosaurs

A Captain's Crucible

Flagship

Test of Mettle

Cradle of War

Planet Killer

Worlds at War

Science Fiction

The Forever Gate Series

The Dream

A Second Chance

The Mirror Breaks

They Have Wakened Death

I Have Seen Forever

Rebirth

Walls of Steel

The Pendulum Swings

The Last Stand

Thrillers

The Ethan Galaal Series

Clandestine

A Cold Day in Mosul

Terminal Phase

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Copyright © 2018 by Isaac Hooke

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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Cover design by Isaac Hooke

Cover image by Shookooboo

1

Tane surveyed the ruins of the buildings around him. Steel, glass and concrete fanned across the street in heavy blocks, while above him the skeletons of skyscrapers—husks of broken concrete riddled through with exposed rebar—clawed for the sky. The crumbling shells of those structures appeared blurry and indistinct, a dark blue beneath a similarly colored sky. Starless and sunless, that sky cast the land in perpetual twilight.

Tane had given the command that had transformed the neighborhood into this rubble. None of the damage was actually permanent—this was the Umbra, and destruction here wasn’t reflected in his home universe. The buildings would reset when the fleet departed.

He was on the planet Roma II, in the New Capri System; the world was inhabited by humans in his universe, but here in the Umbra, it was home only to kraals.

Drones scouted the area from above, while combat robots and mechs picked through the rubble on all sides, scouting for any kraals that yet remained in hiding. The concentration of the creatures had been particularly dense in this part of the city, which was why Tane had ordered the fleet to raze the neighborhood from orbit in the first place. The attacks had been slow and deliberate, meant to herd the creatures away. Most of the creatures had indeed fled, but many, confused by the ensuing turmoil, had succumbed. He could see their body parts poking through the rubble in places, mostly arms and legs, oftentimes alongside partially buried vehicles. Those appendages rivaled the latter machines in size. They would have been tough creatures to face without that orbital bombardment.

Tane had noticed a pattern: the kraals at each new artifact location were successively harder to kill, as if Tiberius had purposely planned a rising difficulty scale to match Tane’s own progression. Or perhaps Tiberius merely wanted to surround the high level artifacts with appropriate protection. Either way, the long dead man could not have known Tane would be bringing an army with him.

Tane’s helmet speakers transmitted the roar of an air support craft flying low overhead; glancing up, he watched as the jet disappeared beyond the nearby skyscraper husks. There were other support craft up there, flying higher, ready to provide precision strikes as necessary.

He cast his gaze closer, where the members of his personal guard surrounded him. These were mostly men and women he had chosen for their various displays of valor in the past few weeks. He called them the Doomwalkers, an elite group of Mancers, Essence warriors, and mech pilots. Chase, G’allanthamas, Gia, Nebb, Positron and Sinive were the core members, though they had other tasks that extended beyond mere personal guards.

Like Tane, many among his Doomwalkers sported spacesuits at the moment, though a few Mancers wore armored robes in Enclosure Mode, the sealed hoods providing pressurized environments. Most of the Essence warriors were clad in similarly pressurized power armor, glowing with the halos of Essence imbuement, though some had ordinary spacesuits.

While the atmosphere was breathable, the risk of microcrillia infection ruled out any exploration without protective gear, the only exception among the landing party being the combat robots and mechs; and G’allanthamas, of course, who walked about in all his naked alien glory here in his native universe.

The current situation still seemed a little surreal to Tane. Everything about it. He had a full division of the Thorran Marine Corps at his disposal, and the entire Seventh Fleet at his command in orbit. He could have had more fleets if he desired. And troops from every world under the dominion of the Thorran Star Navy, or TSN. Because although the TSN was still ruled by Alric Graim Maelbane, the man was merely Paramount Leader in name.

Tane was the true Paramount Leader.

The responsibilities that came with such a position were overwhelming in the beginning. One of the first acts Tane did after making Alric kneel before him was to purchase Leadership and its related nanotech skills, which helped. Among other things, Leadership gave him the ability to better read people and situations, and to think more critically, with a mind to logistics. He also had a slew of advisers and aids, with his core group of friends among them. Chase was in charge of troop deployments and air support, Gia logistics and supplies, and Nebb housing. G’allanthamas, Positron, and Sinive were still feeling out roles that suited them.

G’allanthamas had taken some time to come around. Though he had journeyed into the Umbra with Tane, the alien didn’t participate in any of the away missions at first, as he disliked working alongside members of the TSN, whom he considered the Hated Enemy—the TSN was responsible for destroying the dweller homeworld. But eventually Tane convinced him to join him on some of the sorties, mostly because Tane nearly died against some particularly tough kraals. The dweller came only grudgingly, saying he was doing so because Tane clearly needed guidance, but G’allanthamas outright refused to help Revive any TSN members that fell in battle.

“I work with them only because they obey you now, and are your vassals,” G’allanthamas had told him. “When you first took over the TSN, I thought you were going to disband them, or destroy them. But when you announced that you would leave their evil leader in place, and let them continue as they were, I was angry. But I remind myself that you are the Doomwielder, and that any decision regarding their fate must be yours. But that doesn’t mean I have to like that decision.”

So G’allanthamas followed him, for now. Tane saw no reason to doubt his loyalty. Still, he was always a little worried that the dweller would come to blows with other members of the Doomwalkers, because he only really got along with the core group. Which was why Tane tried to keep the alien close to him.

Tane had never imagined how complex things would become once he assumed the mantle of command. There were other issues besides keeping G’allanthamas in line. Many issues. He had thought that by leaving key people in their posts that the transition would be relatively smooth and painless, but sometimes he had the impression that those people were actively working against him. Well, and not just impressions: some people were working against him. For example, a commander—now replaced—had allowed Tane and his Doomwalkers to become surrounded by kraals on one planet; it was the same life-threatening incident that convinced G’allanthamas to join Tane on sorties in the first place. An inquiry determined that the commander in question had purposely held back his company, hoping that Tane would die when his Doomwalkers were cut off from support. That commander was in the brig and currently awaiting sentencing.

Then there were the leaks, often describing life under Tane’s rule as tyrannical and self-serving, which was the furthest thing from the truth. Well sure, maybe it was partially self-serving, since he was using the TSN and their fleet to level up his abilities, but he was also doing it to help them in the end, because his end goal after all was to save the universe. And he needed to be at his most powerful for that.

He shook this head. Tane had dreamed of a life among the stars. Just not like this.

Well, either way, he was achieving his destiny, and nothing could change that truth.

The realization of that destiny was made possible because of the power of Illusion, as granted to him by the archaeoceti. That, and a little luck. He had tricked Alric into believing that Tane had the ability to bring him into the Umbra, and the man had panicked, creating a portal to a universe known as Sedentia, midway between humanity’s universe and that of the creodenti. There, Tane had been able to feel the power of the Gray Essence emanating from his body, and when Alric had attempted to use a Gray work of mind control upon him, Tane had turned that work against Alric and forced him to his will.

The creodenti had made an appearance shortly after that, and given Tane a digital manual on the Gray Essence, along with a blueprint for saving the universe from the threat of the Z’Antamaraan, those who resided in the core of all galaxies simultaneously. The Z’Antamaraan were slowly destroying this universe, transferring suns to the galactic cores, and growing their power in the process. As they became stronger, the boundaries between universes only weakened, allowing humans to accidentally slip between the cracks to other dimensions, or for strange aliens to unexpectedly show up in our own universe. Indeed, the Paramount Leader had sent missives regarding those very things: there were upticks in the number of people reported missing across the colonies, and accounts of strange inter-dimensional beasts suddenly appearing in the middle of TSN cities only to die from lack of compatible environments.

Tane received these missives via couriers, as the fleet had no connection to the Galnet in the Umbra. The courier vessels would enter this dark Universe via rifts that led to the Umbra, jump to the last known location of the fleet, and find the comm beacon that told of the latest position. After arriving the courier would receive Tane’s message and then promptly jump to the Anteres Rift, which led back to our universe.

That Rift was strangely unguarded by the dweller fleet. Where the enemy forces had gone no one could be sure, though very likely they had been recalled to protect the various alien colony worlds in response to the arrival of the Seventh Fleet.

Though Tane was essentially in charge of the TSN, through Alric, he often wondered how loyal the man really was, and whether or not he was secretly working to subvert Tane’s authority. So far, the Paramount Leader hadn’t given Tane any reason to doubt him, but that could very well change at some point: Tane wasn’t certain how strong his control over Alric truly was.

Yes. A work of Illusion had set in motion all the power Tane now wielded over humanity’s destiny. It was up to him to fulfill that fate now, whatever it might be, and deal with whatever internal problems arose along the way.

He wondered vaguely why the archaeoceti hadn’t used their Illusion works to conquer humanity long ago. But the instant the thought entered his head, he had the answer: the archaeoceti simply had no desire. The affairs of humans interested them little. Humanity could have its tiny planets and their small empire just as long as they left the archaeoceti alone. The beings didn’t even live in the same universe as humanity anymore.

As for the archaeoceti using illusions against the dwellers in their war with them, Tane had learned early on that illusions had no effect on the aliens. G’allanthamas was the first to point it out, way back when Tane was first experimenting with his newly acquired works: the dweller was the only one who could see right through them.

Tane once more returned his attention to the men and women who surrounded him and would protect him with their lives. Even after the past few weeks of leading these stalwart individuals into battle, the reality of his situation had never really sunk in. Probably because he had kept himself incredibly busy. When he wasn’t killing kraals he was practicing some Essence or other in the specially padded practice chamber aboard the flagship, the Titanium. He slept in quarters ordinarily reserved for admiralty and VIPs, and guarded by a pair of robots and Mancers at all times. Quarters he shared with Sinive.

He felt no fear, no sense of dread, no anticipation: his emotions were suppressed, thanks to the Umbra. That muting of emotions had helped him endure the grind of the past few weeks, wherein he’d go out with his Doomwalkers in hunting parties to slaughter whole herds of kraals, with the goal being to level up his skills and Essenceworks. It was his way of making good on a promise to himself: he’d sworn he would spend a few weeks concentrating on advancement, and he was doing just that. He felt a touch of guilt for killing the creatures, but not much, considering how pervasive they were throughout the Umbra, existing on all planets. Every species of kraal was different, with each planet containing several varieties that had evolved distinctly from one another, and that added some spice to the grind.

As he reached each new level in White Siphoning, he had the TSN supply the necessary nanotech to unlock all known associated works. He didn’t even have to worry about choosing a discipline. He could be a jack of all trades with the resources of the TSN he had at his command. Well that wasn’t entirely true. Because of their agreement with the Volur, the nanotech injections the TSN had access to were limited in level, so even though he had gotten every possible White Essencework, the works were relatively low level, and he’d have to increase their potency through practice. Eventually, as he used those works, he’d become more of a specialist than a generalist.

Similarly, when he leveled in Dark Siphoning or Dark and White Mixing, he ordered the fleet to transport him to the different Dark Artifacts Tiberius had scattered throughout the Umbra, and thus acquired the necessary Essenceworks from each of them. Again, he started at level one in each work, so he’d have to apply himself to get better in them, just like with the White.

Not all of those artifacts had been intact. Those with memories of the Dark alone had all been present, but the artifacts for Dark and White Mixing levels two, four, and five had been missing from the designated locations—perhaps the kraals had destroyed them. He had found levels three and six, however, and was now seeking the artifact for level seven, having finally leveled his base Dark and White Mixing skill to the appropriate degree the day before. Level six had the most important work for his needs—Anti-Grav Bubble, something he might require to defeat the Z’Antamaraan, if the creodenti were right about what he faced at the galactic center. And while he might not necessarily need any of the level seven works to face the Z’Antamaraan, he wanted them, if only to feel that much readier.

Tiberius had continued to appear when Tane touched each successive artifact, and the old man schooled him in the ways of the Essence. Before departing, he always wistfully told Tane how he wished he could have met him in person. That was impossible, of course, considering the man had died a little under a millennium ago.

Tane stared at the target building. That dark threads led away from his body toward the building was a good sign. In the previous cases where the artifacts had been missing, the thin filaments had led straight into the ground.

Incidentally, G’allanthamas had dark threads emerging from his body, too, but these always went straight into the ground, toward the planet’s core.

Yes, he was level seven in Dark, White, and Dark and White Mixing. He still hadn’t taught himself how to Siphon the Gray, though he was close he was sure. And he was lagging in the Emerald, having attained only level three, since he was reluctant to use it except to Revive the fallen. It had powerful works, such as Summon Grazer and Lightning Storm, but Tane had wanted to max-out his other Essence Siphoning abilities first, and so he fought without the Emerald. In truth, he dreaded the fight for control that came with the Emerald, the pain and pleasure of parting the veil, and the struggle to prevent the associated grazer from taking over his personality. He truly preferred the White and the Dark. Those Essences were much more familiar, and comfortable.

Still, he forced himself to part the veil after battle whenever casualties arose. He had a whole army at his fingertips to fight off the life leechers that would come, after all, and the ritual had become almost routine for them, at least when it came to the external struggle.

He couldn’t Revive everyone, of course. Sometimes, there simply was no intact body to raise. At other times, an individual died who Tane had already saved once before—Revive wouldn’t allow the same person to be brought back twice. In any case, his Revive certainly got a workout, and he was up to level four in the Essencework at the moment. Strangely, while his base Emerald Siphoning ability had advanced to three, he hadn’t yet unlocked the Essenceworks associated with that level like the archaeoceti had promised. He wondered if there was something else he needed to do, or whether the archaeoceti had decided only to give him access to the initial two levels. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever find out, given that he had no way to return to their universe.

He had developed somewhat of a cruel streak in the latter stages of the campaign, sometimes hunting down fleeing kraals that he ordinarily would have let go, if only to eke out every last bit of experience from the fights. He justified the acts by telling himself that the death of a few kraals was worth it if it meant he would have an advantage when it came time to face the Z’Antamaraan. Still, he was beginning to wonder if even his limited usage of the Emerald, restricted to Revive, was causing that cruelty, with the grazer slowly infiltrating his personality. The very notion only further turned him off of using the Emerald Synthate. Then again, maybe it wasn’t influence from the upper-dimensional being at all, but rather his own growing lust for power, and the corruption said power inevitably wrought. Tiberius had warned him this would happen as he grew in strength, abilities, and influence. It seemed every time Tane touched a Dark Artifact, Tiberius was there, scolding him on the dangers of power, and yet teaching him more of it at the same time.

Well, either way, Sinive was always there to ground him and remind him that when all was said and done he was merely a man. She, along with the other core members of his Doomwalkers, was the closest thing to family he had left now.

Family. It seemed like so long since he had seen his mom and dad. He hadn’t been in touch with his parents since entering the Umbra to hunt kraals, as it was impossible to connect to the Galnet while in this universe. He supposed he could have had one of the courier ships send a message to them at the same time he dispatched a missive to the Paramount Leader, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to do it. He was worried what they’d think of him, when they found out he was in command of the biggest military junta in the galaxy.

Besides, he didn’t plan to hang on to this position forever. When this was over, he’d release the Paramount Leader from his vows of servitude and then go into hiding, like he originally planned to do after saving Sinive. He didn’t want to get used to being a dictator. That posting was better left to others, like the Paramount Leader. Then again, Tane had plans to disband the dictatorship when this was done, if he could help it, restoring the republic that Thorran had once been. But he would worry about that when he finished with the Z’Antamaraan.

Tane had received items from some of the Dark Artifacts when he shrunk them down after Tiberius’ memories were imparted. He carried two of those in hand: the Staffs of Swirls, one Dark, the other White, containing Darcanium and Chrysalium respectively, which served to boost the amount he could Siphon from both Essences. He had combined them into a single object with carbon fiber cord: a primitive solution, but it sufficed.

He also had a ring called the Missile Quartet that had a chance to produce between two and four Essence Missiles every two minutes, essentially a White mirror to the Finger of Malevolence he already had.

Lastly, he wore an armored robe underneath his spacesuit. That robe, the Aegis of Tiberius, was covered in swirls of White and Dark, and while giving him a good base armor rating, it also offered a chance to automatically Deflect incoming works of either Essence when equipped with the Dark and White Staffs of Swirls.

An upgraded D29 smart targeting rifle hung from his right shoulder, while attached to his belt was a powerful A7 Personal Shield System. He still had some of his other trusty items, of course, including his old beam hilt, originally gifted to him by Lyra, plus all his Chrysalium accessories, worn underneath his spacesuit. In the harness attached over his spacesuit he also harbored several energy grenades.

Soyuz came to his side.

“The scouts have reached the target, Tane,” the Mancer said.

Tane had told all of the troops to call him by name when addressing him, rather than Supreme Leader, Sir World Bender, Boss, or any other honorifics or cognomens they might come up with. The target Soyuz spoke of referred to the only building the TSN hadn’t razed: the structure where the dark threads from Tane’s body terminated.

“They’ve confirmed that the artifact is on the first floor, and intact,” Soyuz continued.

Tane nodded. “Have them open the distortion tunnel.”

Two of the Mancers had marked beacons here before setting out to search for the artifact, so that they would be able to open a distortion tunnel without having to be in line of sight of the area.

No one from his universe could move that artifact except for Tane. Kraals could, and potentially dwellers: several of the artifacts he’d retrieved had been displaced some distance from their coordinates, after all, and as mentioned, some were missing entirely.

Tane considered sending G’allanthamas alone to retrieve the device, but the alien wouldn’t be able to command the artifact to shrink, and at its normal size it was a little heavy even for a big dweller like G’allanthamas. No, it was best if Tane retrieved it personally, despite any traps that might be lying in wait.

So far the other dwellers hadn’t intervened in any of Tane’s artifact gathering. They had been keeping a low profile in this, their native universe. Which made sense, given that he traveled everywhere in the Umbra with an escort of sixty warships. At first, the dwellers probably suspected the TSN had captured him and were controlling him, but eventually their moles or communications eavesdroppers would have learned the truth. Those moles would have also revealed that Tane, the “Doomwielder,” eventually intended to conquer them.

Yes, it wasn’t surprising that they were keeping a low profile. Tane wondered if he’d find all their colonies abandoned when he finally set out to find them.

He hoped not.

Then again, it was doubtful their colonies would even have time to evacuate. Certainly, smaller colonies of five thousand or so could easily leave a planet within two weeks, but the bigger colonies with numbers in the billions? Not a chance. And it was the latter he would be headed to first when the time came.

The large rip in spacetime appeared, and he could see the concourse that served as the first floor of the building harboring the Dark Artifact. The item he sought resided in the center of his vision: it sucked all light from its surroundings.

Enveloped by his honor guard, Tane stepped through the wide distortion tunnel.

2

Tane stood in the concourse. Light globes in the ceiling far overhead provided a dim, blue illumination. Just below the globes, large metal rafters crisscrossed that arched ceiling, more ornamental than anything else. Small drones roved to and fro above those rafters, ensuring a continual, birds-eye surveillance of the concourse.

Food kiosks lined the walls, while the tables and chairs of a hybrid food court / study area dominated the common area.

The black lens resided directly inside a fountain in the middle of the court.

Skirmisher-model combat robots secured the concourse perimeters. The imposing polycarbonate and metal bodies of rampager mechs guarded the entryways; they had Chrysalium gates attached to their backs, devices ordinarily found within terminal stations to facilitate planet-side travel, but the mechs carried them in case Tane needed an extra Chrysalium source in a pinch. Mancers and Essence warriors completed the troop deployment, forming a ring around the fountain.

Gravalators led to a second floor, where a walkway overlooked the concourse. More troops kept watch from its upper railings. The place was as secure as a TSN assault battalion could manage—in other words, extensively locked down.

Tane walked to the dark artifact, breaking away from his escort along with Sinive and Chase. The Mancers and Essence warriors surrounding the fountain parted to let them pass.

Sinive and Chase stopped at the fountain’s edge.

“The last artifact,” Sinive said over a private channel. “Hope it goes well.”

“It will,” Tane told her.

“Famous last words…” Chase said.

The fountain wasn’t currently running. Tane stepped over the brim, his feet splashing into the knee-high water inside. He waded toward the artifact.

Tane reached it and stared into its surface. As usual, the darkness was impenetrable. He couldn’t see even a hint of his reflection, or anything else for that matter. It contained only pure, unadulterated nothingness. At three meters tall, the lens towered over him, and was mostly elliptical, except for the base, whose rectangular nature allowed the artifact to balance in the fountain.

He extended his free hand toward the black surface. His shield was active, but since it was set to autogating mode, he could contact the object without causing any drain on the force field.

He touched the artifact with his glove. And then…

* * *

Tane stood at the lip of a tunnel set in a cliff midway above a beach of gravel, and overlooked a bluish purple ocean. Waves lapped against the rocky shore below. Behind him, in the tunnel, darkness cloaked the way forward. He wondered what secrets lurked inside.

Tiberius stood next to him, dressed in his Robe of Swirls, carrying the same Dark and White staffs Tane now did—though Tiberius held them in separate hands. Upon his fingers were a Dark ring, and a White. He was missing the white and black belt Tane had seen often before.

Tiberius appeared as his much older self this time around, his hair white wisps over his scalp, the skin of his face shriveled like a mottled prune. His eyes were completely covered in white clouds, so that Tane thought he was blind. He likely still possessed vision, however, via Essence Sight.

Normally when Tiberius trained him he used a mirror, but not today. Which made Tane wonder: who had recorded the memory?

“Assuming you have retrieved the other artifacts in order, this is the final time we will meet,” Tane said. Or rather, the man whose memory Tane was currently experiencing.

He realized Tiberius, standing there beside him, had mirrored every syllable with his lips, and Tane suddenly understood: Tiberius was indeed recording the memory, and had simply programmed his chip to overlay this image of himself upon his vision, so that Tane would see the man there beside him, teaching him.

“If you have made it this far, you have passed all challenges,” Tiberius continued. “Overcome all trials. And soon you will face the final challenge: saving the galaxy. If I’m right, you will be born in a tumultuous time, when the very existence of the universe is at stake. You must do what you can to protect it. You are the only one with the power to do this. I was born a millennium too early: the universe must have been engaging in some preliminary experimentation, planning ahead for what must come. The experiment was a success, I would say. At least on my part. Let us hope that it proves successful with you, too.

“Behold: in the darkness beside me awaits my final resting place. My cairn. It is fitting somehow, that I return to the Darkness from whence I have come. Upon death, my followers will place my bones here, so that I may sleep for all eternity, with the ocean forever at my side. Perhaps you will visit me someday and pay your respects. In fact, I would like that. You can deduce my coordinates from my memories, if you so desire. But if you come seeking to loot my body, you’ll be sorely disappointed: I’ve instructed my followers to bury me in only the most meager of robes, something that will have long since disintegrated by the time of your arrival, along with my body, I’m sure. I will, however, place some final memories here. They are not necessarily something that will help you, at least not in the traditional sense, as they are memories of who I am and what I stood for: the trials I faced in my life, and how I surmounted them.

“By now it is my hope that you have mastered your shadow, or at least come close. For you will need to be whole when the day of final reckoning comes. If you are not, you may be tempted to follow the path of true darkness, a path that will see your power expanded infinitely, at the cost of all. I have foreseen the coming calamity. Already, I can sense the boundaries between universes weakening, though manifestations of that weakness will not become apparent for many more centuries. I have no idea what could be causing it, and I dearly hope I am wrong. But somehow, I suspect not. You will be born into a universe that is tearing itself asunder, and you probably won’t even know it. Then again, since you have made it this far, I suspect that you have experienced the effects firsthand by now. For one such as you, whose very body acts as an intersection point for several universes, it is inevitable. I can’t imagine that those effects have been pleasant.”

Tane remembered when he and Sinive had gone to sleep aboard the Mosaic and then awakened in a time-delayed universe, finding themselves back on Sigma 231, and spotting their twins running from the dwellers all over again. Thankfully, he hadn’t yet endured a repeat of that incident.

“I believe the universes adjacent to our own will not show symptoms of the weakened boundaries, at least not at first, so you might seek refuge in the Umbra when the manifestations begin,” Tiberius continued. “But enough of that. You have come to learn the final skill in Dark and White Mixing, not listen to the theories of a dying old man. Let’s bend worlds together, shall we?”

And so Tiberius began demonstrating a mixed Essencework, his greatest and most complex creation yet. From the geodynamo of the Umbra rose the flames of chaos, surrounding Tane, and he quenched them to form shapes that changed over time, generating the Dark timeline. He grew a White tree from the stellar wind of the Lumina at the same time, using some of the Dark flames to restrain the White, slowing down its creation to prevent it from completing before the Dark timeline. White and Dark entwined, encapsulating one another. It was like viewing a timelapse of a tree of light, wrapped in black flames, slowly growing from sapling to oak. When the combined work was finished ten minutes later, it looked like a gateway, roughly the size of a standard doorway, its frame made of hexagonal pieces of white light and dark shadows.

Tiberius allowed it to set into this reality at the entrance to the cave. The White and Dark hexagons were like nucleic acids, the building blocks of DNA, in that they interacted with their matching pairs in this universe to cause a cascading reaction, one that affected this reality and allowed a glimpse into another. Just the merest of glimpses.

Tane slumped from exhaustion as a small rip in spacetime appeared in front of him; that tear in reality quickly expanded outward, matching the size of the final Essencework. This was no ordinary distortion tunnel: beyond awaited the same ocean, and the same beach below, except everything was hued dark blue and appeared blurry, indistinct.

“With this, you can travel back and forth between this universe and that of the Umbra,” Tiberius said. His voice sounded weak, rasping. The work had obviously taken much out of the old man. “But be warned, the creation is wearying. And because of its long completion time, it can be easily Disrupted by other Essenceworkers nearby. I recommend using it in conjunction with Essence Reservoir Creation, the other work you will learn today. Use it to place reservoirs that only you can trigger, allowing you to hop back and forth between universes at your leisure. They are quite useful for escaping those who might be pursuing you in a given universe.”

It was through the use of Essence Reservoir Creation that Tiberius had deployed “lenses” throughout the Umbra, elliptical objects of pure blackness that Tane had used to return to his own universe on a few occasions. They could be triggered by one who wielded both White and Dark: basically only Tiberius, and now Tane.

“I tell you,” Tiberius continued. “If you think creating this work is exhausting, wait until you try Essence Reservoir Creation, which takes a full hour. You’ll have to rest for quite a while when you’re done. Definitely not something you want to use in the middle of combat. But placing reservoirs strategically in advance, that’s where it shines. Because once a reservoir is created, it will never cost you any stamina to trigger it. You could trigger a hundred in a row and not feel a thing. I hope you can see the possibilities. The ramifications.”

Tane could. Which was exactly why he wanted to attain these final two works so badly, and why he had pushed himself so hard these past weeks, enduring the grind to advance his Siphoning skills.

He was expecting Tiberius to reveal more—he could listen to the man talk for hours—but as usual, it ended all too soon. The world blinked, and Tane was standing in the fountain in the middle of the concourse.

He received a few notifications on his HUD.

All Dark and White Mixing Level 7 Essenceworks gained.

New Dark and White Essencework learned.

Inter-dimensional Distortion Tunnel. Level 1. (Dark & White Mixing Level 7 required).

New Dark and White Essencework learned.

Essence Reservoir Creation. Level 1. (Dark & White Mixing Level 7 required).

Attribute up. Intelligence +1. Current Intelligence: 32 (49 with Beam Hilt I, Chrysalium Star Rings, Feral Necklace, Finger of Malevolence, Missile Quartet, Robe of Swirls, and Nova Bracelet I equipped)

Well then, so it was done. Now he could set in motion the final part of his journey. Something he had been holding off these past few weeks, thanks to the convenient excuse of leveling up. Something he wasn’t really looking forward to at all.

It was time to conquer the dwellers. And when that was done...

One thing at a time.

If he tried to look at all the tasks that lay ahead of him, it would seem overwhelming, and he’d only feel like giving up. But by viewing them individually as concrete steps, and taking on each task one at a time in order, that made them manageable.

Tane commanded the Dark Artifact to shrink and placed it in his inventory. He had gathered quite the collection of them. He wished Tiberius had left behind the knowledge of their creation, but Tane suspected they were really variants of Essence Reservoirs. Someday he hoped to reverse engineer their making.

With the artifact gone, the dark threads emerging from his body headed straight downward, into the floor.

Tane glanced at the surrounding men and ordered: “Open a distortion tunnel back.”

Tane had used Create Beacon to mark a spot outside, so he could have opened his own tunnel, but doing so was a draining affair, and he wouldn’t be able to create any other works for at least half an hour, if not longer.

The designated Mancer stepped forward, approaching the fountain. A woman. Behind her faceplate, her beauty was almost breathtaking. She’d probably had a lot of rejuvenetics work done. It made her stand out, at least among the men. And the women, too: whenever Sinive caught him staring at her, she’d elbow him. Her nickname was Siren. It was appropriate, somehow. The Essence warrior to her left was Grayson. They were good friends, and as rumor had it, also lovers.

Before Siren could create a gate, Grayson suddenly spun on her. There was something wrong with his eyes. They appeared bloodshot. Maddened.

Grayson stabbed Siren from behind with his Chrysalium sword. The blade emerged straight through her chest, splattering Tane’s faceplate with her blood.

3

Tane watched as the stricken woman looked down in shock; she gazed at her friend and lover with a confused expression. “Why?” that expression seemed to say.

The warrior withdrew his Chrysalium blade from her chest in a stream of gore and then turned on the others.

A communiqué from one of the drones filled Tane’s helmet. “Warning, a distortion tunnel is opening above the rafters.”

Everything seemed to happen all at once. Dark smears of unreality swooped down from the arched ceiling, threading through man and machine alike.

Tane Deflected those smears that were aimed at him and Sinive, and the quicker Mancers did the same for other attacks of Fingers of Ruin that were directed at them.

His sixth sense fired, and Tane dove into the bottom of the fountain, splashing into the stagnant water. Energy launchers assailed his previous position, blowing a hole into the far rim of the fountain.

The water rapidly drained away through the gap, but not before cleaning Siren’s blood from his spacesuit and faceplate, not that it mattered for his vision: he was already sending out his Essence Sight lifeline to get a better perspective on the attack. He sought out Sinive’s position first to ensure she was safe: she had taken cover on the other side of the fountain rim next to him. The others close to him had ducked behind other areas of the fountain, and the tables and chairs nearby.

Amaranth and ordinary dwellers dropped from the ceiling like spiders. A couple of the Amaranth were sheathed in the murky spheres of Blur Body, a Dark work that had no doubt allowed them to avoid detection by the drones overhead. He knew the Amaranth for the Dark filaments that emerged from their bodies, threads that pointed directly into the floor like his own.

“I was wondering when the dwellers would grow the balls to attack!” Chase said over the comm.

Chase and the other Mancers released Essence Missiles at the unwelcome guests. Gia, Nebb, Sinive, Positron, and the skirmisher robots fired plasma rifles and pistols. G’allanthamas launched his own Fingers of Ruin. Rampager mechs unleashed their laser tracking turrets.

The shields of different aliens began to flash into existence as the beams and bolts from the human weapons struck. The skirmisher weapons appeared to have difficulty penetrating the enemy shielding, but the more powerful rampager lasers cut through the shields of some ordinary dwellers, taking them down, but as far as Tane could tell, none of the Amaranth succumbed.

Skirmishers and rampagers alike began to melt away as high-level Amaranth came close enough to release works of Melt Metal. Mancers and Essence warriors fell as both Fingers of Ruin and energy launchers struck them, the former launched by the Amaranth, the latter ordinary dwellers.

Staying in cover, Tane launched his own Essence Missiles against those dwellers that were in his line of fire above. The Missiles were relatively powerful, thanks to their level, and the boost provided by his Chrysalium accessories.

He couldn’t give the order for the backup Mancer to form a return distortion tunnel, nor could he create one himself, because the Amaranth would have simply Disrupted it. Even though he was hidden behind the fountain, all of the Amaranth would still see him, thanks to their own equivalents of Essence Sight. He also readily stood out as a target because he was the only human with dark threads traveling away from his body. Though admittedly those threads were less obvious now that the filaments led straight into the floor.

“Hold tight, reinforcements are coming in!” Chase sent over the comm.

Dweller spider robots, Tarkwail models equipped with fang laser turrets and deathfire missiles, began to drop from the ceiling rafters.

Some of the higher-level Mancers issued Deactivate, taking down swaths of spider robots. But the remaining Tarkwail opened fire, launching deathfire missiles at point blank range. Mancers and their body parts were sent flying in multiple directions. Nearby rampager mechs returned fire with their own missiles, filling the chamber with explosions. Tane kept his head down as debris rained down on him from across the concourse. His autogating shield protected him from the faster moving particles, but the slower debris struck his spacesuit hard.

“Sinive, you all right?” Tane said over the comm. He glanced at his HUD and confirmed that her vitals were in the green.

“Fine!” she replied. “But I’m worried more about you at the moment!”

With his Essence Sight, he saw that Sinive was firing her pistol nonstop on the other side of the fountain rim. She also occasionally unleashed an Essence Missile, courtesy of the Chrysalium armband he’d purchased for her with TSN funds, and in effect boosting her White Essence abilities almost to that of a low level Volur.

Still using Essence Sight, he realized that the dwellers were slowly closing on his position. He and his Doomwalkers were pinned down. He couldn’t get to the Chrysalium gates carried by the rampagers on the perimeter.

“Chase, I want any rampagers still intact out there to close on my position!” Tane ordered.

Two rampagers stood up from where they had taken cover behind different pillars along the outskirts of the concourse.

“Cover those mechs, guys!” Tane said.

He lifted a hand over the fountain rim to offer suppressive fire, releasing several Essence Missiles in a row.

The rampagers made a mad dash through the chaos toward Tane, taking several hits. One fell when its shields failed. Tane thought the second was going to make it, but then it got too close to one of the Amaranth and promptly began to melt, its electroactuators finally malfunctioning so that it toppled. The Chrysalium gate remained undamaged on its back, but at eight meters distant, it was still too far away.

Tane considered trying to use Air Current to blow the gate to him, but he knew the work wasn’t powerful enough, not even with all the Chrysalium accessories he wore.

Damn it. Should have deployed the mechs closer to me.

Tane decided to make a run for the Chrysalium gate anyway, but before he could get up, he felt the invisible vise of Dark Hand closing around him, locking him into place. He issued a Dispel. It didn’t work. He realized whoever had placed the vise had a high level in the Dark Essencework.

Though Tane hadn’t given the order, one of the Mancers in his protective guard decided to attempt a distortion tunnel anyway, opening it up in the voided fountain directly underneath Tane. It was a strategy Lyra had tried before against the Amaranth. A strategy that had failed then, and failed now: gravity should have drawn Tane into the spacetime tear, but he remained in place, held firmly by the invisible vise. The man, whoever it was, had succeeded only in draining himself to the bone, and thus bringing himself out of the battle.

Tane couldn’t call in an air strike, not when the enemy was so close. And especially not while everyone else was in the same building.

“Chase, where are those reinforcements?” Tane asked.

“On the way!” the Mancer replied.

One of the Amaranth approached. Likely the one responsible for Dark Hand. It was surrounded by other Amaranth, no doubt members of that one’s personal guard. They in turn were ringed by ordinary dwellers wielding energy launchers, and Tarkwail units.

The Doomwalkers around Tane had ceased firing, and he realized that they, too, were stricken by the high level Dark Hand. Either the aliens had linked with the main Amaranth, so that the area of effect was vastly increased, or they were individually invoking Dark Hand on multiple targets. The latter was more likely, given that multiple works of Dark Hand could be held in reserve.

Tane gazed at that central dweller. At first Tane thought it might be S’Wraathar, because the ringleader appeared old, with a wrinkled carapace. But all of its tentacles were intact, with no stumps like S’Wraathar had. Tane ran an ID.

Name: Unknown

Race: Dweller

Level: 35

Class: Amaranth

Weaponry:

None

Shielding system: Energy. (150/150)

Base Armor rating: 0

Total armor rating (including shielding): 150

Well that explained why no one could Dispel the works that held them. Though the name was unknown, he recognized that level. It was no doubt the same high level Amaranth Tane had encountered two times before, first on Remus, and then in the dweller city beneath a liquid hydrocarbon lake. A member of the Cre’ite faction. Those who wanted Tane alive. Or at least used to.

Tane had always known he would have to face this dweller and its particular cohorts again someday. It seemed that day had come.

He noted that the alien had equipped itself with a shielding system this time around. The previous times Tane had encountered the alien, it had not worn a shield. Probably because Tane hadn’t been enveloped by contingents of laser and plasma-wielding robots back then.

Other Mancers and robots in different parts of the concourse, outside the area of influence, continued to assail the approaching force, but the defenders escorting the Amaranth held their ground. Occasionally one of them fell, but overall the group continued to approach.

Though he was gripped by Dark Hand, Tane could still fight back with the Essence, as could everyone else. Unless works of Disrupt had been placed upon them.

Tane created an experimental Essence Missile. It worked. That meant the approaching Amaranth had likely exhausted their Disrupt reserves already.

Tane created several more Essence Missiles and unleashed them all at the main dweller. The works traveled through the energy shield, but halted before touching the creature, as the Dweller’s Deflect work kicked into play.

“Unleash everything you have at these Amaranth!” Tane said. “They have to store their works in advance—it takes too long to create them in battle. Exhaust their Deflect works and they’ll be defenseless!” Some of the Mancers with him undoubtedly knew this, but since none save the core Doomwalkers had fought dwellers before, he thought a little reminder wouldn’t hurt.

Tane and those who were able continued to unleash Essence attacks at their enemies. Tane used up more works of Fingers of Ruin he had in reserve, and then produced Essence Missiles almost exclusively. He occasionally sent out streams of fire via Persistent Flame as well.

Two Essence Missiles and Fingers of Ruin works unexpectedly erupted from his body at one point, courtesy of his White and Dark rings, adding to the assault.

But the attacks didn’t stop the Amaranth. They must have held a lot of Deflect works in reserve.

The main Amaranth retrieved a C’havar as it closed the gap with the fountain. The dweller beam hilt ignited, creating a fiery pole-ax of the Dark.

Yup. It seemed obvious that they no longer wanted Tane alive.

The alien ignored four Essence warriors who were frozen in a crouch behind the tables and chairs beside the group, and headed straight for the fountain. When it reached the rim, it lifted its ax high into the air above Tane…

But before it could strike, Tane created a work of Shove, and the incoming Amaranth were all pushed back, sparing him.

Tane wasn’t sure how much longer he could continue to stave them off: shove was a level seven work, and extremely draining.

It began to dawn on him that, powerful as he was, he might not actually survive this encounter.

4

Tane rested behind the lip of the fountain, trying to conserve his strength and come up with a plan that would save them.

But then a fresh assault of Essence Missiles, laser beams and plasma bolts came from the entrance to the concourse, pushing the Amaranth farther back.

Reinforcements had finally arrived.

“Took them long enough,” Sinive said. “I thought they were just outside the door.”

“Apparently some kraals decided to show up,” Chase said. “They were a bit… distracting.”

“I’ll bet,” Sinive said.

A distortion tunnel opened behind that main group of dwellers. The aliens had been relying on the element of surprise to inflict their damage, and now that said element was gone, they had no reason to stay. Their guerrilla attack was done. Also, the dwellers had probably exhausted most of the Dark works they had in reserve, as Tane had hoped, and they wanted to leave while they still could.

“Don’t let them retreat!” Tane said.

The Dark Hand that held him lifted—he suspected the Amaranth hadn’t removed it willingly, but rather, the work had reached its natural conclusion.

He wanted to use the White equivalent of Dark Hand, Telekinesis, to restrain the dwellers, but his level was far too low in that work without a Chrysalium boost. He wouldn’t even be able to reach any of the aliens, let alone hold them, and he’d probably only drain himself utterly in the process.

He clambered to his feet and drew his beam hilt in his free hand instead, keeping the Staffs of Swirls equipped in the other. The dual-bladed White ax flashed into existence.

Just then the right-hand wall of the concourse exploded inward. Big kraals flooded inside.

“Where did these come from?” Tane said. “I thought the battalion was protecting the building’s perimeter!”

“They were,” Chase said. “But Major Hains tells me they were overwhelmed on the eastern side, and the kraals broke through the perimeter. I think our dweller friends triggered some previously laid trap to herd them this way, as part of their plans to delay reinforcements.”

“Or as a backup plan in case things turned sour for them!” Tane said. “I want air strikes to deal with them, now.”

“The Major says they’re already on it,” Chase said.

Other groups of Amaranth and dwellers began to flee through distortion tunnels. The incoming fire from the reinforcements hewed many of them down.

Tane leaped over the edge of the fountain, but the kraals cut him off from the closest remaining dwellers. He found himself standing face to face with one of the angry creatures: a smaller variant. The best description of the kraal was of a hawk head pasted onto the body of a hippo, and the whole thing covered in scales.

Tane sidestepped and sliced that avian head right off. The creature’s headless body toppled.

He dashed forward, making his way toward the closest Amaranth. But it was too late. The last of them was just passing through the distortion tunnel. It loosed a final volley of Fingers of Ruin, and the smears of unreality darted straight for Tane. He was about to Deflect the work, when the Dark fingers swerved away of their own accord. Either Tane’s equipped legendary gear had created Deflect for him, since it offered a chance to automatically do so, or one of his Doomwalkers had done it. Maybe Sinive.

And then the distortion tunnel closed. Tane spun toward another tear in spacetime and ran toward it as other dwellers fled. But it sealed before he reached it, and that was the last: just like that the dwellers had gone, leaving only the kraals.

Kraals.

Tane turned his attention on them, and began to vent his frustrations, killing all that he could. He swung his White blade relentlessly, chopping off heads, slicing through bellies, and blood thoroughly splattered him. Soon his faceplate was completely steeped in it, blocking all vision, but his Essence Sight allowed him to fight on. Essence warriors from the Doomwalkers were at his side, severing tendons, slitting tissues.

But the kraals kept flowing inside.

“Where are my air strikes?” Tane asked.

On cue, the floor shook, and plumes of smoke poured inside from the opening in the wall the rampaging kraals had made. The strike diminished the flow for a few moments, but then another wave of kraals appeared.

These ones were bigger.

“Uh,” Sinive said. “Someone’s been taking steroids.”

Tane leaped between and over the fallen kraal bodies, and made his way to the wreckage of one of the rampagers. He touched the gate attached to its back.

Siphoning bonus. All White Essenceworks are enhanced 205% due to Siphoning through Chrysalium gate.

He Siphoned the Dark at the same time, and used it to constrain the hurricane of White that the gate fed him. He tried to create an Air Current to suck in the other gates, but the resultant gust merely howled over the Chrysalium surfaces: the bonus wasn’t powerful enough.

“Bring me the other gates!” he ordered.

He unleashed giant Essence Missiles at the kraals, sweeping the bright works through their bodies. He fought off the exhaustion that was threatening to overwhelm him, because he just wanted to kill. He didn’t know why. He was angry that the Amaranth had gotten away. But just angry, in general. That the universe had forced him to be the World Bender. That he had the fate of all living things hanging over his shoulders. Yes, angry.

Two more gates arrived, hauled to his side by members of the Doomwalkers, as none of the rampager mechs remained standing, apparently.

“Pile them up!” Tane ordered.

The Mancers and Essence warriors dropped the gates in turn onto the one he touched, so that they were all in contact.

Siphoning bonus. All White Essenceworks are enhanced 535% due to Siphoning through Chrysalium objects.

That was too much for him to control without a Dark Artifact, so he stowed his Staffs of Swirls in his storage pouch and retrieved the latest artifact from his inventory in turn and commanded it to enlarge. He touched the lens-like surface.

Siphoning bonus. All Dark Essenceworks are enhanced 570% due to Siphoning through Dark Artifact.

Now he had enough Darkness to constrain the White.

Tane unleashed his anger upon the kraals, destroying all of the big creatures that dared enter the concourse. The Dark flowing through his core helped mitigate the exhaustion from the White, and it allowed him to fight on.

He used Telekinesis to tear away limbs and crunch bodies together. He launched Forked Lightning to send bolts of electricity through the throng, roasting flesh. He fired immense Essence Missiles, dissolving bodies in swathes and leaving behind severed limbs and heads. Wave after howling wave came through, and he destroyed them all with the meat grinder that was his Essence.

Until finally, at last, the influx ceased.

But Tane wasn’t ready to stop.

So when an armored carrier appeared through the ragged opening the kraals had torn in the wall, he sent it flying backward in his rage.

“Tane!” Chase said. “The carriers are trying to reinforce the walls! Let them be, otherwise the building is going to collapse on us!”

Another carrier appeared, and Tane unleashed an Essence Missile at it. The occupants evacuated before it was destroyed.

He felt a pressure on the fabric above his hand. Someone was massaging the back of his glove. Via his Essence Sight, he realized it was Sinive.

“It’s all right,” Sinive said. “It’s over now. The kraals are gone.”

He felt a sudden urge to use Shove to send her and everyone else flying away from him.

It would be a terrible work, amplified in power by the Chrsyalium gates, and his rage.

He almost did it, too. Almost hurt the woman he cared about more than anything.

That thought brought him back to his senses; he released the Dark and stepped out of the White.

He slumped in her arms, the blood on his spacesuit smearing onto hers. His Essence Sight lifeline went away, and his viewpoint snapped back inside of himself. He saw only darkness.

A gloved finger wiped the blood from his faceplate, allowing him to see, to a degree.

The owner of that glove stared at him through her own faceplate. Sinive forced a wary smile. “Are you back?”

“I never left,” Tane told her.

He commanded the Dark Artifact to shrink and stored it inside his storage pouch again. He reluctantly walked away from the combined gates and the power they had given him. It was addictive, that power. According to his HUD, dopamine levels had spiked in his brain when he had touched the combined work. Dopamine, the brain’s motivation and reward center. He wasn’t sure if it was the chip that was spiking his dopamine, or something that happened naturally. All he knew was that he had to be careful not to feed that addiction, or he could destroy them all.

Several armored carriers proceeded into the breach in the far wall and braced the opening with their vehicles. They would buy Tane enough time to vacate, in case the place was as unstable as Chase said it was.

“Are you ready to leave?” Chase asked.

Tane surveyed the ruins around him. The bodies of dead Amaranth and dwellers were sprawled between the more numerous corpses of kraals; the latter were mostly mangled, as if some giant mouth had chewed them up and spat them out. Tables and chairs were shattered, and knocked over. The fountain had been mostly destroyed by a large kraal that had plowed through it. None of the damage would be present in his own universe, and if Tane and the others left the area and returned later, the whole place would reset.

He paused to glance at the notification area of his HUD. Unsurprisingly, Tane hadn’t received any level up alerts during or after the fight. He was at the point now where even defeating an entire squad of kraals single-handedly wouldn’t give him any increases. His overall level was twenty-one, after all, and he was level seven in Dark Siphoning, White Siphoning, and Dark and White Mixing. White Beam Hilt Control was at level five. Yes, it would take a lot of fallen enemy combatants to make a dent in his levels these days.

A commotion drew his attention to a group of Mancers gathered near one of the overturned tables. Tane walked briskly toward them.

“Chase is right, we should leave,” Gia said. “The building is unstable.”

Tane glanced at the concourse ceiling overhead, and then at the carriers bracing the gap. “Just a moment. Burkeley, what do we have?”

“It’s one of the dwellers,” the addressed Mancer responded.

Tane walked with Sinive toward the commotion.

Some of the men and women who were crowded around the overturned table cleared out of the way for Tane. They had indeed surrounded one of the dwellers. An Amaranth, judging from the lack of weapons.

It was obviously badly injured. Mortally so. Most of its tentacles were severed, and black intestines dangled from a wound in its carapace. Its right legs were crushed beneath the corpse of a fallen kraal, pinning the alien.

The Mancers and Essence warriors toyed with it, poking and prodding the creature and laughing as it clattered and shrieked in response. As Tane watched, a warrior cut off one of its existing legs, causing great delight among the others.

When they noticed Tane, the warriors backed off.

Tane went to the creature and it calmed down. It neighed softly, like an injured horse.

Tane stepped between the remaining tentacles, which could have very easily have scooped him up, and rested a hand on that tortured, sideways-oriented head. The jaws could have probably easily snapped him in half—assuming the creature had the energy for it.

“Tane…” Sinive said.

“Gall, come here,” Tane ordered.

G’allanthamas was at his side in moments.

“Is there anything you can do for him?” Tane asked.

“No,” G’allanthamas replied. “If we had access to a dweller sickbay, we could help him. But with the rest of his fist having abandoned him, there is no hope.”

Tane couldn’t help him, either. His healing ability didn’t work on dwellers. He might be able to Revive it after it died, but from what he knew about the Emerald work, the chances were extremely low: the archaeoceti had specifically designed the version of Revive they had taught him for humans.

“In your inventory, I don’t suppose you have any painkillers compatible with your kind?” Tane asked G’allanthamas.

“I have many,” the alien responded. “How do you think I cope with the stiff muscles arising from life inside your cramped human environments?”

“Give him one,” Tane ordered.

“Mercy,” G’allanthamas said. “Interesting.”

G’allanthamas produced a rather large sonic injector and approached the fallen Amaranth.

As G’allanthamas closed, the Amaranth clattered and squawked something at him in that unintelligible language of dwellers. The sounds seemed resigned, though possessed a hint of desperation. The alien struggled slightly against the dead kraal that pinned it.

G’allanthamas lowed reassuringly, and the Amaranth ceased its clattering, and lay calmly.

G’allanthamas applied the injector to the sideways-oriented head, below the clenched gills, and in moments the creature seemed to relax further, its limbs loosening, its carapace lowering. The gills on the side of its head opened up.

“Leave the creature to die in peace,” Tane told the surrounding troops. The men backed away, as did Tane and G’allanthamas. He turned toward Chase. “I want the return distortion tunnel opened. Collect the wounded, and any dead. We head back to the ship.”

The distortion tunnel opened in front of him.

Four warriors went first to secure the area, and then Tane and his closest Doomwalkers followed. Behind him, the remainder dispersed, leaving the Amaranth to die in peace.

5

Tane sat in his quarters aboard the Titanium.

The flagship of the Seventh Fleet was a big vessel, with a crew of five thousand. But his quarters were an oasis: a place of quietude, where he could forget for a while that he was the Bender of Worlds and the responsibilities that came with it.

He’d replaced the bulkheads with his usual digital augmentations, so that it appeared he resided on a moon beneath a beautiful gas giant. Only the bunk was visible underneath him. That, and Sinive, who he’d shared the augmentation with. He shared everything with her, now. She sat on the bunk beside him, touching him hip to hip.

Gia was back aboard the Mosaic, while Neb, Positron and Chase had returned to the Red Grizzly. Tane had lent their vessels four jump specialists each, so that both ships could make multiple jumps in a row if necessary. The ships were the only civilian vessels in the Seventh Fleet.

G’allanthamas resided in one of the cargo bays that Tane had ordered cleaned out aboard the Titanium. He’d wanted to give the big alien as much room as possible. While it was definitely an improvement over his previous cargo bay quarters aboard the Mosaic, it still wasn’t a luxury apartment. But G’allanthamas seemed to be happy. Relatively.

Sinive held his hand in hers. “I love it here.”

“It does grow on you, doesn’t it?” Tane said, staring out across the moonscape. “When are you going to show me your own digital decorations?”

“Oh, they’re bland, compared to this,” Sinive said. “It wouldn’t interest you.”

“Ha,” Tane said. “Was that sarcasm I detect in your voice?”

“Not at all,” Sinive said. She looked at him. “Okay. Maybe a little. But I still doubt you’d be interested.”

“Actually, you might be surprised,” Tane said.

“It’s kind of private,” Sinive said.

“I see,” Tane said. “So you’re still keeping things from me.”

“Not really,” Sinive said. “Just because we’re together, doesn’t mean we can’t have some privacy after all. I don’t ask to view your personal messages for example.”

“And I don’t ask to see yours, either,” Tane said. “But then again, I’d have no problem sharing mine with you, if you really wanted to see them. I’ve already showed you the back and forth I had with my parents.”

“Yes, and I thank you for that.” Sinive snuggled up against him. She gazed at the purple clouds of the gas giant above them, and he stared at the virtual planet, too. It was banded by several thin, spectacular rings. Behind it was a brown dwarf whose red clouds were dull in comparison.

“Why won’t you accept command of one of the warships?” Tane asked.

She sighed, pushing away from him.

“There’s a ship waiting for you, when you want it,” Tane pressed.

“Besides the fact I’ve never captained a ship, let alone a military vessel?” Sinive said.

“We’ll get you the appropriate nanotech injections,” Tane said with a shrug. “Leadership. Captaincy. Whatever qualifications you need.”

Sinive looked at him, gazing into his eyes. “My place is here, with you.”

“But you’ve always wanted your own ship,” Tane said.

“That’s the key,” Sinive said. “My own ship. Not one given to me by others. Especially not a military ship. It’s not my style.”

“What if I buy you a new one then?” Tane said. “A civilian ship.”

“You’ll still essentially be giving it to me...” Sinive said.

“So?” Tane said. “I can buy you anything you want now. That Chrysalium armband I gave you was just the start.”

“I didn’t even want it,” Sinive said. “The armband.”

“Oh really,” Tane said. “I saw you firing Essence Missiles left and right back there. You can’t tell me you weren’t enjoying yourself.”

“Okay fine, I was, but still I never asked for anything,” Sinive said. “The only thing I’ve ever wanted is you.”

Tane smiled. “That’s sweet.” He gave her a quick kiss, but pulled away before she could get into it. “You know, you did agree that you’d let me help you procure a ship.”

“Did I?” she said. “I don’t remember that.”

“Yeah.” Tane wrapped his arms around her waist. “After I Revived you, I asked you if you wanted your own ship. And you said you did. And when I told you maybe I could help you, you said, and I quote, ‘I’d love that.’ Your words.”

“I was just going along with you,” Sinive told him. “I thought you were just talking, like most guys do, with no intention of actually following through. So I agreed. I didn’t actually mean it.”

“Oh.” He let go of her waist and sat back to stare at the starry sky. “It’s probably best not to get accustomed to all of this newfound wealth and power anyway.”

“Why do you say that?” Sinive asked.

“Because it’s not mine,” Tane replied. “As soon as this is done, I’m leaving it all behind.”

“You really think they’ll let you go?” Sinive said. “The TSN, I mean?”

“Why wouldn’t they?” Tane said. “I’m sure their Paramount Leader will be happy to resume control when I’m gone.”

“But you’ll always be a threat to him while you’re still out there,” Sinive said. “As far as he’s concerned, you could appear on his doorstep at any time and demand your authority back. If you walk away, he’ll send someone to assassinate you. Especially once you’ve saved the universe, and we don’t need you anymore. In fact, at that point he’ll probably try to assassinate you even if you stay. Him, among other people. Hell, you’re already worried you’re going to be assassinated before you can save the galaxy.”

“I am,” Tane said. “It’s a valid worry, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Hell yeah.” Sinive hugged him close.

He sighed. “Well, I won’t have to worry for long.”

“Why not?” There was a hint of fear in her voice.

“Alric can’t assassinate someone he can’t find,” Tane said. “When this is done, I plan to settle as far away from the TSN and dwellers as possible. A planet on the far side of the galaxy.”

“Yeah, we’re going to have to talk about that,” Sinive said. “I’m not sure the rural lifestyle suits me.”

“This is why you should accept a ship now, while you can,” Tane said. “Before we leave all of this behind.”

“Again, I’ll pass,” Sinive said. “Though what I wouldn’t mind, once we’re done here, is accepting a small ship in payment from the TSN, you know, for saving the universe and all. That would work for me.”

“Oh, so you’ll accept a ship after all?” Tane said.

“Yes, but only when we’re done,” Sinive said. “As payment for services rendered.”

“I’ll see what I can arrange,” Tane said. “I look forward to spending many hours aboard with you. With nothing to do as we fly between planets.”

He pinched her butt.

“Hey, ouch!” She pushed him away slightly, and pinched him in the butt right back. “A-hole.”

“Damn, you pinch rough.” Tane rubbed his backside.

“Yeah well, a little lesson for you,” Sinive said. “Don’t pinch me. I hate that.”

Tane shrugged. As soon as she looked away, he pinched her again.

“Hey!” Sinive stood up.

Tane held up his arms innocently. “It was the bunk. You must have—” But he couldn’t keep a straight face and started chortling.

Sinive slapped him twice on the shoulder. “And you’re supposed to be the Bender of Worlds.”

Those words sobered him, and Tane looked away. He stared at the stars around him. “I’m sorry.” He felt the bunk shake as she sat back down beside him. But she wasn’t touching him hip to hip anymore, he noted.

Tane glanced at her, and tried to project how much he adored her. “That’s what I like about you. I can forget about the false persona I wear when I’m out there in front of everyone, when I’m the World Bender. Here I can be my silly, disrespectful self. At least... I thought I could.”

She returned her arm around his waist. “You can. I was joking. Mostly. But seriously, pinching me in the butt?”

“I’ll try to control myself, butt-pinch wise, going forward,” Tane said.

“Thank you,” she replied. She stared at the digital stars between those huge planets in orbit above, and remained quiet for a time. “Though I have to admit, I much prefer the immature, butt-pinching Tane to the cold, cruel World Bender I saw out there earlier today. What happened? You were mowing down those kraals like you hated them. And then when the armored carriers arrived, and you started to destroy them, too…”

“It’s the Emerald,” Tane said. “The grazer’s personality is taking hold.”

“But you weren’t even wearing the bone crown,” Sinive said.

“I know,” Tane said. “I don’t have to anymore. Every time I touch that big skeleton to Revive more of my men, I lose a little more of myself.”

He wasn’t quite sure that was true, and realized he was mostly just looking for an excuse to shift the blame to someone other than himself.

Sure enough, Sinive wasn’t buying it.

“But when I died on Xalantas, you did basically the same thing, destroying everything and everyone,” Sinive said. “Until Lyra stopped you.”

“Yes, but that was different,” Tane said. “That was me lashing out at the universe for taking you from me.”

“Okay, so if it really is because of Revive, then you have to stop using that,” Sinive said.

“I can’t,” Tane said. “I owe it to the men and women who follow me, who would give up everything for me. It’s part of the reason that they fight so bravely in my presence: the knowledge that if they fall in battle, I, their World Bender, can bring them back.”

“How many people died in the last fight?” Sinive asked softly.

“Three,” Tane replied. Siren, Grayson, and an Essence Warrior named McConnal. Forty others were additionally wounded, but the Mancer healers had managed to stabilize them long enough for the medical robots to finish the job aboard.

“Three dead,” Tane continued. “Because of me. I will Revive them. Well, two of them.” He’d already revived Grayson once. The man was gone permanently. He shook his head. The loss would be difficult for Siren. Then again, the fact that Grayson, her rumored lover, had killed her would be hard enough, even if it wasn’t his fault: he had succumbed to the Dark work known as Sow Confusion, which caused the weak-minded to attack their companions. “Already the Doomwalkers are choosing a site, and they’ll transport the grazer skeleton down within the next two hours. I’ll join them shortly after that.”

Sinive shook her head. “So you’re going to keep doing this?”

“As I told you, I have to,” Tane said.

“At the cost of who you are?” Sinive pressed.

“I’ll pay the price,” Tane said, though he still wasn’t really sure whether it was indeed the grazer that was responsible for his cruelty. “I knew the cost going into this, when I first Revived you.”

“You say you owe it to these men who follow you, but you don’t owe them a thing,” Sinive said. “They’re here because of their own free will.”

“Their will isn’t so free,” Tane said. “You were enlisted in the navy at one point. You know they go wherever their commanders tell them to. Or in this case, where I tell them. I can’t let those who die under my command fall permanently. My conscience won’t allow it. I have the means to help them. Therefore I must try.”

“You’re too kind for your own good, sometimes,” Sinive said, nuzzling against his arm with her cheek.

“It makes up for the times when I’m not so kind,” Tane said, remembering the chewed up kraal bodies he had left in the concourse.

“Why do you think the aliens attacked anyway?” Sinive said, changing the subject. “The dwellers have been completely quiet until today. Not showing themselves in any of the systems we visited. And then, boom! They attack from the shadows, and vanish just as quickly.”

“I’m sure they’ve heard by now why I’m here,” Tane told her. “That once their ‘Doomwielder’ collects all the artifacts, he plans to conquer them. They’ve probably been spying on us surreptitiously since our arrival, using their equivalent of space probes, tracking our movements. When we came here, they knew about our arrival well in advance, and decided it was time to attack.”

“How did they get here without the Seventh Fleet noticing?” Sinive asked.

“My guess is the dwellers, at least the Cre’ite, knew about this particular artifact already,” Tane replied. “The Amaranth were probably waiting here for quite some time to spring the trap. Definitely before we even arrived in the system.”

“Why didn’t G’allanthamas warn you?” Sinive pressed.

“I don’t think he realized the Amaranth knew,” Tane said. “His network of spies—his relatives—only extends so far. He did warn us of the other location the dwellers knew about.”

“Yes,” Sinive said. “The dweller city beneath the hydrocarbon lake. Was this the same dweller who ambushed us in that city?”

“I think so,” Tane said. “Its level matched.”

“I noticed that,” Sinive said. “He and his crew are probably somewhere nearby. They must have a ship capable of interstellar travel hidden somewhere on the surface.”

“That’s most likely true,” Tane said. “However, I don’t think it’s worth the trouble to hunt them down.”

“Why not?” Sinive said. “A few hours ago you seemed pretty anxious to get them.”

“Yes,” Tane said. “That was when the bloodlust took control.”

“So you have a name for it now?” Sinive said. “When the grazer takes over your personality, as you call it?”

Tane sighed. “Yeah. Well. I have to call it something.”

She held his hand, then stood. She seemed to float above the moonscape, since the actual deck was located a half meter above the digital representation of the terrain. “I’ll let you get some rest. You have two people to Revive later.”

“What are you going to do in the meantime?” Tane asked.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Sinive said, taking a few steps away from him. Her motion caused the exit hatch to activate, opening behind her; it seemed almost like a tear in spacetime, given the way the doorway and the room beyond appeared to float there against the moonscape backdrop. He could see the desk and two visitor chairs of the adjacent room, and on the far side, the hatch that would open into the passageway beyond, where the two Mancers and robots stood guard.

“It’s a big ship,” Sinive continued. “Lots of places to explore.”

She stepped into the adjacent room and the hatch closed behind her, restoring the continuity of the moonscape and stars. Tane glanced at his overhead map. Without it, he would have never been able to navigate the maze-like corridors of the huge vessel. Nor would he have been able to keep tabs on Sinive as easily: he watched her blue dot move into the outer passageway.

On the first day, Tane had tried to get her to accept an escort of Mancers, but Sinive wouldn’t have it. Tane supposed it didn’t matter all that much, since the AI was constantly monitoring her location via its series of onboard cameras, and had specific instructions to deploy the security forces and any nearby defense turrets to protect her if trouble arose.

Still, AIs could be hacked. And a surprise attack from an assassin could end her life before security forces could arrive, or defense turrets could deploy.

Which was why he ordered an Essence warrior named Blake Hearthstone to follow her around at all times. She’d called out the man at least once for following her, and Tane had advised him to be more circumspect about it.

Tane was still looking at the overhead map when he saw the blue dot representing the warrior begin to trail her. That dot was well behind her current position: a bit too far back for his comfort, actually, but it was probably necessary to avoid Sinive’s notice. He planned to work on her a bit later, and with luck, she’d accept a real escort soon. He just hoped it didn’t take a failed assassination attempt.

He remembered the dart that had struck his illusory self in the Paramount Leader’s throne room. He still hadn’t been able to determine who had launched that dart, despite personally reviewing the security footage. G’allanthamas had been at the heart of the illusion, and had informed Tane of the assassination attempt when it happened. The dart had bounced off of the alien’s environmental suit, but none of those present at the time had known that. Tane had promptly altered the illusion to make it seem like his false self had died, and he had surveyed the faces of those gathered around, searching for the man or woman who registered the least surprise. But even when he reviewed the video logs, the shock seemed equal among everyone. He had questioned Alric and his top advisers extensively, wondering if perhaps the Paramount Leader or those closest to him had planned the assassination, but they all seemed innocent.

Tane could only hope that whoever had done it was a member of Alric’s court, and thus not currently aboard. Tane had resigned himself to the very probable likelihood that he’d never find out who the assassin was.

6

Tane’s thoughts turned to Alric. The man had returned to Gregious Facile, the heart of the TSN empire, to oversee the current operation. All of his court had gone with him.

Nelson was aboard, assigned to be Tane’s personal liaison to the Paramount Leader. His direct connection to Alric. Whenever Tane needed ships, or more resources, he had only to say the word to Nelson, and the man would go running to the comm team to have a message dispatched, and the requested resources would arrive within eight hours.

Nelson had volunteered for the job. Tane had accepted a little reluctantly, given the man’s prior history: Nelson had tried to chip Tane on two occasions. He had been acting on the direct orders of the Paramount Leader at the time, but still...

Before departing, Tane carefully observed the interactions between the Paramount Leader’s closest assistant, a female synthetic named Brizan—whom Tane suspected was also Alric’s lover—and Nelson, and quickly realized there was a power dynamic going on between them. Or rather, a power grab, with Nelson seeming eager to be placed above the synthetic. By volunteering to act as Tane’s liaison, he had achieved that goal. For now.

Anyway, it wouldn’t have surprised Tane to find out Nelson was responsible for his original assassination attempt. He had the man under constant observation by the Titanium’s AI, just to be on the safe side. And Chase, the head of the Doomwalkers, and thus Tane’s security, had also assigned men and robots to keep an eye on Nelson. Tane had covered all his bases when it came to that man. At least, he hoped he had. If Nelson ever tried to betray him, Tane would have the man banished. Maybe even spaced.

Tane lay back on his bunk and closed his eyes.

So many problems. Having a dictator kneel to you, and then having all of his resources at your disposal sounds like a great idea at first. Until you consider the amount of work involved. And the potential threats to your life.

Those were only two among a multitude of reasons why he hadn’t wanted to assume the mantle of the Bender of Worlds. And it was only going to get worse when he made the dwellers bow before him.

Yes, uniting the two biggest antagonists in this region of space and bringing peace to the galaxy wasn’t going to be easy, at least not for Tane.

Well, it was too late to turn back now. He’d decided to at least try to save the universe. And try he would. He’d need the help of dwellers for that.

Tane was almost asleep when a call from Nelson came in.

He sat up, rubbing his eyes, and accepted the call, voice only.

“I have the latest dispatch from Alric,” Nelson said. “It includes the footage you requested.”

“Ah, yes,” Tane said. “Send it my way.”

He received the sharing request and accepted, then disconnected Nelson. Tane ran the data through the military grade virus scanner he’d had installed in his chip. The message came out clean.

Can never be too cautious.

He dismissed the moonscape around him so that the deck, bulkhead, and overhead of the stateroom’s bedroom returned. The area was rather grand, as befitting a VIP, with a king-sized bed in the center of the room, with nightstands next to it, and a closet on the far wall. Tane resided on a double-decker bunk next to the bed, a fixture he had had the robot carpenters install because he preferred the feel—he had gotten used to sleeping on such bunks while traveling aboard the Red Grizzly and Mosaic, and found the large bed a little too... comfortable. It was softer even than the beds in the cheap rentals he had often stayed in while traveling with Jed, G’allanthamas, and Sinive.

He skipped to the message attachments, and activated the recorded video so that it overlaid his vision, seeming to project from a disembodied screen a meter in front of him.

The footage had been recorded on Tarant, a city on Kaldus Fredula, a planet in the Outrim. A few days ago, Tane had given the order for that city to be razed, and the Paramount Leader had executed those orders.

From what he saw on the video, there wasn’t much left of the place. Most of the buildings had been turned to rubble. Occasionally, he spotted a tentacle protruding from beneath the ruins of a collapsed building. Sometimes there was a vaguely recognizable human body, covered in scales, or with extra appendages protruding from the back.

A few days ago, he had received the report from the Paramount Leader: horrors from another universe had been seeping through into Tarant, and the inhabitants had begun… transforming. Tane had no choice but to give the order to destroy the place.

He forced himself to review the results of that order. Forced himself to be aware of the consequences of his actions. The Paramount Leader had put on a brave face when Tane gave the order, so that Tane almost thought him unaffected by the idea of wiping out an entire city of two million people. But he knew the man quite well after delving his mind. He knew he was affected.

But Tane was not.

Yes, Tane had given the order. It was perhaps suiting that he had been in the emotion-numbing Umbra at the time, because he wasn’t certain he would have been able to give the command otherwise. And he was glad he was still here, in the calm, numbing embrace, a state that helped him deal with the consequences.

He continued to stare at those images, feeling nothing. And he had to wonder if the cruelty taking hold inside of him was caused by this continual numbness he felt, and not the grazer. Or maybe he was simply becoming inured to death and destruction. He had certainly caused enough of it himself. And this current ruin was only the latest.

But the difference here, versus his previous acts of destruction, was that this particular devastation was warranted.

At least that was what he told himself.

The digital doorbell rang. Tane dismissed the feed and pulled up the video from the external camera. The admiral of the fleet waited outside, standing between the four guards. While Nelson was his liaison to Alric, the admiral was Tane’s interface to the fleet. Occasionally, when Tane desired something on a ship level, such as a shuttle escort, he contacted the captain of the Titanium directly, or the vessel’s AI, Pico.

Tane clambered to his feet and entered the hatch that led to the stateroom’s receiving compartment. He took a seat behind the desk as the bedroom hatch closed behind him.

“Enter,” Tane said.

The hatch on the far wall opened, giving him a glimpse of the passageway outside. He could see the two Mancers that stood on either side of the door, but the skirmisher robots flanking them weren’t visible.

An imposing man of about six feet tall stood between them. He was in his middle years, with graying hair, and a hint of wrinkles on his forehead and eyes. He had had some rejuvenetics work done, Tane thought, given how smooth and blemishless his complexion otherwise appeared. His nose jutted from his face like a crag, with a similar degree of unevenness. His eyes were thin slits, and his pale lips an even thinner line. From the hard features, and the confidence with which he held himself, Tane had the impression he was definitely a man who was accustomed to obedience. He never showed Tane anything but the utmost respect. Tane returned the courtesy.

Admiral William Zeke Chakeley III stepped inside, clad in navy blue digital camos, the same uniform of every other crew member. He could have worn an admiral’s black and white fatigues, but apparently William thought it made him more relatable to the men. Tane wondered how relatable his own casual, non-military attire made him. Probably not very.

When the door closed behind the admiral, the big, imposing man immediately seemed to shrink a few notches before Tane’s very eyes. Tane often had that effect on the crew, no matter their rank. Only his core friends could really hold their ground before him.

Tane beckoned toward one of the visitor’s chairs across from the desk. “Have a seat, William.”

The admiral flinched at Tane’s usage of his name. The man had told him he thought it was too familiar, and that he preferred “Admiral.” Tane had told him he couldn’t treat him as an equal if he called him Admiral. But that was the point, William had quipped.

“So what can I do for you?” Tane asked.

“Most of the fleet has reached optimal jump altitude,” the admiral said. “We’re just waiting on a few vessels.”

Tane pulled up the tactical map, which the Titanium’s AI had shared with him. It showed the locations of all the other ships in the fleet, represented as blue dots over the white sphere of the planet. Like the admiral said, nearly all the vessels were in orbit, save a few that were still returning from the surface.

Those warships that were capable of landing on planets did so during Tane’s planet-side sorties, because it made clearing off the crillia that had gathered much easier: crillia were the most basic inhabitants of the Umbra, and existed throughout deep space here. They fed on plasma from the stars, as well as any higher order elements they encountered, such as those present in starship hulls, and were able to pass right through the energy shields that protected such vessels. They avoided planets, however, because gravity was deadly to them.

The bigger starships, those that couldn’t land, such as the cruisers and battleships—the flagship among them—had to employ specially modified repair drones that crawled the surfaces of the hulls and used lasers to burn away crillia, and then repaired any damage to the hull. The drones were equipped with laser defenses to repel any crillia that might come in from deep space to attack them, but since most of the cleaning was done while in orbit around a gravity well—which crillia hated—usually no attacks came. Nor did any crillia replace those that were lost, at least not while low orbit was maintained.

“Good,” Tane said. “I’m looking forward to subduing the dwellers.”

“Permission to speak freely?” the admiral asked.

Tane had to smile. A fleet admiral asking him for permission to speak freely. He never thought the day would come. Then again, he never thought a lot of the things that had happened to him would come to pass. “You can speak freely around me whenever you want, you know that, William.”

“You intend to travel to the Agrandazzer System immediately?” the admiral asked. That was where G’allanthamas had told him most of the dweller fleet would be clustered, to protect their most populous colony world. And the scout ships sent ahead to that system had confirmed as much.

“I do,” Tane said. “The sooner we have the dwellers in hand, the sooner we can face the Z’Antamaraan.”

The admiral was one of Tane’s top advisers, and he knew Tane eventually planned to destroy the inter-dimensional beings residing at the heart of all galaxies, or at least see them banished from this universe.

“You have seen the reports sent by the scout ships we sent to that system?” William said.

“Of course,” Tane said.

“Then you know the dwellers outnumber us three to one,” William finished.

“Yes, I do,” Tane said.

The admiral stared at him. “And you’re going to confront them anyway?”

“We can’t face the Z’Antamaraan alone,” Tane said. “We’re going to need the dweller fleet.”

“Yes, but, what’s to stop them from attacking?” William said.

“Fear,” Tane said. “They’re afraid of their Doomwielder.”

“I thought you weren’t planning a repeat of what you did to the dwellers in Anteres?” William pressed.

Apparently the admiral had been there the day Tane had destroyed an entire dweller fleet as it emerged from the Anteres Rift. At least, he hinted at as much.

“I’m not,” Tane said. “Well I mean, I’ll make an example of a few of their ships if I have to, but I need their fleet intact.”

“I’m still not convinced that fear will stop them from destroying themselves by attacking,” William said. “When they came at us through the Rift, your attacks frightened a handful, yes, but the majority seemed provoked. It’s almost like they don’t even feel fear.”

“So what would you have me do?” Tane said. “Send a courier to Alric and ask for more ships? If the dwellers don’t feel fear, what good would that do?”

“At least it would make them respect us more,” the admiral said. “Perhaps they would think twice before attacking.”

“No,” Tane said. “They know what I can do. More ships won’t help. If they attack, and the few examples I make of them don’t cause the others to surrender, then I guess we’ll have to stand down,” Tane said. “We’ll deal with the situation as it arises. That’s all I can tell you.” Whether that would be good enough, Tane didn’t know. “But I’m open to any additional suggestions you might have.”

The admiral stroked an eyebrow with one finger. “I have none. But… I still think the creodenti could be lying.”

“About needing the dwellers to destroy the Z’Antamaraan?” Tane asked.

“About everything.”

“Why would they lie?” Tane said. “To what end? They’re from our universe, too. It’s in their best interests to ensure it survives. And by helping me, they only advance that goal.”

“Who can say what motivates these creodenti?” William said. “Maybe they hoped the TSN would send more than the Seventh Fleet, so that it would be that much easier to invade our space. Perhaps they still intend to invade, hoping that with you distracting the TSN, their work will be made easier.”

“I guess we’ll see,” Tane said.

William had brought up that possibility earlier with the other advisers, back while Tane was still in his home universe, which was part of the reason why Tane hadn’t deployed the entire navy. However the main reason was because Tane required vessels to stay behind to keep tabs on the different stars in and around human space: as part of his final plan, he needed to know which suns the Z’Antamaraan were stealing next. To that end, he had ordered Alric to dispatch ships to every known system that lacked a navy presence, and to many unexplored systems as well. The Paramount Leader had sent every TSN ship that could be spared, and also had the navy round up transports and even some civilian craft to help, so that there were still enough warships around to protect key systems. But even with the newly enlisted vessels, the star navy was spread relatively thin at the moment.

With that in mind, Tane had chosen just a little above the minimum number he’d need, by his calculations. If the Seventh Fleet took too many losses in the upcoming confrontation, then he’d have no choice but to send for reinforcements, however.

“All right,” William said. “I trust your judgment.” He made as if to stand, but then hesitated.

Tane misinterpreted the pause, thinking the man was seeking his permission to depart, and so he said, by rote: “You may leave.”

William smiled weakly. “You know, when I was a child, I was first introduced to the concept of the Bender of Worlds in a VR experience. In it, I got to play as the World Bender, and I literally moved around the galaxy, bending planets. Later on, I read about you in the Chronicles of Tiberius. There are so many legends associated with you. So much mythological baggage. And here I am, standing before the living legend.”

“I’m not a legend yet,” Tane said. “So let me guess, you originally signed up for the navy because of me?”

“Not quite,” the admiral said with a chuckle before becoming serious again. “I suppose what disturbed me most about the prophecy laid out in the Chronicles, was the part about how you might destroy the galaxy. But apparently even that was wrong: the entire universe is at stake.” He paused to smooth his uniform. “I have a family, Mr. Ganeth. A wife, two children back home.”

“A lot of people aboard do, I’m sure,” Tane said.

William nodded. “I just want to ensure we’re doing the right thing. I can’t shake the feeling: what if what the creodenti told you won’t save the universe, but will in fact destroy it?”

Tane didn’t know what to say to that.

“But like I said, I trust your judgment,” William told him. From his grave tone and expression, Tane had the feeling that wasn’t entirely true. But the man would follow him, because he was the World Bender.

Tane nodded slowly. “Why do I get the feeling you’re just saying that because you believe it’s what I want to hear?”

The admiral merely looked at him.

“Thank you, Admiral,” Tane said. “You’re dismissed.”

William left without a word more.

The admiral was right to have such doubts: there was no way to know for sure if what the creodenti had told Tane would save the universe, or destroy it.

He sighed.

So many problems.

7

In a few hours Tane felt rested enough to return to the surface. His Doomwalkers had chosen a site in the middle of the desert, free of kraals. He Revived Siren first, and the battle proved fairly rote: while the Doomwalkers staved off the inter-dimensional insects, Tane, Chase, and G’allanthamas concentrated on keeping the red globes that represented the life leeches away from the body. As predicted, when Siren returned, she was stricken with grief at the loss of Grayson. Chase immediately assigned her sixty hours of counseling.

Tane rested for the next several hours in the transport that had brought him to the desert. Sinive and G’allanthamas resided outside his quarters, occupying themselves within their chips, while beside them several members of the Doomwalkers stood watch. Though the sky was dark, it was daytime for them, but he imagined that didn’t make the time pass any faster.

Tane fell into and out of sleep, his nightmares alternating between the giant insects of Revive, and the maws of the grazer that always came to him when he parted the Emerald veil. The grazer was trying to burrow deeper into his mind and take control of him, he was certain of it. The alien animal was always there, waiting, beyond the veil. Yet in one dream when he parted the veil, instead of the grazer staring at him, he found only his own reflection. He awakened, steeped in sweat.

At the eight hour mark, he forced himself to get up, and he Revived McConnal next. When that was done, he returned, exhausted, to the flagship, and collapsed directly onto his bunk. He instructed the admiral to prepare the fleet for the next jump in eight hours time.

As he lay restlessly on his bunk, he decided to enlarge the alerts that had cropped up in the lower right of his HUD during the last Revive, and he read the following notifications:

Level up. Emerald Siphoning is now Level 4. You may now master more complex Essenceworks. Works are 40% less wearying.

Level up. Revive is now Level 5. You can now revive two fallen individuals at the same time, at the cost of greater stamina expenditure. The enemies faced will be no worse, but you will now have to protect both individuals from the life leeches instead of one. You can also now Revive older bodies.

Well that was interesting, and it would save some time going forward. He wondered about the part about Reviving older bodies. Just how old exactly? As usual, if anything the leveling descriptions were vague. Not surprising, considering that these were written by the archaeoceti. How the aliens had gotten his chip to trigger the memories they’d stored, he wasn’t entirely sure. And as usual, Tane hadn't actually unlocked any new Emerald works, despite leveling in the base Emerald Siphoning.

Tane was unable to sleep, since he had already done so all day. He tried activating the moonscape around him, but it didn’t help—he was simply too weary to do anything else but lay there, occasionally tossing and turning, on the bunk. That weariness pervaded him, and prevented him from even getting up to use the head to relieve himself, let alone forming coherent thoughts.

Since it was nighttime for her, Sinive joined him. When he finally tried to get up at the four hour mark to use the head, she helped him there and back. He had to turn off the moonscape to properly navigate the joined compartments. When she returned him to the bunk, she didn’t join him. He thought she had moved to the bed in the dark.

Two sleepless hours later he sat up on the bunk, and rubbed his eyes. He couldn’t stand lying there anymore. He felt a little more rested, but still weary as hell. Sinive was gone. Or was she…?

“Are you still you?” Sinive’s voice came from above him. He hardly noticed the dual-octave splitting that affected all voices in the Umbra anymore.

He glanced up and saw her peering over the edge of the upper bunk.

“Huh?” Tane said.

“Or am I dealing with a thousand-year-old grazer in a man’s body?” Sinive pressed.

“You slept up there?” Tane asked her, dodging the question.

“Yeah,” Sinive said. “All your tossing and turning was getting to be a bit too much. I figured one of us should at least get a few hours of rest. How are you?”

Tane pursed his lips, pondering the question. “Tired. I’m not sure I’m ready to lead the fleet today.”

“Let’s head to the ship’s gym,” Sinive said. “Get the blood flowing. That’ll wake you up.”

“Ah no, I really don’t feel like,” Tane said.

“It’ll be good for you,” Sinive said. “Come on, you’ll thank me later.”

“Somehow, I doubt it,” Tane said.

“Well, I guess I’ll go alone then,” Sinive said. “Without an escort.”

“But—”

“It’s the safest place aboard,” Sinive said. “I’ll be surrounded by hot, manly men.”

“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of,” Tane said.

Sinive raised a playful eyebrow. “Mm, I can just imagine it. Their sweat-soaked muscles bulging as they work, gleaming in the light. Giving me lustful looks as I work my hot little bod.”

“Damn you.” Tane got up and dressed.

He spent the next hour in the flagship’s gym with Sinive. Chase and an escort of two Essence warriors joined them.

Tane had gone many times over the past few weeks, mostly to accompany Sinive, who refused to miss out on the opportunity to take advantage of a “free gym” as she put it. But all those previous visits hadn’t helped assuage his feelings of inadequacy. Tane felt out of place, considering how skinny he was compared to the other men there—all well-built, hardened soldiers for the most part, essentially living up to the picture Sinive had painted of them back in the bedroom. He wore long-legged sweat pants and a sweat shirt, while everyone else, including Sinive, wore tank tops and shorts.

Yes, seeing those muscular dudes made Tane want to splurge on nanotech Strength boosts. Twice he had gone to the local chip specialist, but each time Tane had changed his mind at the last moment. There wasn’t really much point in it, since any such boost would essentially be merely cosmetic for him. These men needed their Strength for combat. Tane, meanwhile, only needed his wits. That, and Endurance.

During that morning’s lifting session, Sinive left him to occasionally work out in different parts of the gym, waving away any escort. She was quite sexy in that midriff-baring outfit, showing off her flat belly and toned body. She hadn’t been kidding, not in the least, about having a “hot little bod.” And from the way she flaunted herself, she was certainly proud of it.

He noted that the bigger men gave Sinive admiring looks when she went off to work out on her own like that. Though when they noticed Tane’s scowl, they quickly pretended to be fascinated by their own shoes or the weight they were currently lifting, not wanting to risk the wrath of the Bender of Worlds.

It’s just as well that they fear me.

It meant he wouldn’t have to put up with the usual alpha male posturing—these men would leave her well alone. In fact as he watched, he spotted another group staring at her as she did squats. They were so far oblivious to his presence, and he heard one of them announce: “She’s with the World Bender.”

They all quickly lost interest. And he didn’t even have to scowl at them.

Nice.

He and Sinive finished their workout and had lunch together in the officer’s mess. He could have dined in the private wardroom reserved for VIPs, but he preferred to mix with the crew as much as possible. He hoped that by showing his face, the crew would fear him less, but it didn’t seem to be helping. The officers present gave him polite nods, and pretended not to stare, but he often caught them doing so whenever he looked away from Sinive. It didn’t help that he had an escort of two Mancers standing against the wall behind him, and an Essence warrior to taste all food before it touched his lips.

Well, he was going to stand out, no matter what he did. Especially while still in orbit, with those Dark threads leading away from him and into the overhead, toward the planet.

“You know,” he told Sinive after the other officers excused themselves. “I kind of wish the ship didn’t orbit upside-down.”

“Why’s that?” Sinive said between mouthfuls of chicken.

“I’d rather have these Dark threads of mine leading into the deck,” Tane said. “With them going up like this, it makes me look like some puppet on strings.”

Sinive laughed. “I don’t think anyone else is reading too much into it.”

“You might be surprised,” Tane said. “Astronauts are a suspicious bunch.”

She pursed her lips. “I suppose you’re right, at that.”

When they finished lunch, Sinive went off to do whatever it was she did while aboard the ship, “exploring” as she called it. As usual, Tane instructed Hearthstone to shadow her.

Tane meanwhile made his way back to his quarters to get some practice in on the Gray Essence. He probably should have visited the padded compartment he had specifically set aside for Essence practicing purposes, but he didn’t think any damage would come if he actually succeeded in Siphoning the Gray. Besides, Sinive wouldn’t be there, so he wouldn’t need to worry about harming anyone. Other than himself.

On the way to his stateroom, he received a voice call from the admiral.

“The fleet will be ready to make the first jump in an hour,” the admiral said. “After that, it will take between eight to twelve hours to reach the closest gravity well necessary to make the second jump.”

That was the way it worked in the Umbra. In order to access the Essence needed to make a jump, ships had to be close to a gravity well. Whereas in humanity’s universe, jumps could be made anywhere. Well, not too close to a planet, because the gravity would interfere. But anywhere above jump altitude and the ship was good to go. Interstellar vessels also had to be above jump altitude in the Umbra, so that there was only a relatively thin orbital layer around a planet that was conducive for jumps in this universe.

“Sounds good, thank you, Admiral,” Tane said, disconnecting.

He reached his quarters, nodded to the guards at the entrance, and entered. He headed straight for the bedroom and sat on the bunk.

He sighed.

The Gray Essence.

Tane was beginning to wonder if he’d ever achieve it. It was too bad the creodenti didn’t have a way to impart the memories of Siphoning to him. At this rate, it would probably take him years to achieve.

Too bad I only have maybe a few days, tops.

He reached into his storage pouch, retrieved the piece of rock he had collected from the planet Timerus, where the Paramount Leader had knelt to him, and set it down in front of him.

The power of the creodenti came from mineral rock. They lived inside the Naelbin, the sub-universe formed by the molecules of said matter. To Siphon the Gray, Tane had to send his consciousness to the Sedentia, the intermediary universe just above the Naelbin. To do that, he had to touch rock with his bare skin. It couldn’t be through a glove, like the White or Dark, at least not until he had some more experience in the actual Siphoning. In that sense it was closer to the Emerald, which required him to touch the bone of a long dead grazer to Siphon.

He wrapped his hands around the rock. It was an ordinary stone, high in metals. Quite unlike the cache of specialized stones in the private vault Alric had shown him. The creodenti had given those to the Paramount Leader: they were stores of the Gray Essence that could be used by placing them into contact with other mineral rocks, for example by throwing them onto the ground. Metal surfaces counted as mineral rock for the purposes of the Gray Essence, a fact S’Wraathar had used to his advantage during the attack on Xalantas when the alien caused rock creatures to sprout from the metal floor.

The Paramount Leader had given Tane three of the specialized Gray Essence stores out of the six he had. Alric had explained that the creodenti called them by some fancy name: Magaeran Baenalocumus Naelbin. But Alric referred to them simply as Naelbin Artifacts. When activated, they evoked the Gray works that had been stored inside of them.

One of the artifacts could open a gateway to the realm adjacent to Naelbin, the Sedentia. Another could summon creatures from the Naelbin, entities that would form in this world as rock creatures, like those S’Wraathar had used against Tane. So far, Tane had avoided using either of the stores, despite the many battles in the past few weeks, since he didn’t want to waste them: they were the last Alric had, and it seemed unlikely the creodenti would give him more, given that he was under Tane’s power now. And besides, there was a problem inherent to one of the rocks, the one that could open a gateway to Sedentia: unfortunately, it provided no means to return to his home universe. Alric said the creodenti always sent him back, but somehow that wasn’t entirely all that reassuring to Tane. They had returned Tane once for apparently no cost, but he doubted that would be the same on subsequent trips to Sedentia.

The third Naelbin rock was also something that Tane hadn’t used. It contained a work of Mind Shape, one of four such works Alric had left. Tane wasn’t sure he ever wanted to use the thing. It was the only Gray store that didn’t have to touch other mineral rocks to work. It would allow him to control someone completely and utterly, just as if he had implanted a control chip in the subject. Despite his moral qualms about it, the device could also backfire if the target’s mind was strong enough, something Tane had exploited to obtain control over the Paramount Leader. Then again, Tane wasn’t entirely sure if it was because of his strength of will over Alric’s, or his ability to Siphon the Gray Essence that had allowed him to do it. Maybe it was a combination of both. Either way, he doubted he would ever use it. Unless of course he couldn’t convince the dwellers to follow him…

The Naelbin Artifacts were differentiated from one another by their coloration and shape. The gateway rock was bluish-white, and squarish. The summon artifact was black, and rounder. The Mind Shape rock was reddish, and slightly pyramidal.

He considered the price Alric had paid for those artifacts. Apparently, one of the rock creatures—the form the creodenti took while visiting this universe—had appeared to him when he was alone in his extensive bathing suite one day. The creodenti in question had made a proposition. In exchange for agreeing to complete a few small tasks for the creodenti, he would give Alric the power to bend all minds to his will.

Alric had accepted.

Those tasks had involved dispatching mineral rocks into the Sedentia on a regular basis. Apparently rocks from Umanitar were more powerful in the Gray when transported into that intermediary universe, versus the dimensionally-duplicated rocks that existed there naturally. Alric had secretly built whole mining colonies on asteroids to deliver those minerals. The creodenti created the inter-dimensional gateways to receive them on a regular schedule.

Tane had negated that agreement with the creodenti, and ordered the Paramount Leader to shut down the secret mining stations. While the creodenti had told him how to save this universe, that didn’t mean he trusted them completely. And like the admiral had said, their instructions on how to prevent the destruction of the galaxy could have been a lie. Maybe even the digital manual they’d given him on how to Siphon the Gray Essence was fake, meant to make him waste time that could have been better spent elsewhere.

He reminded himself that they really had no motivation to lie. They needed this universe to survive just as much as the rest of them. And that shared concern of mutual destruction was what had motivated the creodenti to help him in the first place.

He focused on the ordinary rock he held cupped in both hands.

Enough with the wondering thoughts. It’s time to focus.

I will Siphon the Gray today.

8

According to the document, once Tane Siphoned the Gray Essence, it would travel along the surface of his dermis, across the entire upper layer of his skin, where he must shape it into “fractal patterns.” Essentially ethereal tattoos. The manual included a level one fractal pattern for him to learn, entitled Rock Skin, that would improve his base armor rating by fifty by temporarily hardening his skin. It was a fitting work, he supposed, given the nature of the Gray Essence.

But he was getting ahead of himself. First he actually had to Siphon before he could begin to worry about shaping the Essence. The manual contained a three-dimensional hologram depicting the molecules inside a typical rock, which he was supposed to visualize to help achieve the Siphoning.

He’d upgraded his Intelligence by several points since assuming control of the fleet—his Intelligence was closing on fifty with all his gear equipped. He’d also increased his Learning skill. Such high values in both were supposed to help him learn new works, and in theory, new ways of Siphoning. And while it certainly improved his White and Dark skills, allowing him to mix works with less effort, and thus stamina drain, it didn’t seem to help all that much with learning the Gray so far.

He concentrated on the rock and imagined the molecules inside of it. He envisioned the skin of his hands becoming one with the rock, in a process that was called “melding” with the Essence. He could feel the faint flicker of the Gray inside that rock, could feel the rugged texture of the power waiting to be unleashed, but for all his efforts, he couldn’t meld with the Essence inside.

Maybe it was because he just couldn’t form the proper mental image. Deep inside, the engineer in him knew that the molecules in his hands were separate and distinct from those of the rock, and that their individual repulsive forces would always forever keep them apart.

He tried to remind himself that it was all an illusion. At the scale of a photon, the vast spaces between atoms and electrons were equivalent to the spaces between the suns and the planets that revolved around them. All Tane needed to do was squeeze between those vast spaces, and he could easily overcome the repulsive forces.

Reality was an illusion, after all. Atoms were made of protons, neutrons and electrons. Protons and neutrons were composed of up quarks and down quarks held together by a cloud of gluons. Gluons existed at the same fundamental level as photons, and like photons, were merely bundles of properties that spanned multiple universes. Where those bundles intersected with this universe, they manifested with the measurable properties inherent to each. In other universes, those properties were slightly different, hence the oddities Tane had experienced in each dimension he visited. Coincidentally, the Essence acted on those bundles of properties, like nucleic acid acting on proteins, changing them to induce a given effect.

Siphoning the Gray Essence essentially meant funneling the quarks of the Naelbin universe onto his skin, and allowing them to soak into his dermis across his entire body.

Yes, he knew how it worked, yet despite all that knowledge, Tane still was unable to meld with the Gray. He could understand the process as much as he wanted, or believe he understood it, anyway. But to actually achieve that melding? No understanding in the world could help him.

The next half hour proved an exercise in frustration. He was almost relieved when the Titanium’s AI interrupted him.

“The captain wanted me to inform you that we’ve detected an incoming ship,” Pico announced in her lurid female voice. He could hear the emphasis on the word incoming. She did that often, usually with certain words and phrases, like penetrate, and areas. He’d heard her address the captain and other crewmen, and her voice was normal for them: she only spoke luridly to him. And when Sinive wasn’t around.

At first he thought it was some joke the crew was playing on him, but when he confronted the admiral about it, William claimed to know nothing on the matter, and when the admiral asked Pico to explain herself, she told the admiral in a perfectly calm and emotionless voice that she had no idea what Tane was talking about.

Eventually Tane just had to come to terms with the fact that the AI had a thing for him. He made fun of Pico often, because of that.

He set the rock aside. “Why do you have to make everything sound like it arouses you? If I didn’t know you better, I’d almost believe you were turned on by the news that a ship was incoming.”

“It’s not the ship that turns me on...” Pico said sensually.

“You know, someday I’ll probably end up destroying you,” Tane said. “Clinging to your hull, Siphoning White Essence through you until you disintegrate.”

“I look forward to it,” Pico said in a husky voice. “Please, destroy me. Ravage me.”

Tane sighed. “Okay. What kind of vessel is incoming? Dweller?”

“No,” Pico said. “It’s human. A small military transport. Not big and manly like you...”

“Yeah yeah,” Tane said. “Get back to me when we know more about the occupants and what they want.” It was probably an unscheduled courier from Alric.

“You know I can inhabit the body of a synthetic, yes?” Pico said. “An anatomically correct synthetic at that. Give the word, and I will—”

Tane muted the room’s speakers. He waited a few moments to ensure Pico had gotten the message before re-enabling.

Damn AI.

Sometimes he worried about the ramifications for Sinive, given that the flagship had a crush on him. The machine laws prevented Pico from ever harming her. Still, she could cause a lot of mischief... but so far, her only misconduct had been restricted to suggestions and innuendos. Tane simply had to be careful not to encourage her.

He had only just begun to concentrate on the rock again when Pico spoke once more.

“We’ve received a transmission from the transport,” Pico said. Her voice was normal for once. Maybe she was finally catching on. Good.

“So what news?” Tane pressed. “Is it a courier from Alric?”

“No,” the Titanium’s AI said. “The occupants are requesting an audience with you. Someone calling themselves Lyra Glorandiel is aboard.”

* * *

Tane stood outside the hangar bay airlock. As soon as he heard that Lyra was aboard the transport, he’d instructed the captain to dispatch an honor guard to escort her to the flagship.

The vessel landed in the bay and he waited for air to vent inside. The safety protocols instated by his Doomwalkers demanded that he remain in the passageway outside the airlock for the occupants to enter the ship proper, but he almost disregarded that protocol as soon as the light turned green on the outer hatch. His honor guards would have never let him hear the end of it if he did that, however.

Through the glass portal of the hatch, he watched as the inner door opened. A woman in an armored dress entered. Lyra. He’d recognize that stunningly beautiful face anywhere. She was followed by Jed, her loyal Volur companion, dressed in his power armor, currently reduced to fit the cramped confines of the airlock. Behind him was a strange woman Tane had never seen before. She, too, was clad in an armored dress, and she was even more beautiful than Lyra if that was possible. Some of their features were similar—they had the same aristocratic jaws and noses, and almond-shaped eyes that were hard, with hints of arrogance in them. But their remaining features differed: the woman had a heart-shaped face, rather than oval, and her hair was blond, rather than dark. Thick brows, thick lips, and naturally rosy cheeks completed the differences.

The outer hatch opened and Lyra stepped forward. She smiled at Tane proudly. “I leave you for a few weeks and you go and conquer the TSN!”

She extended her hands and Tane immediately melted into her arms, hugging her.

Jed stepped forward next and he gave him a bear hug. The Volur patted Tane heartily on the back. “My friend!”

The big man’s voice quavered with emotion, and Jed held on for a few moments, squeezing the breath out of Tane, until finally, gratefully, he released him to take a step back.

Jed wiped a tear from his eye and then looked Tane up and down. “You’ve done well for yourself. Grown into the World Bender. The change is unmistakable.”

“I’m still me,” Tane said. I think.

Jed nodded slowly. He ran a finger across Tane’s temple, not actually touching the skin. “The bone crown leaves its imprint on your brow even now. Others might not see it, but I do.”

Tane stared at his friend. “It is a burden, the Emerald.”

“I know,” Jed said. He glanced at Lyra. “She harbors the same burden. Though she carries it not on her brow, but inside her.”

Tane furrowed his forehead. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I’ll let her explain,” Jed said. “But first, there’s someone else you need to meet.”

The Volur stepped aside, so that the only person still unintroduced in front of him was the mysterious woman.

Tane ran an ID on her, but the results were strangely blank. It was as if she wasn’t tagged in any way, with no RFID in her wrist, and no nanotech chip in her brain.

“And you are...?” Tane asked.

“You know who she is already,” Lyra said.

Tane narrowed his eyes at the new woman. “Your sister?”

The woman smiled. “I’m Gwenyth, so I’m told.” She extended a hand.

Tane shook it, then glanced at Lyra. “You didn’t answer my question.”

Lyra smiled sadly. “Yes, she’s my sister. Or a shade of her.”

“A shade?” Tane asked.

“I remember nothing,” Gwenyth said. “I have all of my abilities in the Essence. I know how to eat, drink, sleep, kill. But I do not know who I am. She tells me I am her sister. I suppose I am. Maybe one day I’ll remember.”

“So that was your price,” Tane mused.

“One of them,” Lyra said. “She was dead for too long. The archaeoceti told me that when the brain has to be reformed from scratch, the Revived individual will not have any memory of his or her former self. Unfortunately, I didn’t have access to any of her old mind dumps.”

Tane shook his head. He stared at Gwenyth for several moments, then returned his gaze to Lyra, and couldn’t help but smile. “Still. You did it. You actually did it.”

“Yes,” Lyra said. “I have completed my own hero’s journey. I proved myself worthy to the archaeoceti, and I now have their power, levels one and two, and more waiting to be unlocked as I increase my Emerald Siphoning.”

Yeah, we’ll see about that, Tane thought, recalling how he hadn’t been able to unlock anything above level two.

“How did you get their power?” Tane asked. He was supposed to be the only one in the universe who could wield multiple Essences.

“The archaeoceti did… something... to me,” Lyra said.

“Something?”

She smiled wanly. “Apparently they scanned your brain tissue while you were in their presence, and after poring through the different scan slices, comparing your mind to that of Tiberius and the other humans they had imaged, they identified where your ability to Siphon the Emerald was contained. They used their advanced bioengineering skills, and the knowledge gleaned from hundreds of human guineas pigs, to alter my brain tissue in the specific area with a special form of nanotech. They also implanted grazer bones into my body, replacing my tibias, and several ribs, as part of the process. I can Siphon the Emerald as a result, whenever I wish. But I’m constantly fighting the grazer. And I mean constantly, thanks to those implants. It’s... draining. I’ve dominated him, for now. But for how long? I fear I will lose the fight, someday.”

Tane could only imagine. He only had to deal with a grazer when he wore the bone crown on his head, or when he touched the grazer skeleton during Revive. He couldn’t imagine what it must be like to have a grazer’s bones embedded in one’s body.

“I don’t envy you,” Tane said. “But on the bright side, you can help me Revive those who fall in battle now. If you don’t mind the work, I mean…”

“I will gladly perform any task you require of me,” Lyra said. “And I’m happy to Revive any who die. I once dreamed of becoming the most prominent healer in the galaxy. If healing death isn’t the greatest form of healing possible, then I don’t know what is.”

Tane nodded. He glanced at Gwenyth. “We should probably get an RFID installed in your wrist. And a chip for your mind. We can install any skills you desire. I have the complete resources of the TSN at my disposal. Maybe it will help with your memory.”

“I would prefer to remain as I am, in my natural state,” Gwenyth said.

“And I don’t think it would help with her memory,” Lyra said. “I didn’t have a complete body when I raised her. All I had were her bones. The brain tissue was formed from her DNA. Her spirit returned, yes, but her mind was essentially a blank slate, absorbing some muscle memory from her previous life via her spirit, but none of the actual memories of who she was.”

“Has the Volur Triumvirate bowed to you yet?” Jed asked. “Or only the TSN?”

“Only the TSN,” Tane said. “But since the Triumvirate falls under the jurisdiction of the TSN, I assume they’re in my pocket, as well. I haven’t requested any troops from Talendir yet, but I could. So far, I haven’t had the need. The Mancers and Essence warriors the TSN has provided me with have enough Chrysalium accessories to put them on the same level as many Volur.”

“It’s probably better that you leave them on Talendir,” Jed said. “The Volur are a scheming bunch. They don’t have the military discipline of Mancers and Essence warriors. I don’t think you could trust them.”

Tane nodded. “I was kind of thinking along similar lines, given what you and Lyra have told me about them.”

“I watched what happened on Timerus over the Galnet,” Jed said. “Including the assassination attempt against you. It could have been one of the Volur who had that dart dispatched.”

“It could have been anyone in that throne room,” Tane said. “But your point is noted. Anyway, welcome back. I’ll have Gia arrange quarters for you. I have her in charge of logistics.”

“She’s aboard?” Jed said hopefully.

“No,” Tane said. “When she’s not on a planet-side mission with me, she runs everything from aboard the Mosaic. The Red Grizzly is part of the fleet, too.”

“Ah,” Jed said. The disappointment was obvious in his voice.

“If you want, you can transfer to her ship,” Tane said.

“No,” Jed said quickly. “My place is here with you. And Lyra.”

“As you wish,” Tane said.

“You don’t even talk like the Engineer I used to know,” Jed said. “‘As you wish.’”

“Well, I would have said ‘all right,’ but talking to you has put me in Volur mode,” Tane told him.

Jed laughed heartily, and patted him on the shoulder. “Volur mode. I’ve missed you, Engineer.”

9

The fleet had only just jumped to the planned intermediary system on the way to the Cre’ite colony world, when an actual TSN courier vessel arrived.

Tane was inside the padded practice compartment and trying to meld with the Gray. He secured the rock he held back inside his storage pouch, and hurried back to his quarters to wait for the news.

Shortly after he arrived, Pico announced: “We’ve received the latest missive from the Paramount Leader. Would you like me to send it to you?”

Sinive was with Tane in their shared quarters, so Pico was acting like a normal AI.

“Yeah,” Tane said.

He received the sharing request and glanced at Sinive, who sat on the king-sized bed nearby. She looked up, coming out of her chip, where she had been reading a virtual book. “I’m ready.”

He shared the request with her, and then activated the missive.

There was nothing entirely new of note. The Paramount Leader revealed that missing person reports had risen twofold, as had the incidents of strange aliens randomly appearing throughout the colonies. Sometimes those understandably confused aliens would inflict death and destruction until they either succumbed to the lack of compatible atmospheres, or colony security forces put them down. Other times they died immediately, exploding or imploding because of pressure differences, or suffocating to death, or both.

The incidents were no longer restricted to colonies, either, but reports had come from starships as well, both civilian and military. The Paramount Leader ended his message with a call to battle, telling Tane that it was time to face the Gravity Born. He could no longer delay.

When the message finished, Tane immediately recorded a response. “I’ll let the admiral fill in the minutia regarding the fleet. But in regards to your call to battle: it won’t be long now. I’m done with my leveling up. We’re heading for the Cre’ite homeworld, and after that the galactic core. One way or another, this will soon be over.”

He had Pico send the video to the admiral so he could add his own miscellanea. Tane would review the final message, and give the approval to send it to the courier for delivery.

He sat back on the bunk to consider the news.

“A twofold rise in missing persons and alien appearances,” Sinive said. “That’s not good.”

“No,” Tane said. “Especially considering that the doubling occurred over the span of only a few days.”

“That’s true,” Sinive said. “The last courier report arrived what, a little over thirty hours ago?”

“That’s right,” Tane said.

“So let’s see… that’s five thousand new people gone missing since then,” Sinive said. “And two thousand alien appearances. Spread across all of the TSN colonies.”

“And those are only from the colonies we’ve received reports from so far,” Tane said. “The Galnet is delay tolerant, remember. Messages travel far more slowly from the outer edges of the galaxy. The actual number of people missing is probably a lot higher.”

“As is the number of alien appearances,” Sinive said.

“Yep,” Tane said. “Plus the other empires probably have their own disappearances. If the Mautauraen, for example, shared stats with the TSN, we’d have an even larger number. Not to mention the countless alien races that exist throughout the universe that we haven’t discovered yet, and probably never will.”

Yes, it was indeed troubling news.

So far, there had been no such disappearances or alien arrivals reported aboard any ships of the Seventh Fleet here in the Umbra. The boundaries between the Umbra and the universes adjacent to it were weakening more slowly, as Tiberius had predicted, although inevitably the influence of the Z’Antamaraan would reach here, too, especially considering how intricately linked the Umbra and Umanitar were. After all, when stars were swallowed by the Z’Antamaraan in Tane’s universe, they vanished here, too.

“I never thought I’d see Lyra and Jed again,” Sinive said. “I mean, I hoped they’d come back. But I always thought she was on a one-way trip, you know? That it would be impossible to save her sister. But then the archaeoceti helped her. I don’t know what trial she went through, or how she proved her worth, but they taught her the Emerald and sent her back to Umanitar. Did you know they gave her some item that boosted her Revive level by five?”

“No, she didn’t tell me,” Tane said.

“You should have hung out with us longer when you introduced me to her sister,” Sinive said. “Lyra explained that she took that level-boosting item, a necklace, and went straight to the mausoleum where her sister was interred on Talendir. She traveled in secret, of course, because the Triumvirate would have detained her if they knew she had returned. Anyway, she found the bones, and took them to an abandoned world, and then raised her. Because of the level boost, and the grazer bones embedded directly inside her own body, she didn’t need a whole grazer skeleton to achieve the task. She and Jed hired a whole troop of mercenaries and combat robots to protect them, but Jed tells me that the creatures they faced were far worse than anything you had to deal with when you restored me. They lost all of the mercenaries to a man. And the combat robots were reduced to scrap metal. Jed and Lyra nearly died themselves. But they prevailed, in the end.”

Tane nodded slowly. “That she could Revive her sister from a skeleton is incredible. Though the cost is Gwenyth doesn’t know who she is.”

“True,” Sinive said. “But this means we could raise all the heroes throughout history, if we really wanted to. Assuming we had access to their bones.”

“Heroes who would essentially be useless to us, without their memories…” Tane said.

“But still, it’s good to know you can do it,” Sinive said.

“Does Lyra still have the necklace the archaeoceti gave her?” Tane asked.

“No, she says it disintegrated when her sister awoke,” Sinive replied.

“Figures,” Tane said. “You told me it boosted her Revive by five levels. That meant she was level six in the work when she restored her sister?”

“Sounds about right,” Sinive said.

“Well my Revive is only level five,” Tane said. “So it might not even be possible for me to restore someone from their bones. Plus, I still need an entire grazer skeleton to Revive, so that tells me I’m probably not ready.”

“Well it was a nice dream…” Sinive said.

“Yeah, it’s too bad,” Tane said. “Because I could certainly use help for what’s coming.”

Before he could continue the conversation with Sinive, the alarm sounded.

“General quarters!” Pico announced. “General quarters! Alien intruder detected on deck twenty-five.”

“Pico, I want eyes on that intruder,” Tane said.

So much for the boundaries between the Umbra and other universes weakening slowly…

He received the sharing request from Pico and a video feed overlaid his vision. He promptly shared it with Sinive. The view was from a camera situated in the overhead of one of the passageways leading to engineering. Tane was expecting to witness some strange, ugly entity, but was surprised to see a familiar creature instead.

A creodenti lurked hunched over in the passageway, nearly filling it up. The head, torso and arms were made of thick metal crisscrossed with glowing white and blue veins. The bottom portion lacked veins, and was composed of metal alone, reminding him of a tank, given the hard, rectangular angles, and the treads that lined the bottom flanks.

The creodenti was blurry and indistinct, like everything else in the Umbra except kraals, dwellers, and their ships. The bulkhead, overhead, and deck immediately surrounding the being seemed to have dissolved, as if the metal had served as the source for the creature’s body.

Because of the half beast, half machine appearance, Tane had the impression it was the same rock-metal being that had interrupted him while he was trying to Revive Sinive.

The defense system installed in that particular passageway had already deployed: laser turrets had dropped from the ceiling and were firing into the entity.

Molten-colored bore holes riddled the rock beast’s chest where those lasers struck. The creature seemed unaffected, and lurched forward to slam a rock fist into the turrets, destroying them.

“Is that a creodenti?” Sinive said.

“Yes,” Tane said.

“I thought they were your friends now?” Sinive asked.

“Not all of them,” Tane responded. “I think this is the one helping S’Wraathar. This one has been trying to kill me from the start. The other creodenti called this being The Banished One. At least, I’m assuming that’s who they were referring to. Maybe I’m wrong.”

Plasma bolts began to impact the entity as the robot security forces arrived. Blast craters appeared in the body, leaving behind molten metal as portions of the rock melted away.

But the creodenti kept coming. It crouched low as its treads carried it forward through the cramped passageway, and it slammed its fist first left, then right, crunching through the defense robots.

“I have to get down there.” Tane retrieved the beam hilt from his belt.

“I’m coming with you,” Sinive said, drawing the Hunter pistol she’d borrowed from the ship’s armory.

Tane shook his head, but she was already dashing through the hatch ahead of him.

He considered holding her in place with a work of Telekinesis, or maybe Air Current, but that would only piss her off, and he’d have hell to pay later. Besides, he was merely level one in Telekinesis, and it would only subdue her for maybe ten seconds after he was gone, draining his stamina for no reason. Air Current would have even less of an effect.

“Damn it.” Maybe it had been a mistake to share the video feed with her.

He ran after her.

Together, they made their way through the passageways and scuttles down to the deck indicated on the overhead map. A flashing waypoint alerted Tane to the intruder’s current location, and blue dots showed the security forces that had come to intercept it.

“This will be just like killing kraals on the different planets we’ve been to,” Sinive said over her shoulder. “Fighting side by side. Except this time, we’ll be killing a creodenti.”

Tane didn’t answer. He was concentrating on pulling ahead of her in the relatively wide passageway—that was one of the nice things about boarding on a flagship, it was less cramped.

He was a little ticked that she was comparing kraals to creodenti, however. Killing one of the latter was going to be a bit more difficult. In fact, he wasn’t sure it was even possible. Oh sure, he could destroy its form in this universe, but he doubted that would cause the creature to cease to exist in its home universe.

The map told him that the target was just ahead, around the T intersection. Mancers and Essence warriors were lined up next to the edge of the intersection on either side, taking cover. Lyra and Jed stood next to the warriors on the opposite side of the intersection. Lyra had her silver staff in one hand, and her beam hilt the other—it was currently inactive.

Sinive reached the edge of the intersection first, and moved around the gathered Mancers to peer past, pistol in hand. She quickly ducked.

A ball of molten slag slammed into the bulkhead beside her. The surface turned to stone where it struck.

“Careful!” Tane scolded her. I can’t Revive you if you die.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly.

Tane was using Essence Sight by then, so he didn’t have to physically bring his eyes to the edge of the intersection. Instead, he willed his viewpoint to shift forward, until he had a clear line of sight down the passageway. Sinive had that ability now, too, but had lived without it throughout her navy and smuggling years, and had probably momentarily forgotten it.

With his Sight, he could see the Essence warriors and skirmisher robots that had rushed the creature before his arrival. Or what was left of them: they had all turned to stone.

Beyond them, he spotted the creodenti itself. It was rampaging through the passageway, tearing its glowing fists through the bulkheads on either side, disintegrating the surface, adding to its own mass—the metal particles from the walls flowed across the creodenti’s exterior, rearranging around the blast craters that lined its torso to repair them. When it reached the bodies of the warriors and robots it had turned to stone, it absorbed them, too, further healing its wounds.

“Telekinesis doesn’t work on it,” Lyra said from the other side of the T intersection. “And Essence Missiles only cause fleeting damage.”

Tane had defeated this creature last time by summoning a grazer with the Emerald. But there was no room for that here. Also, he had no direct access to the Chrysalium hull from this deck, so he couldn’t get a massive Essence boost that might help him destroy the creodenti in a single blow.

He’d just have to fight it the old fashioned way.

Tane returned his viewpoint back inside of himself, and glanced at his beam hilt. “We’re going to have to get close.”

“We have to get close,” Lyra agreed.

Tane considered retrieving the Staffs of Swirls from his pouch, but he decided he didn’t need the Essence boost, as it was easier to manipulate the beam hilt with both hands.

“Doomwalkers, covering fire!” Tane rounded the bend and ignited his beam hilt.

Lyra joined him, and her bright ax blade shone blindingly from her own hilt.

Tane and Lyra cut through the stone bodies of robots that blocked their paths.

Plasma bolts from behind occasionally seared past when the warriors and robots had a clear shot at the creodenti.

The creature flung molten slag—its version of the Essence—at Tane, and he tried to Deflect it, but it didn’t work. There was no time to dodge out of the way…

The slag swerved to the side at the last moment—Lyra had narrowly Deflected it, using her higher level in the work. The bulkhead turned to stone beside her where the diverted slag struck.

Summoned entities began to take shape from the surrounding metal, but Tane and Lyra struck them with their glowing blades, killing them before they could fully form.

“Together,” Lyra told him as they reached the creodenti.

Tane struck at the entity with her at the same time. Their blades impacted its torso simultaneously, carving a huge gap.

The creature staggered backward.

Again and again Tane and Sinive hit the creature with their bright axes.

After one particularly harrowing blow against their enemy, an invisible shockwave sent them flying backward; they quickly recovered and closed the gap once more.

The creodenti was fairly badly damaged by that point. Molten gashes covered it on all sides. It was missing one of its arms. The other hung limply from its side. A huge gash cut through its tank portion, right through the treads. Incoming plasma fire continued from behind Tane and Lyra, whenever the Doomwalkers had a clear shot. The impacts melted away clumps of metallic rock from the creature’s exterior.

As he fought, Tane heard a booming voice.

“I have a message for you, Fundamental!”

Tane took a step back, momentarily ceasing his attack.

Lyra meanwhile kept up the same fervent pace of the assault. As did the warriors, who continued to fire at the creodenti from behind Tane.

Apparently Tane alone had heard that voice.

“We have your parents,” the voice continued. “If you wish to see them alive, come to Galtede Serpentis. Polar coordinates…” It read out a series of coordinates. “We will meet you on the thirty-sixth of November, at thirteen hundred hours, standard time. Three days from now. Come alone. Or they die.”

A swirling, iridescent distortion tunnel appeared behind the creodenti, and the remnants of the badly damaged creature receded inside.

The tunnel closed before Tane or Lyra could pursue.

Tane deactivated his beam hilt and leaned against the bulkhead behind him. He slumped to the floor.

“What is it?” Lyra said. She knelt beside him. “Are you injured? Why did you stop fighting?”

Tane looked at her bleakly. “They have my parents.”

10

Tane had no choice but to place his journey to the Cre’ite temporarily on hold. The well-being of his parents was far more important than anything else right now. Because what was the point of saving the universe if his parents weren’t alive to enjoy the fruits of his labor?

The coordinates the creodenti had given him resolved to a site a few kilometers outside Kalindor city, in the middle of the desert. The only point of interest was the half-buried ruins of a former mining outpost nearby, about a kilometer away.

His parents were supposed to be holed up in that city, Kalindor, under the guard of scepter robots Lyra had left behind, but apparently that was no longer the case. Lyra had sent a message to her robots via a courier ship to check, but Tane was unwilling to wait for a response. He wanted to get to that site immediately and begin setting up for the battle he knew he’d have to fight. The final duel between Tane and The Banished One. No doubt the creature’s dweller servants would also be present, led by S’Wraathar.

The entity had made a mistake by giving Tane so much lead time. Then again, when he finally arrived, he’d likely only have a day to set up anyway. Assuming the creodenti and the dwellers weren’t already there.

Tane instructed the fleet to escort him to the Anteres Rift. A few hours into the journey, he received an unexpected visit from Lyra. Sinive happened to be present, so the Volur turned to her and said: “Would you mind if I speak with Tane alone?”

Sinive nodded. “Of course.” She promptly vacated the compartment.

“You’ve surrounded yourself with yes-men,” Lyra said when she was gone. “You know I’m not one of them, will never be one of them, right?”

“Of course,” Tane said, sitting down on his bunk. “Why do you think I keep you around?” He smiled.

“Okay, good,” Lyra said. She sat down on the bed across from him. She folded her fingers together. Tane had the impression she was slightly nervous, and didn’t want him to see her hands trembling.

“So what can I do for you?” Tane said.

“You know it’s selfish what you’re doing, right?” Lyra said without any further preamble.

“Is it?” Tane said.

“Yes,” Lyra said. “Who knows how many people will die because of your delay?” She shook her head, then continued, her voice becoming stronger. “You may have been able to justify your dithering before, while you were building up your experience, but you can’t any longer. The evidence is irrefutable. The universe’s demise is accelerating. The boundaries between it and the adjacent universes are weakening at an even greater pace than ever before. You cannot delay.”

Tane leaned back on his bunk, and sighed. “I can’t save the universe until I know my parents are all right. I just can’t. If I don’t, they’ll be at the back of my mind through it all. I’ll feel rushed. I won’t be able to concentrate. I’ll make bad decisions. Maybe this is a bad decision in and of itself, but I need to be sure they’re all right before I’m ready to do anything more. I’m sorry."

“And what if your trip to save your parents ends in sorrow?” Lyra asked. “What then? You think you’re distracted now, but if you lose them…”

“At least I’ll know I tried,” Tane said. “Don’t you get it? It’s an absolute certainty that my parents will die if I don’t go. That much, I know. The creodenti wasn’t joking. I have to be on Galtede Serpentis on the thirty-sixth of November, at thirteen hundred hours. If I’m not…”

“It’s obviously a trap,” Lyra said.

“Oh I know,” Tane said. “Why do you think I want to get there early?”

“They’re probably dead already…” Lyra pressed.

“Don’t talk like that,” Tane said. He suppressed a sudden unexpected rage, and swallowed a few times until he was sure his voice would be under control. “Like I told you, at least I’ll know I tried.” He paused, wrapping his palms around his knees and squeezing tightly. “I can’t leave them. Just as I couldn’t leave you in the hands of the TSN. And I couldn’t leave Sinive…”

“Sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the greater good,” Lyra said. “Sometimes we have to decide: do we save one or two lives, or do we save thousands? Millions?”

Tane smiled wearily. “But sometimes those one or two lives are worth more than the thousands, and millions.”

“It depends on how you rate their worth,” Lyra said. “Taken individually, each of those lives is worth just as much as those of your parents. The people who will die due to the weakened boundaries while you delay, they have children, too. And parents. How can you judge their lives as less worthy than your own mother and father, just because you don’t know them?”

“But that’s exactly the point,” Tane said. “They’re worth less to me, precisely because I don’t know them.”

“Ah.” Lyra sighed. “And so you have exposed the great flaw in human empathy. A flaw that functioned well in ancient times, while humanity still lived in small tribes, but has failed to adapt to the modern day. Because you see, empathy works fine when we see and hear the others around us, and witness their trials firsthand. But the poverty we don’t see, the suffering we don’t hear, doesn’t exist, as far as our empathy is concerned. It doesn’t register in the least. And yet it should. We feel more compassion for a strange dog than we do a strange human.”

Tane withheld an angry response: he didn’t like that Lyra was trying to guilt-trip him about this. But his Leadership skill had taught him that in situations like this, it was best to bite his tongue and allow himself a few moments to calm down before responding. So he did, once again.

Lyra stared at him, waiting patiently.

Tane took a final deep breath. “All right, then tell me this. If instead of my parents, it was Gwenyth, your sister, would you leave her to her fate?”

Lyra immediately lowered her gaze.

“That’s what I thought,” Tane said. “You were the one, after all, who abandoned me to find your sister back on Aegean Tetragon. For all your talk of the flaws in human empathy, you were the selfish one. And yet you try to make me feel guilty for saving my parents. You try to claim that you’re morally superior.”

Lyra inhaled deeply. “I never claimed to have the moral high ground. Far from it. But you’re the World Bender. You have to strive to be the most virtuous of us all. The most self-sacrificing. You are an example to all of us.”

“And that’s exactly the problem,” Tane said. “I might be the World Bender, but I’m also human, with all the problems and flaws that come with that humanity. I won’t abandon my parents. I just won’t. I’m sorry.”

Lyra nodded stiffly. “It was my duty to try to dissuade you. I owed it to the galaxy, and the universe, as payment for returning my sister. Go then, Tane Ganeth. Save your parents. But be quick about it.”

The fleet encountered no dweller resistance at the Rift—all of the alien ships were no doubt gathered around the Cre’ite colony world in anticipation of Tane’s arrival.

Well, they’d have a few more days to wait yet.

Upon reaching Anteres, Tane boarded the Mosaic, and then made the final journey to the Rift in a small escort comprised of the Red Grizzly and two Decantium class cruisers. Chase, G’allanthamas, Gia, Jed, Lyra, Nebb, Positron and Sinive were all present, distributed between the Mosaic and Red Grizzly.

The four ships entered the Rift and returned to Umanitar, Tane’s home universe. Doing so cleared the hull of all crillia that had collected since the last cleaning.

Tane immediately received a bunch of queued messages from his parents over the Galnet. He watched them all, ten messages spaced over a two week period. In the first few, his parents expressed concern, because they’d apparently seen the stream from Timerus and watched his encounter with the Paramount Leader.

“Please tell us that’s not you,” his mom had said. “I won’t let that dictator take my son from me, and use him against his will!”

Apparently she had finally come to accept that he was the World Bender, but, like many Galnet users, seemed to believe that he was actually some tool of the Paramount Leader, who was using Tane as an excuse to go to war with the dwellers, despite the fact that the man had clearly knelt before him, and not vice versa.

The messages grew calmer with the passing days, with both his parents seeming to conclude that the footage they’d viewed must have been doctored in some way. “Deep learning algorithms,” his dad muttered in disgust.

In the final video message, the last before their purported kidnapping, both of his parents seemed grim.

“We’ve decided we can’t wait here any longer,” Dad was saying. “If the TSN has you, we have to come looking for you. It’s obvious you’re in trouble, since you haven’t sent anything back to us in more than ten days. We have a plan to escape the robots that Volur woman assigned to keep us imprisoned here. Once we’re free of them we’ll head to the closest shipyard and purchase passage to TSN headquarters at Gregious Facile. We’ll demand to see you. Our son. And if we don’t get an answer....” His dad propped up a plasma rifle that had been hidden from view.

“See you soon, we love you,” Mom said. She kissed her hand and held it toward the camera.

Tane shook his head sadly. “You should have stayed with the robots, Mom.”

While he was viewing those messages, the ships had made four interstellar jumps in a row, alternating their jump specialists to facilitate the back-to-back distortion tunnels, and had already arrived at Verakech System in random locations.

On the approach to Galtede Serpentis, Lyra sent a message over the Galnet to the robots she had in place guarding his parents. The Mosaic received a reply from the courier vessel first, which had been sent in advance of their arrival, and had reached the planet a few hours earlier; the vessel’s AI had already contacted the mechanical guards in question.

Apparently only one of the robots was still functional. His parents had tried to run away a few nights ago, under the cover of darkness, while the robots were in the process of transferring them to a new rental unit as a safety precaution. His dad had unexpectedly disabled two of the robots with a plasma rifle, and then managed to board a flyer with his mom.

Unfortunately, dwellers had chosen that moment to attack.

The flyer went down. The remaining robots fell in the ensuing attack, all save the one, who confirmed that Tane’s parents had indeed been kidnapped. They were alive the last time the robot had seen them, dragged from the wreckage—the hardened foam safeties had deployed when the flyer crashed, so his parents were unharmed, at least at the time. The dwellers hauled them into a human shuttle, and flew off.

Tane took the news badly.

Sinive was with him in his quarters when the news arrived, and she wrapped a hand around his shoulder.

“The kidnappers wouldn’t dare hurt your parents,” Sinive said.

“Wouldn’t they?” Tane said. “They have no reason to keep them alive. None at all. My parents’ only purpose is to serve as a lure. And that purpose has already succeeded.”

“Then don’t go,” Sinive said.

“I have to,” Tane told her. “Even if there’s only a small chance they’re alive. I have to go. Family is more important to me than anything else. You know that by now.”

“Yes,” Sinive said. “But you also know that it’s important to me. Which is why you have to let me come with you.”

“No,” Tane said. “The creodenti’s words were specific. I have to go alone. I won’t risk losing them. I can’t.”

“But I can’t let you go alone either,” Sinive said.

“Tough, live with it,” Tane said.

She seemed about to contest him, but then sighed, and hugged him tight. “I hate this.”

“So do I,” Tane said. “More than you know.”

If that creodenti had harmed his parents, it would pay dearly. Tane would hunt it across the galaxy if he had to. The universe would just have to wait.

No, he chided himself. I’ll save the universe first. Then I’ll hunt down the bastard.

But he was getting ahead of himself.

His parents weren’t dead.

Not yet.

11

The Mosaic was the first to reach the planet. Tane had arrived a day early, as planned.

The vessel entered the atmosphere and swooped low to fly over the sand dunes. Tane had Gia tap him into the external cameras so that he could view the approach the whole way.

It was a strange feeling, returning to his homeworld. The once familiar desert sands almost seemed unrecognizable to him. He hadn’t been gone all that long, and yet it seemed like a lifetime since he had set foot among those dunes. Two lifetimes, even. He had expected to feel a sense of comfort, of homecoming, but instead he felt somehow… alien.

The sands occasionally gave way to the giant tree shapes of hydroponic farms that dotted the landscape outside Kalindor city. His parents’ farm was somewhere down there. As far as he knew, it was still manned by doppelgängers: synthetics cast in the image of himself and his parents, placed by Lyra to serve as a diversion in case the dwellers returned. Apparently, that diversion hadn’t panned out quite as expected.

Even the farmsteads seemed strange to him, the glass domes on the steel branches a reminder of a past he thought he’d never revisit. The feeling was similar to remembering a dream, and he had to wonder, was his previous life the dream, or this one?

The Mosaic soon turned northward, sparing him from having to witness a flyover of Kalindor city itself. Probably a good thing: the buildings and skylanes would have only served to alienate him further.

I don’t belong here. I’m not sure I belong anywhere civilized people reside. Not anymore. I’ll never fit in. Never be ordinary again.

But maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.

Though try as he might, he couldn’t convince himself that was true.

“Bring up any memories?” Sinive asked as the farms receded.

“A few,” Tane said wistfully. “This place reminds me of how different I am. How I can never truly return.”

She smiled patiently. “Don’t be silly. You can do anything you want.”

“Can I?” he said.

“You’re the World Bender…” Sinive said.

“Exactly,” Tane said, looking away.

Soon the Mosaic left behind all fixtures of colony life, and he saw only desert in all directions. What a relief.

The target site came up quickly. The Mosaic had its shields set on full as a precaution against any surprise attacks, but it turned out they needn’t have worried: after two sweeps of the landing site and the nearby mining outpost, Gia confirmed that the area was free of hostiles.

Though that didn’t mean there might not be any hostiles hiding in the mining outpost itself, or perhaps in the sand dunes. The Mosaic’s sensors could only penetrate so far, after all.

“Are you sure about this?” Gia asked.

“Surer than I’ve ever been,” Tane replied.

“Okay.” Gia hovered the Mosaic over the area so Tane could debark.

In the hangar bay, Tane kissed Sinive passionately on the lips. She returned his kiss passionately, even though they’d made love only a few hours before. He could have taken her again right then, and maybe he should have. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was never going to see her again.

But I always feel this way before a fight. And it never comes true.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. He had lost Sinive, once before. But restored her.

He consoled himself with the fact that Sinive wasn’t coming with him. Not this time. And there was no whining or complaining she could do to change that. She would be safe aboard.

The only one with a chance to die this time is me.

Tane at last pulled away from her.

Sinive grabbed his hand in a final act of desperation, not wanting to let him go.

Tane slowly slid free from her grasp, but her fingers lingered around his index finger, tightening, refusing to let go. Her eyes watered.

“Be careful,” Sinive said.

He wanted to make some quip, wanted to reassure her, but couldn’t find the words. The seriousness of his task prevented him from doing either. His parents could be dead already.

And he might be joining them.

So Tane left her without saying anything. He slid his hand from her grip and boarded the waiting shuttle.

He’d transferred the Grizzly Cub over to the Mosaic previously, and he was using that same craft now.

He steered it toward the mining outpost. He could have called in more support troops to help him, but he didn’t want to risk violating the agreement he had with the creodenti by sending out scouting parties to search the nearby mining outpost. He was supposed to be here alone, even if he was a day early.

He could see the half-domes of the mining outpost protruding from the sand as he grew near. They were connected to one another by smaller cylindrical tunnel sections that hugged the desert surface. When viewed altogether, the domes formed a crescent structure—those that weren’t entirely buried in the sand, anyway.

He reached the entrance to the closest, whose doors remained permanently open. He lowered the shuttle’s exit ramp to launch a series of tiny airborne exploratory drones. The small spheres entered to scout, and in moments his overhead map began to update with data.

It took half an hour for the drones to map all the interconnected mining sections: no ambushers lay in waiting, nor any traps. The Mosaic had remained hovering overhead until that point, but then it departed.

“If you need anything, give us a holler over the Galnet,” Gia sent.

“Will do,” Tane said.

He stepped onto the ramp and watched the Mosaic depart. The vessel, along with the Red Grizzly, would land at a shipyard in nearby Kalindor, and await further instructions from him.

The two TSN cruisers in turn would remain in orbit. They would stay on the far hemisphere, so as not to draw attention to themselves, and when the creodenti or dwellers or whoever else showed up, the cruisers would maneuver into position to ensure any alien vessels didn’t interfere with whatever was taking place on the surface. They might even offer air support, if Tane could put a safe enough distance between himself and his opponents. The local TSN garrison had offered their three warships in support as well, and planned to join the cruisers in orbit.

Tane stared at the opening of the mining outpost, and then activated his beam hilt. He crossed the sand toward the entrance. The doors were slanted, one of them having fallen off its supports.

He stepped inside, his feet crunching on the sand that had blown over the metal grating underneath him. It was dark, so he created Star Light to follow him, and released Night Vision to see in the shadows. The fact that the structure was made of metal wasn’t entirely reassuring.

What if the creodenti strikes early?

He definitely felt fear keenly now that he was back in his home universe. He didn’t like it.

Tane did his best to clear his mind and hold back the dread he felt. He advanced. He wore the bone crown on his forehead, but so far the grazer left him alone, since he hadn’t tried to touch the Emerald.

It was time to perform a final sweep, and set his traps.

* * *

The Banished One floated disembodied in that realm of pure energy known as Naelbin, the sub-universe formed by the molecules of mineral rock, the source of the Gray Essence, and all of the creodenti’s powers.

Two weeks before, he had rescued S’Wraathar and the dweller’s minions from the archaeoceti. S’Wraathar was his pupil, and like The Banished One, believed that the Fundamental would destroy all things, and thus must be destroyed.

Between them, they were the universe’s last hope.

He knew now without a doubt that the human, Tane Ganeth, was the Fundamental, the being that the Forefathers, those more in tune with the Gray Essence than anyone else, had predicted would one day be born.

The Fundamental existed in all universes bordering Umanitar at the same time, and thus could wield power from all of them. The Fundamental was still relatively weak now, and didn’t know the extent of his abilities, but once he unlocked the powers inside of him, he would be unstoppable. His thirst for power would draw him to the Gravity Worms, whom he would no doubt ally himself with.

Already the Fundamental had forced the TSN to kneel before him. Soon, he would do the same to the dwellers. And once that was done, if the Fundamental reached the galaxy’s core, he would rip the Umanitar, and all the universes linked to it, apart, and all life, all galaxies within those universes, would cease to exist.

The Banished One would do everything in his power to stop that destruction. The boundaries between universes were weakening because of the Gravity Worms, and The Banished One had found a way to exploit those weaknesses to enter the different dimensions at will, including the Umbra. Even his creodenti brethren didn’t know of this ability. How could they? Their sense of the Essence was greatly reduced as compared to him, and the Forefathers.

The only problem was fixing the Fundamental’s precise position. He had relied on S’Wraathar and his contacts among the dwellers to give him the rough location of the Fundamental’s fleet. The Banished One knew time would be short upon arrival, especially considering all the security the Fundamental had cloaked himself within. But The Banished One only needed to remain long enough to impart his message. A communiqué whose contents he had S’Wraathar to thank for.

When his pupil had revealed that his dweller agents had finally tracked down the Fundamental’s parents, The Banished One knew then he had the perfect lure. He promptly dispatched S’Wraathar to capture his parents and bring them to Sedentia for safekeeping.

That had all happened days before, and The Banished One had since delivered his message.

The final battle for the fate of the universe would take place at a time and place of The Banished One’s choosing. Somewhere well away from the Fundamental’s fleet and army of personal guards, leaving the Fundamental exposed and vulnerable.

Now all The Banished One had to do was wait until the agreed upon time. Wait, and prepare.

12

Tane finished placing all of his boobytraps early. He used Reveal Surveillance to search for traps in every intact room of the half-buried mining outpost, but always the results proved negative. Still, Tane was a careful sort, and he never assumed that just because Reveal Surveillance detected nothing, that there actually weren’t any traps. He always sent the drones in ahead of him, prodding at the walls, floors and ceiling along the way, but he never found a thing. If that creodenti or its dweller minions had come here in advance, Tane was forced to conclude that they hadn’t placed any traps.

He was more worried about rock or metal creatures coming from the metal itself when the battle finally commenced. He would be safe from the creodenti while outside the outpost, however: the deserts of Galtede Serpents were made of silica. While it was true that silicon dioxide was a mineral, when broken down into sand, it made melding with the Gray extremely difficult, at least according to the documents the creodenti had shared with him.

But the outpost, on the other hand, with its abundant metals, would serve as an ample source of the Gray for the creodenti to tap into. Which was why he suspected his enemies would try to herd him toward the outpost at some point, and why he had thus placed so many traps in the place.

Tane loaded into the shuttle, and he waited out the final hours to the rendezvous time in a small cave twenty kilometers to the west of the mining outpost. He was inside Grizzly Cub, ready to flee if his adversaries decided to nuke the place from orbit before the TSN cruisers could intervene. Then again, in theory the planetary defenses would prevent an incoming ship from getting close enough to launch any nukes.

He had installed hidden cameras at the rendezvous site so he could observe from afar. Which was just as well, since from his current location most of the area was hidden by the large sand dunes. Those cameras also had sensitive microphones, along with ID readers. And because this was the desert, there was far less signal traffic than in, say, Kalindor city. That meant the EM signals from the camera, and any other communications he made, could be triangulated. As such, he’d programmed the cameras to broadcast a blanket of decoy signals in addition to their main comm frequencies, making them that much harder to track down. He had also programmed the devices to outpunch all other frequencies, which in theory would jam the dweller’s own signals, at least until they could disable the jamming devices.

The designated time of the rendezvous came and went, but the cameras didn’t detect anything out of the ordinary. He had secondary cameras placed throughout the outpost, along with a series of sensors. But again, none of them tripped.

“Anything?” Tane asked over the comm.

“Nothing,” Captain Burke replied over the Galnet. He was the captain of the Praetorian, one of the TSN cruisers in orbit. At this range, the Galnet latency was low enough that their communications were essentially realtime, even if the vessel orbited on the opposite hemisphere.

Tane waited ten minutes. Then twenty.

At the half hour mark, he was getting ready to give up when Gia reported in. She had parked the Mosaic at a shipyard near the outskirts of town, on the side facing the rendezvous site, which gave her a perfect spot to keep an eye on the surrounding terrain.

“I’m detecting a human transport, inbound,” Gia transmitted. “It just appeared on the traffic control radar. Must have been hiding somewhere out in the desert.”

“The dwellers have used human ships to travel undetected across human territories before,” Tane said.

“You think it’s S’Wraathar?” Sinive asked over the comm.

“I don’t know,” Tane replied.

Several minutes passed. The large vessel approached, and landed between the dunes of the target site. He watched from the point of view of the hidden cameras he had installed on the site as dwellers unloaded. Roughly half were Amaranth, sheathed in Dark, spherical shells of Protective Environment. The remainder wore ordinary dweller environmental suits, and were equipped with energy launchers.

When the last of the eight-legged creatures had crab-walked onto the sand, the transport took to the air.

“So, how’s it look from orbit?” Tane said. “There aren’t any surprises up there? Like a shuttle waiting to fire its mounted lasers turrets if I show up?”

“I can confirm, there’s nothing lingering in orbit, or high altitude,” Captain Burke said over the comm. He would be tapping into the feeds of various telemetry drones he had deployed in polar orbits.

“And the transport has vanished beyond the southern horizon,” Gia added.

The biggest Amaranth had some stumps among the tentacles at the front of its carapace, Tane noted. Before he could ponder that further, the alien flung out two of its intact tentacles, which appeared slightly blurry thanks to the liquid hydrocarbons flooding its Protective Environment, and all of a sudden half the cameras went offline.

That alien and the others had apparently all used works of Melt Metal at the same time to destroy any metal objects around them, including the cameras now offline. Which was why Tane had placed so many backups around the site. Hopefully there was still enough of a decoy frequency blanket to prevent the dwellers from pinpointing them all. Though the jamming was probably no longer effective.

The Amaranth spoke then, via a voice box hanging underneath its sideways-oriented head. The closest hidden microphone transmitted the words to Tane.

“Nice try, Doomwielder,” the Amaranth said. The words sounded spoken from different human speakers, some male, some female, with accents that varied from Outrim to Core. The words were also slightly garbled, thanks to the transmission through the liquid hydrocarbons, but Tane’s chip compensated.

He ran an ID on the speaking creature.

It was S’Wraathar. Tane thought he recognized those stumps…

“So that alien got out of the archaeoceti universe after all,” Gia commented over the line.

Tane was transmitting his live feed and HUD overlays back to the Mosaic, via the Grizzly Cub’s more powerful transmitter, so that Gia and Sinive were seeing everything precisely as Tane did. He had placed the shuttle at the cave entrance, at just the right distance from the site so that its broadcasts wouldn’t be detected. Then again, he had made his calculations under the assumption that the decoy frequency blanket at the target site was fully operational.

The Mosaic in turn transmitted those signals on to the Red Grizzly, and the two cruisers in orbit, eschewing the Galnet for something a little faster.

“Try not to get too mad, Tane,” Sinive said. “I’m alive.”

“I”m calm,” Tane said. “Mostly.” Because she was right, he needed to keep his head right about now. Especially considering how seeing Sinive’s killer filled him with a bunch of strong emotions. Most of them negative.

“Come out from hiding, Doomwielder!” S’Wraathar said. When Tane didn’t respond, S’Wraathar continued to taunt him. “Surely, Doomwielder, one of your great power isn’t afraid of a few simple dwellers? There is no one here but us. We have no ambushers lying in wait, as I’m sure you’ve already determined. Come now, step out from wherever you’re hiding.” When still Tane remained silent, S’Wraathar twisted his front tentacles in the dweller equivalent of a sneer: “I’ve killed your woman already. I heard you brought her back? Well, once I’m through with your parents, I’ll make certain to properly destroy your woman this time. I’ll thoroughly incinerate her body, so that you have nothing left to raise. In fact, I believe I’ll do the same with your parents.”

Tane gritted his teeth.

Relax, you’ll get your chance to take him out soon enough.

“Burke, status update,” Tane said.

“We’re almost in position to provide air support,” Burke said.

“Good.” Tane switched to the comm band he had programmed into one of the camera speakers on the site, and asked S’Wraathar: “Where are my parents?”

S’Wraathar spun, and then stomped toward the source of the sound. The alien spotted the speaker/camera combination and activated his dark beam hilt, cutting the device in half. Tane switched to another intact camera, and saw that the sand had turned to glass in a long line on the ground where the alien’s Dark blade had struck.

“Show yourself!” the alien said.

“Then tell me where my parents are.” Tane’s voice came from the intact camera.

S’Wraathar swiveled about, but didn’t spot the second source. That sideways-oriented mouth clenched in apparent anger, but then relaxed. No, it wasn’t anger, but amusement.

“I will tell you when you show yourself,” S’Wraathar said. The alien deactivated his beam hilt, and sat down on the sand on folded arachnoid legs.

“Tell me now,” Tane said from a different speaker.

“I have all day,” S’Wraathar said. “Unfortunately, your parents have mere minutes.”

“It’s a fight you want, is it?” Tane said

“Oh yes,” S’Wraathar said. That sideways-oriented head cocked slightly. “By the way, we’ve detected your ship moving into position overhead. Tell it to back down. Or we kill your parents immediately.”

Well, that confirmed the dwellers were able to pierce through the interference blanket, now that they’d destroyed so many of the cameras. Or at least receive messages from a sensing device, if not return them.

“Back off, Burke,” Tane said.

“You got it,” the captain said.

Tane loaded into Grizzly Cub. “Take me to the site. Follow the flight path we planned.”

“Affirmative,” Cub said.

“I’m on my way,” he told S’Wraathar.

“Good,” the alien replied.

The shuttle skimmed very close to the ground, traveling less than half a meter above the surface. The vessel had to move relatively slowly, considering how often the terrain changed, thanks to those undulating dunes. Cub followed a route that traveled in between the dunes, keeping the craft hidden from view of the dwellers at all times.

At last Tane reached the point, three hundred meters away from the site, where the craft could no longer approach without revealing itself.

The Grizzly Cub landed, and the ramp lowered. “Good luck, Ugly.”

Tane frowned. “Grizz is the one who calls me Ugly. Not you.” That was the Red Grizzly’s AI.

“Guess he’s rubbing off on me,” Cub said.

Tane shook his head slightly, and then stepped off the shuttle. He approached the edge of the final dune that blocked him from the sight of the waiting dwellers.

“Where are you?” S’Wraathar called.

It was right about then that Tane wished the Illusion work of the Emerald worked on dwellers. He could have put it to good use.

But even so, there was a certain work of the White that would allow Tane to close with them undetected: Invisibility. It used different pathways than the Emerald, relying upon the bending of light immediately around his body, rather than working directly upon the minds of targets. And it was far less draining.

Invisibility had some drawbacks of course: he could only apply it to himself, and if he moved too fast, he’d blink into existence. It was why Jed, while operating under the guise of Invisibility, had always momentarily appeared when attacking a foe with his sword.

Unfortunately, there was perhaps a greater problem with Invisibility, at least in regards to operating in a sand environment: it wouldn’t hide his footprints.

But he had a plan to work around that, when the time came.

Tane stepped into the Essence and settled the cloak of Invisibility around his body. Then he made his way out from the cover of the dune, approaching the dwellers from a side angle. His boots sank slightly into the sand with each step. Earlier, by placing his cameras at the same height as a typical dweller, he had estimated the distance he could close without the aliens noticing. He was rapidly encroaching upon that range.

“Doomwielder!” S’Wraathar called. “My patience grows thin!”

Tane gazed angrily at S’Wraathar as he approached. He had shown the creature mercy once before, and S’Wraathar had repaid that mercy by attempting to kill him. And now the alien had gone and kidnapped his parents.

Tane had already decided before the battle began that if S’Wraathar showed up, he wasn’t going to show the creature mercy a third time. Beings like this didn’t deserve to exist in the universe. If he didn’t kill S’Wraathar today, the alien would simply return another day to hurt him and his family.

When he was about forty meters away, he judged himself close enough, given his previous estimates.

It was time to employ the distraction.

Tane appeared on the opposite side of the site, just beyond the outer perimeter of the aliens there.

“I’m here,” Tane said. “Now, my parents—”

The Dwellers spun about and unleashed everything they had at Tane at once. He dodged with incredible speed, and the smears of darkness missed, ramming into the sand.

One of the dwellers clattered in surprise: no doubt one or more of them had attempted to use Dark Hand to freeze him in place, and hadn’t expected his Deflect level to be high enough to negate it. And they were right: it wasn’t.

By now, it was obvious to him that the dwellers never planned to return his parents. Lyra was right. They were probably already dead, and the dwellers simply used them as the lure to coerce Tane into coming here. He felt like retreating, and just telling Captain Burke to nuke the place from orbit. But he needed to be sure. And for that, he’d have to have a confession.

More smears came in, as well as energy launchers.

Tane dodged these, too, but not all of them. Some of the Fingers of Ruin hit him squarely in the chest, as did the bolts from energy launchers.

13

Those deadly impacts all passed through Tane’s body harmlessly.

But the real Tane had used the distraction provided by the hologram to dash forward, and he closed to within ten meters of the closest dweller. He released Air Current in subtle bursts behind him along the way to sweep away his footprints. He moved just fast enough so that he wouldn’t flash into existence —that would be bad, because the dwellers were likely using their own versions of Essence Sight to see all around themselves.

Tane carefully lay down in the sand and released Air Current even more rapidly, burying himself in the tiny grains.

He used Essence Sight to continue viewing the scene as if he were standing, and that helped him properly conceal himself. He left only his face and ears exposed. At least, he guessed that was his face, given how the sand collected around it, but he couldn’t be sure given the Invisibility, which would be wearing off any second now.

There: his features materialized, and he confirmed that he had buried himself properly.

He needed to be this close to use the work he had in mind. The problem was, he wasn’t sure how many of the dwellers still had Dark Hand intact. So he needed to remain invisible. He could have used Invisibility immediately after, sure, but he would have momentarily flashed into existence first, since the work couldn’t be layered, and he didn’t want to give away his position.

S’Wraathar discovered one of the cameras responsible for generating the hologram and smashed it so that the decoy Tane became slightly translucent.

“Show yourself!” S’Wraathar shouted. “Fight like a warrior, you coward! Best me, and I’ll give you your parents!”

The closest dweller started stalking toward Tane’s actual position. Maybe it had noticed some disturbance in the sand when he had hidden.

S’Wraathar shrieked something at that dweller, and it clattered an abrupt response, continuing toward Tane’s hiding place.

Tane slowly dug his buried hand deeper into the sand, searching for the triggerable reservoir he had created earlier and hid here. He was in the exact spot, as indicated by the visual overlay provided by his chip, but he couldn’t find it. Perhaps it had shifted.

Well, he didn’t need it right away anyway.

Tane parted the veil to the Emerald through the bone crown that rested on his forehead. Mercifully, the grazer resisted minimally this time. First pain, then pleasure filled him, sparking up and down his neurons. He created an electrical mass in the shape of a reptilian brain in front of him, a mass visible only to him, and when it was completed, he unleashed it upon the gathered throng of dwellers.

The work of Lightning Storm took hold in this reality, and green bolts rained down from the clear sky. The lightning cracked through the air with stentorian intensity, so much so that Tane was forced to raise a Silence Cage about himself to protect his hearing. The green flashes were blinding, but since he was viewing the scene through Essence Sight, the bolts had no permanent effect on his vision, other than the momentary blindness that accompanied them. The ground shook underneath him with each impact.

The strikes were relentless, though random. Most of the Amaranth were able to Deflect the first two or three impacts, but they quickly exhausted their Deflect reserves, and the strikes began to hit home. Those dwellers who weren’t Amaranth usually fell after the first hit.

When a bolt struck down a dweller, leaving behind a sizzling, smoking mass, the Emerald pleasure flowing Tane’s body only intensified. It was almost better than sex. Scratch that, it was better. He felt a thousand climaxes with every alien that fell. And he realized then why he had been avoiding killing with the Emerald: because the Synthate only made him further enjoy it.

If I’m not careful, I’m going to get addicted to killing.

Maybe he was already.

When the storm ended, he reluctantly sealed the veil, and the pleasure flowing through his body was immediately replaced by an overwhelming sense of exhaustion.

Revolving his Essence Sight, Tane surveyed the devastation he had wrought.

Sixteen dwellers—six Amaranth, and ten ordinary—lay twitching on the ground, the spheres of Protective Environment that had surrounded them had burst, the liquid hydrocarbons spilling out and darkening the sand around them. Smoke rose from the seared corpses of most. Some were so badly burned that their carapaces had shriveled up, and they lay on their backs, legs folded and crimped together above them like a dead spider’s.

Eight dwellers, two ordinary, and six Amarath—S’Wraathar among them—remained standing.

Tane, thoroughly exhausted, didn’t want to move.

But he had to.

He slowly redirected his hand under the sand toward his belt, until he gripped his beam hilt, and the stamina boost imparted by the item helped.

S’Wraathar clattered something to the survivors, and they expanded outward, stabbing their long legs into the sand like javelins, searching for Tane. They knew he had to be nearby, and probably suspected, rightly so, that he was exhausted after such a work. The one who had originally been heading toward Tane’s position was among the dead, but the other Amaranth used its body as a guidepost, and headed toward Tane in a long, deadly line.

It soon became obvious that one of them would travel right over Tane. Even if he managed to create another work of Invisibility, those long legs piercing the sand would readily find him. And probably kill him when they struck.

He glanced at his HUD. The interference blanket was entirely offline—if the dwellers hadn’t released more works of Melt Metal to destroy the hidden devices by now, then the lightning storm would have done it. He quickly shutdown all broadcast capabilities of his chip entirely, so as not to give the dwellers a position to triangulate. He just hoped he hadn’t been too late in that department.

Either way, he was on his own.

With his free hand, he pressed deeper into the sand once again, searching for the lens he had buried here. He still couldn’t find it.

It has to be here.

The dwellers continued to approach. He estimated he had about ten seconds until the closest passed over his position.

He found the lens. He recognized the blazing hot surface immediately. He had learned how to program these lenses not to activate on touch, so that instead they required a small burst of Dark and White. He was beginning to regret that programming, because he didn’t quite feel like stepping into the Essence at the moment.

But he had no choice, so he Siphoned both Essences through his exhaustion, and steered the Dark and White into the searing surface beneath his fingers.

A hole in spacetime appeared beside him, quickly widening to form a broad but low distortion tunnel. He rolled out of the sand, and through it.

The tunnel and his resultant motion immediately drew the attention of the dwellers. He was already through, and out of the range of Dark Hand. However, Fingers of Ruin arced toward the opening.

He shut the tunnel and rolled to the side just as two of the smears passed through.

Beside him, dark veins appeared in the cabin floor, and the metal cracked open in wide gaps.

“That hurt,” Cub said.

The dwellers wouldn’t be able to follow, because the destination was out of line of sight—he had stored Distortion Tunnel to Beacon in the reservoir. He wasn’t strong enough in that work to travel much farther than he had.

Tane didn’t feel like standing up, so he remained there, lying on the cabin floor of the Grizzly Cub. He was exhausted, but the stamina boost from his beam hilt had brought him back from the brink. He could do a few more works.

The TSN had reinforced the insides of the shuttle with Chrysalium, and he reached out his free hand, touching the silver surface beside him. He stepped into the Essence through the Chrysalium.

Siphoning bonus. All White Essenceworks are enhanced 407% due to Siphoning through Chrysalium Hull.

He sent his Essence Sight outside the shuttle, where the ribbon of White waved uncontrollably from the fuselage. He didn’t bother to form anything now, and instead roamed along the dune beside the shuttle with Essence Sight, and waited for his prey.

The dwellers had fanned out to search the different dunes. Once again, they had guessed that he couldn’t have traveled far. One of them issued a screeching tone, and the others quickly converged on its position: Tane realized they had discovered the footprints he had left behind.

Good.

They began to advance toward the dune that hid his shuttle.

A geyser of sand erupted underneath one of the dwellers as it hit an Essence trap Tane had laid earlier. He was relatively low level in that work, so it only managed to blow off two legs from the stricken Amaranth. The alien howled in agony for a moment, but then managed to bite back the pain and continue its advance, balancing precariously on its remaining legs. If there was anything to be said about these dwellers, it was that they had excellent pain control. And they were brave as hell.

There were no Dark equivalents of Deactivate or Reveal Surveillance, as far as Tane knew, but his knowledge of the Dark was restricted to what Tiberius had taught him. It was possible, even likely that other works existed. In fact, seeing as no more of the Essence traps he had laid were triggered, he had no choice to conclude that yes, the Dark equivalents existed, and S’Wraathar and his minions had employed them to clear the remaining traps.

As the survivors followed the footsteps, and grew near to the hiding place of the shuttle behind the dune, Tane reached for the Dark. The flames of chaos surrounded him, and he quenched them in such a way as to bolster the White while he grew it into a tree from the giant wavering ribbon. The Dark he could Siphon was just right to match the hurricane from the Chrysalium, and he didn’t require a boost from a Dark Artifact. The Dark also helped to alleviate the exhaustion he felt.

He formed a massive Essence Missile just as the first dweller rounded the bend. Tane released it in an arc, sweeping it around the dune. The work appeared as a smear of White light, shot through with Dark veins, about as big as the shuttle itself. It slammed into the lead dweller, disintegrating the creature entirely.

Tane continued to fly the Missile on an arc, rounding the bend, and cut the next three dwellers in half. The final four had time to dive into the dune, and narrowly escaped.

Tane created another Essence Missile, and sent this one directly into the dune itself. He carved a hole straight through it, turning the surrounding sand to glass and causing the upper portion to collapse. When it emerged on the other side, he arced it to the right, disintegrating two dwellers outright and maiming the final two. Those two, Amaranth, were in bad shape: their Protective Environments had failed, and they were missing limbs, with portions of their carapaces disintegrated: they would bleed out shortly. One of them had dropped a Dark beam hilt from limp tentacles.

Tane released the Dark, and stepped out of the White, too exhausted to do anything further. He retrieved the combined Staffs of Swirls from his inventory, and gripped it in his left hand, while he kept the beam hilt clutched in his right, and the resultant Endurance boost was enough for him to stand. Though he had to lean heavily on the staff as he walked.

He clambered down the shuttle’s ramp and made his way, weakly, around the side of the dune.

The two disabled dwellers lay on the ground in front of him next to the glassy dune. Their limbs twitched, and blood trickled from their sideways-oriented mouths.

He hoped that one of them would be S’Wraathar. And he was pleased when he ID’d the one that had dropped the Dark beam hilt. It was indeed S’Wraathar.

Tane went to the closer surviving Amaranth and approached from the side, where two legs were missing, and laid his hand on its carapace. The thing sputtered up black blood from its sideways-oriented head in outrage—dwellers hated to be touched by other entities, most of all humans.

Tane managed to create a work of Stamina Transfer before it could strike him, and he drained the energy from the dweller. He straightened, feeling better immediately. The weakened dweller, on the other hand, ceased all twitching and died.

Tane went to S’Wraathar next. “Where are my parents?”

S’Wraathar’s sideways-oriented mouth momentarily convulsed. It was the dweller equivalent of a smirk. Though it could have also been caused by its injuries. “Don’t have them.”

“Who does?” Tane pressed.

“The… Patron,” S’Wraathar said via the voice box.

“Where is he?”

A tentacle lifted weakly, pointing behind Tane. “Mining… outpost.”

“It didn’t have to be this way,” Tane said. “You could have walked away when I spared you on Aegean Tetragon. You could have let me live in peace.”

“I could not,” S’Wraathar said. “My oath would not let me. But I have failed… and now you will… destroy the galaxy. And this universe. When Umanitar falls… Umbra… close behind. Our universes… adjacent. We will not escape.”

“You’re wrong,” Tane said. “I’m going to save the universe.”

“I believe… our definitions of ‘saving’ are… different,” S’Wraathar said.

Tane approached the carapace from the flank, giving the tentacles at the front a wide berth. S’Wraathar was even more severely injured than the last dweller: all four legs were severed on this side.

Tane leaned over S’Wraathar and planted his hand firmly on the carapace.

But it was too late to drain any stamina.

S’Wraathar was already dead.

So it’s done. My greatest enemy has fallen to me. Another chapter closed in my life.

He thought killing S’Wraathar would make him feel happy. Or at the very least relieved.

But if anything, Tane felt remorse. There was no pleasure in this.

He reactivated his comm band.

“What happened?” Sinive said.

“I’ve… eliminated the dweller threat,” Tane said. “S’Wraathar will never bother me or mine again.”

“What about your parents?” Sinive said. “Did you find them?”

“Not yet,” Tane said. “They’re with S’Wraathar’s so-called Patron. Apparently he’s waiting for me in the mining outpost.”

“Wait until we get there,” Lyra said. “We can join you.”

“No,” Tane said. “The creodenti told me to go alone. He’s probably watching me even now. If there’s a chance my parents are still alive, I have to go in there myself, as originally planned. I won’t risk any harm coming to them by bringing anyone with me. Not even the drone scouts.”

“But if any harm comes to them, Lyra can heal them,” Gia said. “Or you can Revive them.”

“Only if I have their bodies,” Tane said. “I can’t risk it. I do this alone.”

With that, he loaded into the shuttle and flew to the outpost. He landed outside the main dome, departed the craft, and entered.

14

The stamina boost from the dweller helped Tane stay focused as he explored the interior of the mining outpost. He moved between the different dome structures via the smaller, cramped cylindrical tunnel sections. Some of the domes had collapsed, and were filled with the sand that sometimes overflowed into the cylindrical passageways. But for the most part, the domes were intact, and empty, save for mining equipment. Small skylights embedded in the rooftops of the passageways and domes provided the only light, as there was otherwise no working power. Tane employed Night Vision, because certain areas were quite dim.

Tane directed Essence into his White and Dark rings, so that in two minutes time, he’d have a chance of automatically throwing out Essence Missiles and Fingers of Ruin.

When he entered a dome that contained towering vehicles equipped with laser drills, one of the Essence traps he had placed earlier detonated, and he knew the Patron had arrived.

He spun in time to see the creodenti taking shape. The familiar rock-metal body he had seen aboard the flagship appeared. The upper body was humanoid, complete with head, torso and arms, and covered in glowing veins, while the bottom portion was a tank on treads.

“Internal sensors are tripping inside the outpost,” Cub said over the comm.

“Yep, thanks,” Tane said. “I see it.”

“No, they’re tripping all over the outpost,” Cub said. “Not just your current location.”

Tane glanced at his overhead map, which was designed to receive the data from the sensors he’d placed, and red dots were appearing throughout the outpost.

Oh, crap.

On the map, orange dots momentarily activated as Essence traps he’d placed earlier detonated throughout the outpost. Some of the red dots disappeared, but not enough of them. He tapped into some of the external cameras he’d placed, displaying the feed in the upper right of his vision, and saw that smaller rock and metal creatures had formed, like the ones S’Wraathar had summoned before.

He should have been keeping his attention on the creodenti, because he’d given the creature time to form completely, and it promptly hurtled molten slag his way—a work of the Gray.

He didn’t dare try to Deflect it, not after Deflect had failed to save him aboard the Titanium—his level was simply too low in comparison. So instead Tane dove out of the way; the mining vehicle beside him turned to stone where the slag struck.

Just in front of him, the metal floor transformed, becoming molten, and cooling into a rock and metal humanoid; it was smaller than the main creodenti, but no less dangerous, with molten eyes. It lurched for him…

Tane stepped into the Essence and the White ax exploded from his beam hilt. He hewed the creature in half, and raced between the other creatures that were forming. He dodged the subsequent Gray works hurled at him from the creodenti puppet master.

Tane decided he would ignore the smaller creatures and concentrate on the source.

Cut off the head, and the snake dies.

That was the theory, anyway.

He headed toward a vehicle that harbored a big laser drill.

Another of the smaller creatures stepped in his path, but before he could strike, Essence Missiles and Fingers of Ruin erupted from his body, thanks to his two rings, and tore into the being.

Tane sidestepped the toppled creature and continued on his way. He retrieved one of the two harnesses of energy grenades he had secured to his armored robe, and tossed the entire thing outward as he raced toward the laser drill.

The grenades had built-in propellant sources, and thus functioned as mini hunter-killers: they broke away from the flung harness and sought out different rock creatures before detonating. Explosions sent mineral body parts flying into the air.

He grabbed the second harness, programmed the lot of grenades to target the main creodenti, and released it.

The grenades skirted toward the main entity.

The creodenti emitted a thick arc of Gray slag that struck half of the grenades, turning them to stone. The remainder hit the creodenti, and the explosions carved huge blast craters into its chest.

Those craters healed as Tane watched, because the creodenti drew metal from the surrounding floor and vehicles.

Several more arcs of Gray slag hurtled toward Tane, some in front of him to anticipate his motion. He wasn’t going to make it…

He deactivated his beam hilt, then centered his Essence Sight on the cockpit of the laser drill. He released the only Dark work of Distortion Tunnel he had in reserve, and leaped through the resultant rip in spacetime.

He landed in the cockpit of the big vehicle. He sealed the tunnel behind him before the slag could pass through after him.

He used a combination of Hacking and Hot-wire, skills he had courtesy of the TSN, to take control of the vehicle. He activated it.

He wasn’t sure his Land Vehicle Pilot skill would be good enough to operate the drill, but apparently, it was: he turned the big vehicle toward the entity; the huge treads underneath plowed over two of the smaller rock and metal creatures in the process, crushing them.

Tane accelerated toward the creodenti and began to lower the drill. He plowed over smaller vehicles that were in his path, in addition to the creodenti’s minions.

Thick balls of slag struck the vehicle. The metal exterior turned to stone where the Gray works struck, but that didn’t cause the huge vehicle to slow. Some of the slag struck the treads, and portions of it became rock as well, but still the vehicle continued its relentless approach: the remaining treads simply crunched over the rock sections as they fell away.

He lined up the laser drill with the creodenti and activated it.

The entity used its own treads to maneuver out of the way, but not before the drill struck. A thin gash was carved right through the creodenti, a gash that extended from the center of the torso and to its side.

Tane leaped out of the vehicle as it passed by the creodenti; he let the drill continue onward, so that it would crash into the wall behind him.

Meanwhile, as he fell, he activated his Essence ax and swung it downward.

The blade sank deeply into the creodenti, severing its head from its body. He swung again, and again, carving the creature into smaller pieces, until the upper portion was completely gone, leaving only the tank section below.

Tane leaped onto it and began stabbing downward with his Essence ax, poking holes into that tank section.

“Where are my parents?” he shouted.

He continued assaulting the creodenti, forming several pits and gashes.

And then, before he could stop it, the creature created an iridescent portal behind its body, and those treads activated, accelerating toward it.

Tane lost his balance and fell off. By the time he swiveled his body toward the portal, the creodenti, and the portal, were gone.

But Tane wasn’t about to let the being go so easily.

Coward.

“Tane, what’s your status?” Sinive said.

“The creodenti has fled to the Sedentia,” Tane said. I think. “I’m going to pursue.”

He reached into his inventory. The smaller rock creatures around him continued to close. No doubt the creodenti was hoping they would keep Tane occupied while it got away.

He produced the special Naelbin Artifact Alric had given him, the one that would open a gateway to the Sedentia, but hesitated. What if the other creodenti didn’t send him back? They had once before, so why shouldn’t they now?

Well, that assumed of course that they could actually reach him. He was on a different planet now. There might not be any creodenti present on this world in the Sedentia. But he always assumed that they existed everywhere in their sub-universe at once, and it was merely a matter of choosing where to intersect with a given universe. But that was the problem, wasn’t it? How would they know to find him here?

This could all be some ruse to trick Tane into entering the Sedentia, and trapping him there.

But my parents…

“Tane, let us join you—” Sinive said.

Tane considered waiting for Lyra and the others to arrive. But he couldn’t shake the sudden sense of urgency he felt. He believed, deep in his core, that if he hesitated, even for a moment, it would mean the end of his parents.

Besides, the creodenti was getting away…

The closest rock creature was almost upon him.

“No time,” Tane said.

Against his better judgment, Tane threw the rock onto the ground, and the iridescent portal appeared. He stepped through it.

He still stood in the same dome of the mining outpost, however the metal all around him glowed with a blue power. The rock creatures were gone. Gray shockwaves traveled outward from his body, like ripples across water. More ripples seemed to emanate from behind him, sourced from a stronger source.

Tane turned his Essence Sight around.

The rock creatures might be gone, but the main creodenti was not: it towered before him, fully healed. Waves of Gray Essence traveled away from its body, much stronger than those emanating from him. Those waves focused into a concentrated beam that was directed squarely at him...

The beam struck Tane.

“You are mine now, Fundamental,” a voice came in his head.

Tane stepped out of the White and released the Dark. The Essence ax vanished into the beam hilt. His viewpoint snapped back inside his head.

He couldn’t move his body.

It had to be a work of Mind Shape.

Perhaps the creodenti didn’t know that Tane had experience overcoming that particular work.

Or perhaps it simply didn’t care.

A mistake, on its part.

Concentric circles traveled outward from Tane’s head, fading a meter in front of him. His link with the creodenti.

Tane concentrated on the spot where he guessed the link with the creodenti entered the creature. And then he felt the vibrations. He kept searching until he found the spot where the vibrations were strongest. He reached inside, adding his own vibrations so that it began to resonate.

He wasn’t sure what would happen. Whether he’d be drawn into the creodenti’s mind as had happened to Alric, or something else.

The connection between them abruptly severed entirely, and Tane had control once more.

Immediately Tane activated his Essence ax and sliced into the creodenti.

The creature struck outward with one arm, sending Tane flying backward.

He hit the wreckage of a machine he had trampled in his own universe with the big laser vehicle, and then dropped to the ground.

Tane reached inside his storage pouch and produced another Naelbin Artifact Alric had given him. He threw it directly at the creodenti, uncertain what would happen when it hit.

The creodenti’s skin became molten where the item impacted. Rock and metal creatures began to form from the red hot area, utilizing the creodenti’s own body for material.

The rock creatures emerged, and in moments the creodenti was reduced to a fraction of its former self, an unrecognizable lump of metal and rock about the size of a human body. It looked like it was trying to merge with the steel floor, and flee. The waves of Gray traveling away from its body were mere echoes of their former size.

Tane invoked Telekinesis and placed a vise around the being. In its weakened state, the creodenti was unable to resist Tane’s low-level work, and froze in place. The merging ceased.

He didn’t know how to command the rock creatures he had created, but Alric assured him they would attack anything that opposed him. How they knew that the creodenti opposed him, he didn’t know, but the rock creatures promptly began to attack the frozen enemy.

Heavy fists smashed into the human-sized body, slowly cracking and pulverizing it. The creodenti squealed with every shattering impact.

Since he remained close to it, Tane was able to maintain the Telekinesis with a stream of White. It was draining, but not overly so.

“Please, I beg you, do not end my existence!” a voice came in his head.

Another rock fist impacted. Another pained squeal emerged.

“Where are my parents?” Tane said calmly.

“Here,” the voice said.

The metal floor next to the remnants of the creodenti swelled and parted, vomiting two lifeless figures, a man and a woman. The surrounding rock creatures made room for them: good, because Tane was prepared to strike those creatures down if they did not.

Tane ID’d the pair.

They were his parents.

Tane went to them, and knelt between them. He lowered his Staffs of Swirls to touch his mom’s pale face. It was cold. His dad’s was no better.

They were dead.

Tane merely stared at the bodies. At least they were intact.

He could Revive them.

“Spare me,” the voice pleaded once more.

“No,” Tane said.

He dragged the bodies, one after the other, away from the rock creatures, and then returned to maintain the Telekinesis work before it dispersed. The beings continued to pound the floor where the creodenti once resided, and would continue to do so until the Gray work ended. Alric said the expiration could be anywhere from ten to twenty minutes.

Tane’s Telekinesis work failed at one point—the creodenti had apparently managed to Deflect it, even in its weakened state.

Tane simply created another, and rock beings continued their grim task.

Once more he heard the voice inside of his mind. It sounded weaker than ever before. “You will destroy us all.”

Soon there was nothing left of the creodenti but pulverized rock, and the waves of Gray traveling outward from it ceased entirely.

Tane allowed the Telekinesis work to disperse. The smaller beings meanwhile continued to pound at the floor.

Not long after that, the rock creatures began to crumble away, one by one, until soon none were left, and Tane was alone with his lifeless parents in the Sedentia.

He stared at them. He was trapped here, with no way back. He had lost his connection to the Galnet, and the Mosaic. Sinive and the others didn’t exist in this realm. No one did.

What the hell am I supposed to do now?

15

Tane slid his parents into his storage pouch, placing them into different inventories. It felt wrong to treat them that way, like they were mere baggage, but neither of them would really care at the moment.

“Sorry about this,” Tane said as he sealed the storage pouch.

Then he made his way to the dome of the mining outpost where he had placed another inter-dimensional lens. He had put it there so he could escape in a jam, and he was hoping that it might exist in this universe, but as expected, it wasn’t there. Those lenses only appeared in the universe where they were created.

“Creodenti, help me!” Tane shouted.

No answer came. Maybe they really had no idea he was there.

He flopped down on the floor of the room, and removed the bone crown, placing it in his inventory.

He tried to meld with the Gray through the metal underneath him, in the hopes that finally succeeding would do the trick and inform the creodenti of his presence. But no matter how hard he tried, he still couldn’t meld with that elusive Essence.

He finally gave up and rested for several hours instead, sleeping fitfully. He hoped that the boundaries between his universe and this one had weakened enough so that when he woke up he’d find himself in his home universe.

No such luck.

Now that he was rested, he attempted to create an Inter-dimensional Distortion Tunnel directly. It took him ten minutes of intense concentration, and when he released it, the work refused to take. That was disappointing, but expected, considering that in the description of the work, it stated:

This distortion tunnel will give you the ability to travel back and forth between Umanitar—humanity’s universe—and the Umbra. You and a nearby circle of friends are brought back to the same place in Umanitar as you exist in the Umbra, and vice versa.

Considering that he was in neither universe, it made some sense that it wouldn’t work. It had been a long shot, but he had to try.

Tane collapsed, utterly exhausted after that latest work. Distortion tunnels were always draining, especially the inter-dimensional varieties.

He gazed upward, toward the concave ceiling.

“Creodenti, help me!” Tane shouted. “Your Fundamental calls on you to return him to his universe.”

No answer.

“Creodenti!”

Nothing.

It had been a gamble to come here. He knew that when he invoked the stored gate. But he had hoped the aliens had a presence on this world and would be able to find him.

He was wrong.

With that last thought on his mind, he closed his eyes and rested. He would need his energy for what was coming. He had journeyed here to save his parents. And he intended to see that goal through, no matter what.

Several hours later he stood at the center of the dome he had selected. He’d tested all the large mining machines available in that dome, and confirmed that they were operational, since they didn’t harbor complex AIs. He parked them in a circle at the center of the room, around his parents. He’d also planted several Essence traps around the room, though by doing so, he had to prolong his rest.

But now he was finally ready.

He placed the bone crown down upon his brow, and attempted to Revive both of his parents at the same time, something he had never tried before. When he had reached level five in Revive, the description promised that it was possible for him to raise two people at once now, and that the enemies he faced would be no worse. Of course, he’d have to protect both mom and dad from the life leeches at the same time, but he hoped that by stacking their bodies one atop the other as he had, the task wouldn’t be made any more difficult.

He probably should have Revived them one at a time just to be on the safe side, but he was afraid of what death in this universe meant. He was worried that the spiritual bonds linking them to this universe were weakening with every second, because of the distance from his home universe, and he feared that the one he waited to Revive would remain dead.

Tane fought the grazer—it gave him a hell of a ride this time—and finally completed the exhausting Emerald work. Two small electrical brains appeared this time instead of one, and he placed them in his parents. He realized if he wanted to Revive only one, he could simply discard the second electrical brain.

The works set in this reality, and then Tane activated Essence Sight, placing his viewpoint outside his body. He also ignited his Essence ax, and waited.

He didn’t dare release the pleasure of the Emerald that sparked through his nerves, because if he did that, he’d collapse outright. But he also didn’t dare create any works of any other Essence—he didn’t want to overly exhaust himself. He would have to fight with his Essence ax alone. That, and perhaps a few works of Deflect, if he couldn’t dodge in time.

The two demon-like creatures from the first wave appeared beyond the ring of vehicles, and Tane dashed between the undercarriage of one of the drills to strike them down while they were still forming, a trick he had learned from his Doomwalkers.

Then he returned to the center of the ring.

The large, multi-headed insect would appear next. He threw out his Essence Sight lifeline beyond the ring of vehicles, searching for it. There, in the northeast corner of the dome. The creature grew big quickly—it would have been pointless to rush out there to try to bring it down. In moments it overtopped the enclosing vehicles.

He momentarily shifted his Essence Sight to catch a glimpse of his parents: so far, the red globes representing the life leeches hadn’t appeared.

He returned his attention to the current threat. The creature had the body of a hornet, with a thorax, a pulsing stinger on its abdomen, and six segmented legs, though it had no wings. The thorax and abdomen were covered in thick, plate-like scales. Multiple necks were connected to the thorax, topped by three heads each; the heads all had pincers, insectile eyes, and antennae.

Small larvae dropped from the insect’s abdomen, and crawled forward along the floor, worming toward the ringing vehicles. Tane remotely activated the lasers on the large drills he had parked in a circle around him, and the machines tore into the larvae, killing them.

Purple and black swirls of unreality swelled into existence in front of the creature, and from them a swarm of tiny black insects emerged. They came from whatever Essence the alien entity wielded.

Tane raised a work of Deflect—he had no choice. He surrounded himself and his parents with a half-dome of the work as the insects came in. He’d be paying for that later when he finally released the Emerald.

The swarm struck the surface of the translucent work and instantly blotted out the entire surface. But since he was viewing the area remotely through Essence Sight, his vision remained unaffected. The insects dispersed a few seconds later as the enemy’s Essencework faded, and Tane released the Deflect.

The red globes representing the leeches still hadn’t appeared around the two bodies. Well, give it time.

The insect came forward, and bashed one of its necks into the enclosure of vehicles. Tane fired the laser drills remotely, striking the giant in the thorax. The creature howled with all of its heads, but only bashed at the blocking vehicles all the more ferociously. One of the drills toppled inward, and Tane was forced to leap out of the way.

The insect climbed over the wreckage, and those swinging heads came at Tane.

He dodged to the side and struck down with his Essence ax, slicing halfway through one of the heads. But it was a fruitless endeavor, because he was overwhelmed: another struck at him from the opposite side, and he went flying across the open area.

He smashed into the ring of vehicles on the far side. His armor absorbed most of the blow, but that wasn’t what concerned him: the force of the impact had knocked the bone crown off his head, ripping away the Emerald Essence, along with the exhaustion-masking pleasure that accompanied it.

Tane stepped out of the White, and lost his Essence Sight so that his viewpoint snapped back inside himself. He was staring at the floor in front of him.

Tane’s body felt like a dead weight. Exhaustion enveloped him, and he just wanted to die, if only to end this feeling.

He couldn’t get up, no matter how hard he tried.

The red globes had come. They lingered around the bodies of his mom and dad, sucking up their life forces, visible between the legs of the giant insect. Said creature, meanwhile, stood above the stacked bodies, apparently content to simply guard. It didn’t make a further move to attack Tane. It seemed to have lost interest in him entirely now that he was down, and away from the life leeches and their targets. It understood that he had lost already.

I haven’t lost. Not yet! Not while life yet flows through my veins!

If he could get the bone crown, and infuse himself with the exhaustion masking Emerald, he might yet have a chance.

Tane could barely move his limbs, but he managed to extend an arm toward the crown: it was a meter too far from his fingertips. With effort, he positioned his legs against the vehicle immediately beside him, and then tried to shove himself away from it toward the crown, but he couldn’t do it.

Instead, he could merely watch, helpless, as the feeders drained his parents.

He had lost them after all.

All of this was for nothing.

He shouldn’t have attempted to Revive them. He should have waited until he could find a way out of here.

“Help me, creodenti...” he said weakly.

Tane tried to step into the White, but it was too far away in his current state, the Sedentia too many steps removed from the Lumina. The same was true of the Umbra. And the Emerald was denied him without the bone crown.

There has to be a way...

As he lay there, watching the life forces of his parents drain away, he realized there was one last Essence he might be able to obtain, despite his exhaustion. And that was the Gray Essence, native to the Naelbin, and immediately adjacent to the current universe, the Sedentia.

But he wasn’t sure what good it would do to meld with that Essence, given that he didn’t know any actual Gray works. Still, there was a chance that by doing so, it would finally alert the creodenti to his current location.

It was a small chance, through an Essence he had yet to even Siphon.

But it was the only chance he had.

Driven by desperation, he placed both hands flat on the metal underneath him. He pressed his palms down weakly, trying to initiate the meld. He concentrated on the shiny surface, and envisioned the individual atoms inside of his hands slipping between the molecules of the metal, “melding” with the Essence that awaited within.

Nothing happened.

He could sense the Gray Essence inside the floor beneath him. Ordinarily it felt like a faint flicker, but here in the Sedentia, so close to the Naelbin, it felt like a pulsing force, intermittently pressing up against the underside of his hands, and into his exposed cheek as well, which also lay flat against the metal floor. Pulsing, like the waves of Gray that emitted from the surface of his body, announcing to this universe his ability to Siphon that Essence.

It was so close.

And yet, so far.

He allowed himself to press down with those waves. He was here, right next to that sub universe. He had to be able to meld. He had no more excuses.

And his parents needed him. He wasn’t sure how much longer they’d last. That terrible giant insect gazed down at him soullessly, those vacant eyes seeming to gloat somehow.

“You’ve lost, human,” they seemed to say.

Tane couldn’t do it.

He couldn’t.

But he refused to give up.

He pressed down once again into the metal with his mind. Harder.

Finally he felt something else, in addition to that pulsing force. A subtle vibration, almost hidden within each of the pulses, coming from inside the metal. It was similar to the vibrations he had felt when he turned the Mind Shape against Alric, or negated it in the creodenti.

But it was gone now, because he had pressed too far. So he backed up his conscious mind... there. He’d found it again.

He reached into it, just as he had reached into the vibrations in the minds of Alric and the creodenti, and he expanded it, adding his own internal vibration to it. The atoms in his hand began to synchronize with those of the floor, matching the vibrational frequencies. Resonating with them.

In that moment he realized he’d finally done it. He’d managed to squeeze his consciousness into the spaces between the atoms composing the floor, melding with the Essence.

The quarks of the Naelbin sub-universe scratched across his skin, soaking into his dermis body-wide. It felt like insects crawled all over him.

Those quarks from another universe formed random, gray patterns across his skin, including underneath his clothing. He didn’t actually see those patterns with his eyes—to his visual receptors, his skin seemed unchanged from a moment ago.

But he felt them.

He could sense the ridged tattoos on his arms, the spiraling patterns on his chest, the texture of the swirls on his back. And he found that he could shape them by focusing his mind’s eye upon a given area: when his mental gaze concentrated on a spot, the quarks would gather. In that way, he could rearrange the many ridges, forming new patterns.

Not that he could actually create anything meaningful, considering this was the first time he had successfully melded with the Gray.

He noted that the grayish ripples expanding outward from his body had thickened, and traveled farther away from him before dissipating.

Come on, creodenti, where are you?

He focused his mind’s eye on the underside of his hand, gathering all the nearby quarks there. They scratched across his skin, concentrating on the underside of his palm, forming a thick mass. He pressed that quark-steeped underside into the metal floor, hoping it would act as a beacon in the vast darkness of the Naelbin.

He glanced at the stacked bodies of his parents beyond the legs of the giant insects. The red globes continued to suck white ribbons of energy from the two of them. Those white ribbons seemed weaker in intensity, compared to when the globes had first appeared.

My parents are losing the fight.

In anger, he forced more of the quarks to travel down his arm and onto his hand. They scratched across his body, feeling like needles carving trenches into his skin, and he flinched as they traversed the more sensitive areas of his body.

It took an incredible effort of will and concentration to gather the Gray Essence from the entire surface area of his body, especially considering his exhaustion, but the anger helped give him focus, and he redirected every last quark down onto his hand to join the gathered mass until it became a impenetrable blob of Gray. He could feel the weight of the thing pressing down into the sub-universe beneath him.

And then the floor began to shift beneath him. At first, he felt a pressure from below, as the metal shoved upward, and against him. Then ripples traveled outward across the floor, centered upon his body, as if the metal was a liquid rather than a solid. Powerful waves of Gray began to emanate from the floor, and the surrounding metal vehicles.

The floor and vehicles bulged outward, forming heads, arms, torsos. White and blue veins crisscrossed the surfaces of those partially humanoid shapes. They had no hips or legs… instead, their lower bodies were composed of the floor, or the vehicles they were attached to.

The creodenti had finally arrived.

More two-armed torsos appeared, these immediately around the bodies of Tane’s parents, forming a defensive ring. They began to swat away the red globes. Others emerged to surround Tane. Ripples of Gray radiated from all of their bodies.

The giant insect reared its deadly heads, and began to attack. It released streams of insects at the creodenti, and pummeled them with its many heads and appendages. Meanwhile the creodenti unleashed molten slags that turned whatever parts of the insect they struck to stone.

Tane had been forcing himself to hang onto the Gray all that time, constantly struggling to restrict the quarks of the Naelbin to the region immediately surrounding his hand. He was worried that if he let go, the creodenti would vanish.

But as the fighting continued between the giant insect and the smaller creodenti, at last he could no longer endure.

He unmelded with the Gray and blacked out from exhaustion. The last image he had was of a swarm of insects heading his way.

16

Tane awoke.

He sat up. His vision swam, and he felt a rising nausea. He lay back down immediately, but it was too late. He turned his head and vomited on the floor beside him.

He felt a little better and sat up once more. He felt weak, and his arms were shaking. That could be expected, given what had just happened.

He still resided in the mining colony, but he had been moved to a different domed section. At least he believed so, because the vehicles around him had been replaced with industrial machines. He was in the engineering section, he thought, judging from the large vats that would have held reconstituted water while the mining outpost was still operational, and the different air conditioning and heat dispersion systems around him.

He knew he was still in the Sedentia, because Gray ripples radiated from his body, and the metal floor and equipment around him glowed blue.

Tane glanced around, but there was no sign of anyone else, neither human, creodenti, nor insect.

“Hello?” Tane’s voice echoed throughout the chamber.

No answer came.

He noticed the bone crown had been placed on the floor beside him. He scooped it up and returned it to his storage pouch before the grazer could bite him.

Then he stood to his feet. He momentarily lost his balance, but gripped a nearby metal tank to stay on his feet. He tried to touch the Essence, any Essence, but was unable to reach any of them.

He slowly, wearily made his way toward the entrance of the dome, but before he entered the smaller passageway beyond, a disembodied voice boomed from somewhere in the room. “Welcome, Fundamental.”

“I suspected you were watching…” Tane said, surveying the different machines behind him. He leaned back against the wall beside him, hoping to recover some of his strength. “So where are my parents?”

The voice didn’t answer.

“Where are they?” Tane pressed.

“The better question is, why did you shut down the mining colonies your predecessor arranged?” came the response. The voice didn’t originate from anywhere in the room—at least, Tane didn’t believe so, because it seemed to arise from every direction at once. Instead, it could only be sourced from inside his head.

The creodenti, masters of minds.

“Mining colonies I shut down?” Tane said, not understanding. “We’re at a mining outpost, yeah...”

He realized what the creodenti was talking about the moment the final words left his lips. The entity was referring to the agreement Alric had made with the creodenti to provide them with fresh ore from Umanitar, and how Tane had shut down the colonies providing that ore.

“Where are my parents?” Tane repeated.

“Recovering,” the voice said. “Your Revive was successful. Yes, we know of this work, from our dealings with the archaeoceti. The leeches stole much life force from the two humans, and the bonds holding them to this universe are thin. They are weak, and won’t achieve a full recovery until you return them to the Umanitar.”

“Then return us immediately,” Tane said. “I do have a universe to save. The Z’Antamaraan, remember?”

No answer.

He remembered what Admiral Chakeley had told him: “I still think the creodenti could be lying. About everything.”

“It’s in your best interests to return me…” Tane continued. “Unless, of course, you were lying about the whole thing. Perhaps what you told me will destroy the universe, not save it.”

“We told you the truth,” the voice boomed. “How dare you… if you were not the World Bender, we would kill you where you stand.” The voice paused, and when it spoke again, it seemed calmer. “It is in our interests to return you, yes. But: it is also in our interests to reopen the Umanitar mining colonies. We can wait here for a very long time until you agree. The question is: can your universe? Or your parents?”

“If my universe dies, it’s taking yours with it…” Tane said.

“Your universe still has many years remaining,” the voice said. “Of course, most life will be exterminated in weeks, due to the failing boundaries. But since we do not reside in that universe, we are safe until the final days.”

The Leadership skill in his head told him that he had to be very careful when negotiating something like mineral rights. If he gave the creodenti their mining colonies, they might ask more of him at a later date. And then more yet again.

But Leadership was designed for dealing with my own species. The creodenti aren’t human…

And yet, he knew that Alric had been forced to increase the yearly mineral quotas as time went by. But that was only because he kept visiting the Sedentia to brainwash his opponents, and the creodenti had probably blackmailed him into raising the quotas each time in exchange for returning him to Umanitar.

Still, Tane felt reluctant to cede anything. He reminded himself that his parents, and the entire universe, were waiting on his return.

Why does it matter? It’s just some stupid minerals.

But he knew it did matter.

“Before I agree to anything,” Tane said, “there’s something I want to know: why did you take so long to help me out back there?”

“We were helping you, by waiting,” the voice said.

“So you knew I was here the whole time, and didn’t bother to intercede?” He shook his head. “Unbelievable. My parents could have died.”

“Correction: they were already dead.”

“Fine, but I could have died,” Tane said.

“We have seen the Revive ritual,” the voice said. “We knew what to expect. When we realized that you hadn’t yet melded with the Gray, we chose to delay in order to help you achieve that melding.”

“Oh sure,” Tane said. “But what if I hadn’t succeeded? What if I was too weak to touch any other Essence, including your Gray?”

“We would have intervened, of course,” the voice said.

“So you say,” Tane told it.

“We knew you would try to touch the Gray,” the voice insisted. “We also knew desperation would allow you to succeed. It is the nature of you humans. You function best under pressure.”

“Not all of us,” Tane said.

“But you, certainly,” the voice said.

“Maybe,” Tane said.

“I ask again: why did you shut down the flow of fresh mineral rocks to Sedentia?”

“You’re powerful enough,” Tane said. “You don’t need raw materials from our universe. You have enough here. Sure, the naturally duplicated minerals you can find here in Sedentia might not be as powerful in the Gray, but you can easily make up for the quality by quantity.”

“Who are you to judge what we do or do not need?”

“The Fundamental?” Tane said.

He was met with silence.

“Look, we need these mineral resources in our own universe to build cities, bases, and ships,” Tane said. “I’ve talked to Alric’s advisers. We’re losing trillions of metric tons annually. Enough to build an entire new fleet every year.”

“If you agree to reopen these mining stations, we agree to send you and your parents back,” the voice said. “We would have never returned you that first time, if we had known you planned this.”

Tane paused, unsure of what to do. Finally he decided it was a bluff, and the part of him that refused to be taken advantage of wouldn’t back down. He just hoped his parents didn’t have to pay for his stubbornness. “No. My saving the universe has to be reason enough. I won’t reopen the mining stations. Send me and my parents back.”

“As I told you, we’re willing to wait until you change your mind…” the voice said.

Tane shook his head. Damn it. “I wouldn’t be here right now if one of you creodenti hadn’t interfered in my plans.”

“The Banished One was acting on his own,” the voice said. “We are not in any way responsible for his behavior. In fact, we tried to stop him, but could not. There are many places to hide in the Naelbin.”

“Yeah, well, I dealt with him for you,” Tane said.

“And so you did.”

“Therefore, you owe me,” Tane pressed.

“Actually, killing one of our own is a crime whose punishment is death,” the voice said. “We have forgiven you, only because you are the Fundamental.”

“Oh,” Tane said. “Well, thanks. But your Fundamental is asking you now to return him. Don’t you want to please your Fundamental?”

The voice didn’t answer.

He shook his head.

Here I am in a universe far away from my own, arguing with a voice in my head over resources the fleet could probably do without.

All that mattered at the moment was getting back to his own universe so that his parents could heal. The voice had said they were weak, and wouldn’t recover until they were returned to Umanitar. So what the hell was he doing arguing? He only fought against the deal for as long as he had because of that Leadership skill.

Well, and his own pride, if he was honest with himself.

“Okay, fine, I’ll do it,” Tane said.

The voice didn’t respond.

“I said I’ll do it,” Tane repeated, louder.

“Very well. We will return you, as agreed, Fundamental. We will not meet again. If we do, it means your universe has been destroyed. Go to the next dome. You will find your parents, and the way back.”

Tane immediately headed into the passageway, crossed it, and emerged into the next dome. His parents were there, lying on the floor in the middle of all the equipment. He ran to them. Their chests rose and fell: they were alive, but unconscious.

He shook his mom. “Mom?” She didn’t awaken.

He tried his dad next. “Dad?” Nothing.

“We’re going to get you out of here,” Tane said. He would have tried a Healing work right there if he wasn’t so damned exhausted.

Gray waves began to emanate from the metal floor beside him. Above it, a rip appeared in the fabric of spacetime.

His way back.

Tane frowned. “How am I supposed to carry them?” he addressed the air around him.

No answer came.

He grabbed his mom by the legs, placing her ankles on either side of his hips, and started dragging her toward the portal.

“You better keep it open so I can get Dad,” he told the empty space around him.

He dragged his mom through the gate.

On the other side, he was still within the same dome of the mining colony: identical machinery clung to the floor around him. But he knew he was back in his own universe because the blue glow had ceased to emanate from the floor, and the place was brighter in general. He also had no waves of Gray radiating from his body.

Skirmishers stood near the entrance, where they had deployed to guard. The robots immediately stood to attention when they saw him.

“Sir!” one of them said.

“I never told you to come here.” Tane lowered his mom’s legs gently to the floor. “In fact, I believe my last orders were to stay away.”

“Yes, but Lyra—”

“I should have suspected the Volur would overrule me, as always,” Tane said. Though in truth, he wasn’t displeased. He glanced over his shoulder. The gray gate remained intact. “Wait here. Guard this woman with your lives.”

“But sir—”

He went through, back into Sedentia, and dragged his dad through next.

When he returned to his own universe, the gate blinked out behind him.

He placed his dad next to his mom, and released his legs. He studied his parents for a moment: there was no change in either of them. A part of him had hoped that as soon as he conveyed them back to Umanitar, they would wake up. It had been wishful thinking, apparently.

“Summon Lyra,” Tane said. “She has some Healing to do. Also, tell the ships to prepare to depart. We will be returning to the fleet within the next twenty-four hours. It’s time to subdue the dwellers.”

17

It turned out the Mosaic had landed nearby, so Tane decided to forgo waiting for Lyra, and instead commandeered several skirmishers to act as porters. They rapidly conveyed his parents to the ship and carried them to sickbay, switching to single file once they were aboard due to the cramped compartments.

Tane waited outside sickbay with Sinive while Lyra, Gwenyth and the medical robots worked on his mom and dad. Tane would have preferred to stay inside sickbay itself, but the compartment was too crowded to fit them all at once: Lyra, Gwenyth and the medical robots needed room to work. He was starting to wish he was aboard the roomy flagship right about then.

Meanwhile, Gia flew the Mosaic to the closest TSN base in Kalindor, where a troop of robots were on standby to deliver his parents to the military hospital should he give the word. But as far as Tane was concerned, his parents were already in the best possible hands. Lyra was one of the most skilled practitioners in Healing around. Plus she could now Revive the dead. That wouldn’t help his parents, of course, since they had already died once. If Lyra and her sister lost them, they were gone for good.

Tane was conflicted. He desired to return to the fleet as soon as possible, but he also didn’t want to leave his parents in a state of limbo. There were some impressive medical facilities aboard the bigger vessels of the Seventh Fleet, like the flagship, but even those paled in comparison to the hospitals in Kalindor. The military hospital at the TSN base had a reputation as one of the best in the Outrim, for example.

Tane decided he would wait up to two hours for them to awaken, and if they didn’t, he’d leave them at the TSN hospital and then depart. He hated the thought of abandoning his parents like that, but he didn’t see that he had a choice. Lives were on the line... the longer he delayed, the more people who would be sucked into adjacent universes, galaxy-wide. There was a chance his parents might suffer such a fate themselves.

And even if the fleet had better medical facilities than the TSN hospital, he still would have left his parents behind: he was headed into a war zone, and he wanted to keep his family well away from anything having to do with death and destruction. Then again, the Umbra might be safer than his home universe at the moment, considering how unstable the boundaries between Umanitar and other universes were purported to be these days.

No, he’d already made up his mind. After two hours had passed he would leave, and his parents would stay behind whether they were conscious or unconscious. He had saved them to the best of his abilities, and that was all he could offer at the moment.

He didn’t have to wait the full two hours, thankfully. After about half an hour Lyra and Gwenyth exited sickbay. The sisters were slumped, and leaned heavily on their matching silver staffs. Their features were wan, their eyes sunken.

“Your parents have come back to us,” Lyra said. “Though I’m afraid it had nothing to do with either of our abilities in Healing. In fact, despite our probing with the Essence, and multiple scans by the medical robots, we couldn’t actually find anything wrong with them. There was nothing to heal. They just woke up. Almost simultaneously.”

Tane started to step inside, but Lyra gripped him by the arm. “Go gentle on them. They are very tired.”

Tane nodded slowly. He understood the unsaid message:

Don’t talk about what you are. Don’t talk about the World Bender.

Somehow, he suspected that would be unavoidable. He glanced at Sinive, and she wrapped her hand around his and squeezed.

Tane smiled sadly, then extricated himself from her grip and walked inside the narrow opening. Sinive followed.

Mom and Dad lay on their beds; the upper portions of the mattresses were elevated so that they were propped up.

Mom smiled widely. Her eyes shone with tears. “Finally.” She held out her arms.

Tane approached and gave her a hug. He went to Dad after, and embraced him the same.

“Son,” Dad said gruffly. He, too, was choking up.

Tane held him for a moment, doing his best to get his emotions under control. When he was certain he wasn’t going to cry, he stepped back.

“Who’s she?” Mom asked, nodding toward Sinive.

“I’m nobody—” Sinive began.

“She’s my girlfriend,” Tane interrupted.

Mom beamed at her. “She’s so very pretty. Much more-so than those two Volur women.”

Sinive’s cheeks became a nice rose color, and she smiled, forming dimples at the center of those roses.

“And she truly has a smile that can light up a room,” Mom said.

“I love her,” Sinive said softly to Tane.

“What’s your name dear?” Mom said.

“Sinive,” she said shyly.

“Give me a hug, Sinive,” Mom ordered.

Sinive did so.

“What, no hug for me?” Dad said.

Sinive sidled over and hugged him as well.

“Okay, that’s long enough,” Mom said jealously.

“Geez,” Dad said, releasing her. “Can’t touch any other woman. Even my son’s girlfriend.”

“Shut up!” Mom said. “You were holding her too long! Don’t you have any manners?”

“Hey I tried to let her go, but she wouldn’t let me,” Dad said. “I see how it is. Gang up on the man.”

“Oh?” Mom said. “We’ll talk about this later.”

“I’m sure we will,” Dad said resignedly.

Sinive moved to the base of the bed so that Tane could sit in the chair that was squeezed into the small aisle between them.

“Are they always like this?” Sinive asked him.

“Pretty much,” Tane said.

“So my boy thinks he knows how to handle a woman now, does he?” Dad said with a scowl.

Mom shot him a look that seemed to say: “As if you do.”

“Uh…” Tane said.

His dad broke into a hearty laugh. “Ah my boy. You’ve done good for yourself. She’s almost as pretty as your mom used to be.”

“What?” Mom said, half sitting up. She slammed a fist down onto the mattress. “That’s it, I’ve had enough! What do you mean, used to be?”

“Er, and still are!” Dad said. “Ah, never mind. Why do I try?”

“It’s okay,” Sinive said soothingly. She went to Mom and held her hand. “It’s okay.”

Mom sat back. “Sorry. I don’t know what came over me. It’s the stress from the last few days.”

“How are you feeling?” Tane asked Dad quickly.

“I’ve had better days, considering I just came back from the dead,” Dad quipped.

Tane nodded slowly. “I guess I was hoping Lyra wouldn’t tell you.”

“She is a crafty one, that Volur…” Dad said.

“Except she wasn’t the one who told us,” Mom said. “It was the AI.”

“Oh,” Tane said. He glanced toward the ceiling. “Thanks, Muse. I knew I could count on you to volunteer sensitive information when it wasn’t called for.”

“You’re very welcome,” the Mosaic’s AI replied. “They wanted to know what happened to them. When Lyra wouldn’t tell them, I decided to properly enlighten them.”

“Very tactful,” Tane said.

“I actually appreciate knowing the truth, hard as it is,” Dad said. “There’s nothing I hate more than someone lying to me. Evading a question, or only revealing a partial truth, is the same thing as lying in my book. Something Volurs are renowned for.”

Tane shifted uncomfortably, wondering if those words were aimed at him to a degree, because he had done the same in most of the messages he had sent Mom and Dad, except for his very last one.

“So she brought us back from the dead?” Mom said, drawing Tane out of his guilty introspection. “I didn’t know the Volur had that ability. I didn’t think anybody had it.”

“Uh, yeah, about that,” Tane said. He glanced at Sinive. “She kind of didn’t do it.”

“Oh?” Mom said. Her brow furrowed. “Then who did? These robots?”

Mom glanced at one of the medical robots stowed against the bulkhead nearby.

Meanwhile, his dad scowled at him. Tane was thinking about what he’d just said about evading questions.

“Well, uh,” Tane looked at his feet. “I kind of, uh… well.” He swallowed. How was he supposed to tell them he could raise the dead?

“It doesn’t matter,” Dad said. “Well actually, I suppose it does. But not right now. The important thing is, we’re reunited. We’re a family again. You’re going to come home now, right?”

Tane was grateful for the change in subject. And yet, the new topic was somehow even less agreeable.

“I can’t,” Tane said. “I have to leave right away, actually.”

“Well that’s fine,” Mom said. “We’ll come with you.”

Tane shook his head. “You can’t. It’s too dangerous.”

Mom sniffed. “I helped fend off an alien attack at the farm. I think I can handle a little danger.”

“Ha!” Dad said. “Like you did anything other than cower behind me.”

Mom gave him a dangerous look.

Dad quickly concentrated on his navel.

“So it’s settled then,” Mom said. “We’re coming.”

Tane didn’t say anything. He was going to leave them behind whether they liked it or not. He wouldn’t bring them into a war zone. He refused.

“So, I heard you kicked some TSN ass on Xalantas,” Dad said into the uncomfortable vacuum that followed.

“Uh, yeah...” Tane said. And he thought he’d felt uncomfortable before…

“Xalantas?” Mom said. “Never mind Xalantas. Please tell me that wasn’t you on Timerus… bowing before the Paramount Leader.”

So much for not talking about the World Bender.

“Uh, I was there,” Tane said. “But the Paramount Leader was bowing to me.” He felt rather proud bragging about that, but the admission seemed only to further displease his parents. At least his dad.

Mom, meanwhile, seemed downright confused. “That’s not what we saw.”

Tane frowned. He’d watched multiple videos of the incident online. Some showed the proper outcome: the Paramount Leader and everyone else in the room—all the courtiers and guards—bowing to Tane. But other videos were fake, and showed Tane as the one kneeling before the Paramount Leader, with clickbait titles like: “World Bender bends knee to Paramount Leader.”

Apparently Mom had viewed one of the doctored videos.

“That video was fake,” Tane said.

“Oh, thank the stars!” Mom said.

“No, you don’t understand,” Tane said. “I was there, on Timerus. I met the Paramount Leader in his palace. But—”

“It’s true then!” Mom despaired. “The TSN has my son in their clutches. And now they’ll never give you up.” She glanced around the compartment suspiciously. “Are we aboard a TSN flagship? Is this a TSN sickbay? And those Volurs… they’re here to keep you prisoner. To keep us prisoner. Aren’t they?”

“Let him talk!” Dad told her. “You keep interrupting.” He leaned forward to address Tane. “So go ahead. You met the Paramount Leader. And then what happened?”

“Well, as I said already, the Paramount Leader knelt before me,” Tane told his dad. He felt a little embarrassed repeating that fact again, as if it was obvious he was bragging about it. And he suddenly didn’t feel worthy of having had the commander in chief of the Thorran Star Navy kneeling before him, at least not in the disapproving eyes of his parents.

Dad stared at Tane with a slightly amused expression, as if he thought Tane were joking. But when Tane returned that gaze grimly, all humor left his dad’s features. “You’re not kidding, are you?”

“Here.” Tane pulled up a video of the incident he’d saved earlier, and forwarded it to his dad and mom.

They were quiet for a few moments as they watched it.

“We’ve seen this one,” Mom said. “But we thought it wasn’t real. It’s not, is it? It can’t be… why would they all be kneeling to you?”

“Because he’s the Bender of Worlds,” Dad said. “Like he told us.”

“It can’t be true,” Mom said. “If that really was you on Xalantas… killing all those innocent people.” Tears welled in Mom’s eyes.

Tane felt ashamed, standing there before his mom. He couldn’t say any words to defend himself. She was right.

I’m a monster.

“I’d hardly call them innocent,” Dad said. “They were trying to capture him: it was obvious from the video we saw. They deserved to die as far as I’m concerned. He was right to kill them all.”

Mom didn’t say anything, only shaking her head.

Dad looked at Tane. “You told us in your last message you were going to face the Paramount Leader. I guess that meeting was successful. You’ve got the entire TSN in your pocket now?”

Tane nodded slowly.

“The Bender of Worlds,” Mom whispered. “My poor, beautiful son.” She glanced at him. There was fear there, deep-seated fear. He wasn’t entirely sure if that fear was for him and his well-being, or rather that she was afraid of him. Either way, it wasn’t a look a son ever hoped to see in the eyes of his mother.

“I’m just me,” Tane told her. “I’ll always be me, to you.” He glanced at Sinive, and squeezed her hand. He returned his attention to his parents. “But when I leave this room, I become the Paramount Leader, and I have to deal with all the duties and accouterments that come with it.”

“In your last message, you mentioned something about stars disappearing, and boundaries thinning,” Dad said. “You told us we’d hear reports of people vanishing, and monsters running rampant. You were right on all accounts. We never experienced any of it personally, thankfully, but we saw enough on the live streams to know you spoke the truth.”

“Yes,” Tane said. “The universe is ending.”

“So you’re heading to the galactic core?” Dad said. “That’s what you told us in the same message.”

“I am,” Tane said. “But first I have to deal with the dwellers. They must kneel to me, too, before this is done.”

“Well I’m certainly not going to miss that.” Dad forced himself to sit up entirely, and he slid his legs off the bed. “When do we leave?”

Tane smiled weakly. “You’re not coming.”

“Of course we are.” Mom sat up too, and swung her legs over the edge of her own bed. Her voice was shaky, but at least the fear was gone: the resolve was obvious in her tone.

“You can’t,” Tane said. “You’ll stay in the barracks of the local TSN base. As honored guests.”

“Unacceptable,” Dad said.

“This is the safest place for you,” Tane said. “I’m going to a war zone. And after that, at the galactic core…”

“A war zone?” Mom said. “And yet you’re bringing her with you?” She nodded toward Sinive, the jealously obvious in her voice.

“Mom, please,” Tane said.

“You don’t have to do this,” Mom said.

“I have no choice,” Tane said. “This galaxy... the entire universe needs me. Trust me when I tell you, I never wanted any of this. It’s a duty that’s been thrust onto me. I just want to live in peace and be left alone. But I have no choice.”

“So about the galactic core...” Dad said. “You’re not going to mess with the supermassive black hole there, are you?”

“I have to,” Tane said. “There is an alien race there, the Gravity Heathens, and—”

“But nothing can ever emerge from its event horizon,” Dad interrupted. “It isn’t physically possible. Not even light can escape.”

“Now you know why you can’t come,” Tane said. “If I don’t return, I need to know that some part of me will be kept alive, in the minds of those who loved me. Some part of my family.”

Mom wept. “You’re going to die.”

“Listen to me,” Tane said. “If I don’t go, then everyone dies, you hear me? Everyone. In all galaxies throughout the universe.” He left out the small fact that there was a chance the universe could end anyway, even if he did go. He could fail. In fact, he probably would.

But he had to try.

“You can go anywhere you want,” Tane said. “As long as it’s not with me. I’d prefer that you stay here at this TSN base, since you’ll be safe from any dweller attacks or kidnapping attempts, going forward. But if you want to return to the farm, that’s fine as well, however I’m going to have to ask that you accept a small escort of soldiers if you do.”

Dad sighed. “That’s fine. But I still wish you’d let us go with you. If the universe is ending, what’s the point of staying here? Even with all the guards in the world, there’s a chance we could vanish to another universe, isn’t there?”

“There is,” Tane said. “But I’m hoping that won’t happen. Well then. I should probably be going. Thanks again for everything. Do you think you can walk?”

Dad slid off the bed, held out his arms for balance, and then took a few steps forward. “Seems okay.”

“Mom?” Tane asked.

She nodded absently, and rose to her feet, wiping away the tears and sniffling. “I can walk.”

Tane summoned a group of Mancers to sickbay via his HUD. They arrived, and waited in the passageway outside.

When Dad saw them, he said: “What’s this?”

“Your honor guard, Dad,” Tane told him.

“You know, I almost didn’t believe it was true,” Dad said. “I guess it’s becoming obvious. You really are the World Bender.”

“But never to you, Dad,” Tane said.

“Actually, you’re wrong,” Dad said. “You’ve always been the World Bender to me. And so much more.”

Tane couldn’t help but smile at that. “Thank you.”

He escorted them to the airlock and hugged his mom and dad one last time.

“I’ll miss you,” Mom said. “Good luck.”

“Thank you,” Tane said.

“Give ‘er hell,” Dad said.

Tane watched his parents descent the ramp with their escort, and he used Essence Sight when they were out of view, following them until they vanished inside the nearest TSN building.

Then he returned his perspective inside of himself, and turned toward Sinive. “I hope I see them again.”

“You will,” Sinive said, but from the quaver in her voice, it sounded like even she didn’t believe it.

18

Tane returned to his quarters. Via the Galnet, he sent a missive to the Paramount Leader. The mines Alric had built to transfer raw minerals to the creodenti were to be reopened immediately.

I always uphold my end of a bargain.

Then Tane had the four ships under his command proceed to jump altitude, and the vessels created distortion tunnels to the closest system containing a rift to the Umbra. They appeared in random locations, and began the lengthy journey toward the gas giant where the rift was located, rendezvousing with one another along the way.

During the trip, when Tane was not making love to Sinive, he practiced the level one work the creodenti had given him in their digital manual. Rock Skin. He did so in the specialized padded compartment he had set aside for the practice of Essence.

Now that he had finally achieved the Gray Siphoning, learning Rock Skin came rather quickly, surprisingly. He got it after only six hours of practice. Apparently the Gray was one of the easier Essences to learn. It helped that his intelligence was relatively high at the moment, versus when he had first tried to create a work of the White manually from a hologram. Plus the stamina drain was also fairly low, allowing him to make repeated attempts before a rest was required.

So when he finally created the necessary fractal design of quarks along his skin, and allowed it to set in this reality, a thick rock shell formed over his body, covering his epidermis everywhere, including underneath his clothes. In fact the extra thickness ripped his clothing in places—namely the crotch and armpit areas. Even his eyes were covered, though by some form of translucent quartz that still allowed him to see, albeit at the cost of foggy vision. He’d probably be using Essence Sight when he invoked this work, so it wouldn’t matter anyway.

Sinive was in their stateroom, but she liked to monitor him during their practice sessions, and she yelped in surprise over the comm when she saw what had happened to him.

“It’s all right,” Tane said. “The work was supposed to do this to me.”

“You know,” Sinive said. “I’m kind of turned on, looking at that rock skin of yours. I’m coming down there.”

Sinive arrived soon enough, and jumped him.

Unfortunately, Tane couldn’t quite get it up, not with all that rock weighing down his member, so he had to disappoint her on the sexual front. But when the Rock Skin wore off after ten minutes, they returned to their quarters and promptly made love like rabbits.

A short while later he was back inside the padded compartment. Now that he had achieved four Essences, there was something he wanted to try: combining them all. He was curious to see what would happen, if anything.

He donned the bone crown and held the mineral rock in hand, then he stepped into the White, touched the Dark, parted the veil to the Emerald, and melded with the Gray. Then he created an Esoterum Branchwork, and intermixed it with a random Arcanum timeline, and allowed Synthate to spark inside of it, and the quarks of the Naelbin to flow from his skin and into the frozen light.

Nothing happened, at least at first. And then… a very strange thing occurred.

Translucent, white shapes began to float past. They were wormlike, with several legs, like millipedes. They emerged from the bulkhead on one side of the compartment, and vanished through the bulkhead on the far side.

“Sinive, are you seeing this?” Tane asked.

Sinive was back in the stateroom, but on the comm line as always. Probably reading or something, but she would have focused on the compartment’s camera feed when he spoke.

“Seeing what?” she asked.

“Never mind,” he replied.

“Tell me,” Sinive pressed. “If you see something, I want to know.”

“Well, I don’t know,” Tane said. “I was experimenting with combining the Essences, and now it looks like there are… creatures… floating through the room. They’re insubstantial, and passing right through the walls. It’s almost like I’m observing echoes of beings that exist in higher dimensions. Beings that reside in the same space and time, but not in our universe.”

“Weird,” Sinive said. “You’ve never seen something like this before?”

“No,” Tane said.

“How do you know it’s not simply a sign that the universe’s boundaries are further weakening?” Sinive asked. “Maybe it would have happened anyway, no matter what you did.”

“It’s possible,” Tane said. “But the beings only appeared when I attempted to combine all four Essences.”

“You’re still Siphoning, and seeing them?” Sinive said.

“I am.”

“What happens when you step out of the different Essences?” Sinive asked.

Tane released the combined Essences.

“They’re gone,” Tane said. He Siphoned the four once again, and attempted to combine them. The insubstantial beings promptly returned. “And now that I Siphoned and combined all four again, they’re back.”

“Hmm,” Sinive said. “Well, that’s certainly interesting. I guess. But I’m not sure how it helps you.”

“Neither am I,” Tane told her.

He released the Essences and the entities vanished. He expected to see some sort of notification on his HUD telling him of his newfound ability, whatever it was, but the chip apparently had no idea, either. Why would it? He was using Essences in ways the chip had never heard of.

Deciding to call it a day, he returned to his quarters.

* * *

The four ships approached the rift behind the gas giant.

While in the Umbra earlier, Tane had informed the Seventh Fleet that he planned to return via this specific rift. The Fleet had sent a courier to this universe with the news, and Alric had dispatched several warships to guard the opening.

Tane’s four vessels identified themselves to the warships, and they passed through the black rift set among the stars without issue.

On the other side, the Seventh Fleet had left eight warships waiting for them, as a deterrent to any dwellers that might decide to show up. None did.

“Well, jumping between universes certainly goes a lot more smoothly when you have the whole of the TSN on your side,” Sinive commented. Her voice diverged into high and low octaves at the same time, and when she moved, she left behind a visible motion trail.

Ah, the Umbra. It was good to be back.

Tane could have used his level seven Dark and White Mixing Essencework, Inter-dimensional Distortion Tunnel, to return to the Umbra, however he would still have to rendezvous with the fleet, because he would appear at the exact same coordinates in the Dark universe as where he created the Tunnel in Umanitar. It just seemed easier to travel by ship from the start.

The fleet headed toward the closest moon, 57A, so that they could jump when they were near enough to the gravity well and then rendezvous with the fleet.

They had to come right up to the moon before it became visible in the Umbra. Tane remembered traveling here for the first time. Nebb had been forced to land to clear crillia from the hull. Tane had gone outside with Sinive to help, and before he knew it, kraals had attacked, separating him and Sinive from the rest of the team. They had escaped in a flyer, crashed, and the dark threads emerging from Tane’s body had guided him to a triggerable lens, placed by Tiberius, that activated an Inter-dimensional Distortion Tunnel and took them back to his own universe.

That had been a different time. I had been so naive, then. Hadn’t even known I could Siphon.

Tane shook his head. Those were the days.

When all four ships reached the moon, they jumped to the Agrandazzer system, where the fleet was waiting. The Seventh had gathered into a cloud of vessels several million kilometers away from the dweller homeworld.

It took five hours to rejoin his escort, and rendezvous with that cloud.

When he finally reached the main fleet, Tane took a shuttle to the flagship immediately. The two warships with the Red Grizzly and the Mosaic kept themselves positioned between his craft and the other members of the Seventh Fleet, concealing Tane from the line of fire of other nearby ships as a precaution against assassination attempts. Smaller shuttles also accompanied his craft, serving as decoys.

Lyra maintained a Blur Features work around the shuttle to hide their position on the thermal and visual bands during those times when the warships couldn’t completely cover them. Even so, he was ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice.

But no attacks came.

As soon as he was aboard the Titanium, an escort of Mancers and Essence warriors from his Doomwalkers took their places at his side, and led him and Sinive through the passageways. Lyra, Jed and Chase joined the escorts.

G’allanthamas meanwhile was coming in on a different shuttle, and he would load into a cargo bay aboard the Titanium when he arrived.

His friends bid Tane farewell when he reached the stateroom he shared with Sinive.

“Keep your mind rested,” Lyra told him. “You must maintain your stamina for what comes.”

Tane nodded, and then entered the hatch to his quarters.

He found the admiral waiting inside the receiving compartment.

Sinive proceeded toward the bedroom quarters. “I’ll leave you two alone.” She gave Tane a mischievous wink before vanishing through the hatch.

“Your orders, World Bender?” William asked.

“We proceed to the Cre’ite colony world,” Tane replied. “And subdue the dweller fleet.”

The admiral nodded. “I’ll inform the captains.” He departed.

Tane accessed the tactical display. The waiting enemy fleet hovered protectively above the colony world. There were three ships for every TSN vessel. Shuttles moved back and forth between the surface and waiting transport ships, the craft frantically ferrying inhabitants into orbit. That planet was home to the biggest Cre’ite colony in the Umbra, according to G’allanthamas. Even though the aliens no doubt had advance warning of the fleet’s arrival, Tane doubted very much that they had managed to jump out more than a fraction of the colony’s population. There were simply too many inhabitants, and far too few transport ships to hold them.

It took five more hours to reach the planet. During that time Tane meditated, and made love to Sinive.

Finally, the admiral informed him that the fleet was in place.

19

Tane rose from his bunk and dressed.

Sinive grabbed his hand from behind, unwilling to let him go.

“Stay a bit longer,” she said.

“No,” Tane said.

“Let me come with you,” she insisted.

“I’ve given you access to my feed,” Tane said. “You can view everything remotely. I want to keep the bridge as clear of personnel as possible. The less distractions I and the rest of the bridge crew have, the better.”

“Is that all I am to you, a distraction?” Sinive said.

Tane sighed. “No...”

“Some sex doll you use to get off, and when I’m done you discard me?” Sinive said.

“No!” Tane said. “What the hell. Don’t talk that way. Never talk that way. I literally went through hell and back to Revive you. You know I’d do anything for you. Anything. If you really want to join me on the bridge, then go ahead. But trust me, you’re not going to be missing anything.”

She sighed. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m not so clingy as that. Not usually. I go off on my own to explore the ship often enough. You should have that right, too. But this is different. You know that.” She lowered her gaze. “It’s just… I guess, well, I miss our adventures. Hunting kraals together. Exploring new planets. These past two weeks, I’ve gotten used to being with you… having you at my side almost all the time. I don’t like giving you up. I’m selfish that way. It was hard enough doing it when you went down to rescue your parents on Galtede Serpentis. But I suppose I’ll just have to get used to it.”

“The path of the Bender of Worlds is one I’ll have to walk alone,” Tane said.

“But it doesn’t have to be that way...” Sinive said, meeting his eyes.

“It does,” Tane said. “When I face the Z’Antamaraan, you won’t be able to come with me. Not you, not Lyra, not Jed. No one. It’s like death. No one can come with you when you make the final crossing. You know that. You’ve experienced it firsthand.”

Her face hardened. “I have. And it’s not something I look forward to experiencing again.” She gestured toward the door. “Go then, oh great Bender of Worlds. Come back to me when Tane has returned.”

Tane smiled between gritted teeth. He hated it when she called him Bender of Worlds, and she knew it. But she had it right: he was the World Bender at the moment, not Tane.

He made his way to the bridge, escorted by his Doomwalkers.

During the trip, Lyra called him, voice only.

“What is it?” Tane asked.

“Can I join you on the bridge?” Lyra responded.

Tane almost said yes. It would have been reassuring to have her at his side, but he’d already denied Sinive, and the latter was likely viewing his feed at this very moment. If he allowed Lyra to come along, he’d never hear the end of it. “I’ll give you remote access to my feed. You have my permission to share it with Jed, and your sister.”

“Thank you,” Lyra said.

Tane shared the feed from his chip, as relayed from his vision, and continued on his way.

When he arrived at the bridge, he took his place at the observation post beside the admiral. Chase and another member of his Doomwalkers took up a guard position next to the two skirmisher robots assigned to the bridge entrance.

Tane remembered the first time he had visited the flagship’s bridge. He had never actually set foot on a starship bridge before. Oh sure, he’d experienced them in VR simulations and games, and he’d been inside the cockpits of smaller ships like the Red Grizzly and the Mosaic, but never a starship. When he’d stood before the entrance hatch that first time, he’d felt tremendous excitement. He was about to enter the bridge of a flagship, after all, command center of the fleet. It had to be amazing.

And then when the hatch had finally opened, what he’d witnessed had been rather underwhelming.

He was still underwhelmed, looking at it now. The bridge was a square-shaped, cramped affair, no larger than the two compartments of his stateroom combined. There was no furniture, except for the armchairs on the far wall, where the bridge crew, including the captain, resided. The different men and women were seated so that they faced the entrance. There were no desks or control consoles in front of them: they achieved all of their tasks via their chips, as indicated by their defocused eyes, and the occasional hand gesture. Tane was told that the AI, Pico, controlled most of the different sub-systems, and these human beings acted mostly as babysitters, though they did make overarching command decisions as necessary, based on orders from the captain, who answered of course to the admiral.

Tane activated the tactical display, and the three-dimensional diagram of the battle space overlaid his vision. The Titanium was at the center of the cloud of ships represented by the blue dots on that display. The dweller fleet, meanwhile, showed up as red dots in a convex formation in front of the planet, which appeared as a large white sphere. Neither the dweller fleet nor the planet were close enough to show up on the visual band, given the way light worked in the Umbra, and the fleet had determined the positions via stealth drones it had launched well ahead of the main body.

“What’s our status?” Tane asked.

“The Seventh Fleet has come to a halt just outside their long range weapons, as requested,” William said.

“Have they attempted communications yet?” Tane asked the admiral.

Pico was the one who replied. “Not yet.”

“We’re close enough for near real-time communications, correct?” Tane asked.

“Lag is about fifteen seconds at this range,” William said. “But yes, close enough.”

“All right,” Tane said. “Then hail them. Tell them their Doomwielder is here to see them yield to his will.”

Fifteen seconds passed. Thirty. A minute.

“No answer,” Pico said.

“Should we try that gravimetric communication method?” William asked.

That was how dweller ships communicated with one another by default. G’allanthamas was waiting in the cargo bay, ready to coordinate with Pico to alter the mass of one of the reactor cores to generate the gravimetric waves necessary for such communications.

“Not yet,” Tane said. “We know they can intercept and reply to our common band signals. I don’t see the point in revealing to them that we have a dweller aboard. Not just yet.” Tane paced. “What do you think they’re going to do?”

“I’m not sure,” the admiral said. “These are dwellers. Their thinking is alien. When I was the captain of a Decantium cruiser during the war, no dweller ever behaved like a human opponent. Every time I thought I had the behavior of one of their unit’s pegged, they’d always do something to surprise me. Sometimes to their detriment. Sometimes to ours. Either way, they’re far from predicable.”

“We do know they won’t let us close with the planet,” Tane said.

“Probably not...” the admiral agreed.

The dwellers were well aware that a human fleet of the Seventh’s size could destroy that world. The Seventh would have to get close enough to the planet’s gravity well so that the lance specialists could step into the Essence, of course, while fending off dweller attacks at the same time. Once they were in place, by launching a combined strike of Essence Lances at the same spot, the Seventh Fleet would be able to drill a hole into the geodynamo core. When the massive amount of Essence from the Lumina contacted the Dark Essence stored in the core, the planet would be obliterated. This same end could be achieved either in the Umbra, or Tane’s home universe: the end result would be the destruction of the world.

In the aftermath, a rift as large as the one that followed the destruction of the dweller homeworld in Anteres would be created, giving the aliens another entry point into our universe. It was the creation of such a rift that had mostly prevented the TSN from destroying more dweller worlds over the years: the TSN didn’t want the hassle of guarding another one-way portal from the Umbra. The dwellers knew that, but they also knew that with Tane at their head, the TSN was now unpredictable.

“They know they have the advantage when it comes to weapons, at the moment,” William said. “The dwellers can fire their Dark equivalents of Essence Lances, but we’re too far from the gravity well to access ours. We still have plasma throwers, lasers, and missiles, of course. But those will have to penetrate their shielding first.”

“The conundrums of the Umbra,” Tane said.

“Indeed,” the admiral said.

A few more tense minutes passed.

Then a man, whom Tane’s chip identified as the comm officer, looked up.

“They’re opening communications,” the man said.

“Patch the comm line through to me, and the admiral,” Tane said.

“It’s done,” the comm officer said.

Tane looped in G’allanthamas as well, in case the dweller wanted to offer any feedback during the discussion.

“I am Fleetmaster Na’reem Flag’orn,” came the voice over the line. As usual, each word seemed sourced from a different human speaker, sometimes man, sometimes woman, with dialects ranging from Outrim to Core. “Leader of the Cre’ite Venga Fleet.”

Tane glanced at the admiral, and muted the line to say: “He’s using human formalities, introducing himself.”

“That’s a good sign,” William agreed.

“And you are the Doomwielder, Tane Ganeth?” the dweller continued.

Tane unmuted the connection. “I am. Thank you for finally answering. I’m sure you’re aware that the universe—”

“We wish an armistice,” the dweller interrupted.

Tane glanced at the admiral.

William cocked an eyebrow in acknowledgment of the rudeness. “There is lag, remember. Perhaps the dweller hadn’t yet heard you speak.”

Tane nodded slowly. He continued where he’d left off before the interruption. “The boundaries between universes are failing. Umanitar will succumb first, and when it is gone, the Umbra and all adjacent universes will die as well. I’m here to stop that from happening. But I need your help. I’m here to enlist the aid of your fleet. I—”

“You mistake me,” the dweller interrupted once more. “We care little about your universe and its failing boundaries. We care only for you. We agree to let your fleet go in exchange for you, Doomwielder. You will board a shuttle immediately and fly to our flagship.”

“Ah, but you are the one who mistakes me,” Tane said. “Because I will do no such thing. The options are simple: you will kneel before me, your Doomwielder, and do as I command, or I will destroy this world. And then I will hunt down the other Cre’ite colonies, and do the same to every last one of them, until you surrender. I’m sure the other dweller factions will be eager to fill the gap left once the great Cre’ite Empire is reduced to a mere shadow of its former power.”

He waited fifteen seconds for the reply.

“We will stop you,” the dweller said. “Our ships outnumber yours three to one.”

“My appearance here is merely a courtesy,” Tane said. “None of my ships need to get close to your planet to destroy it. Because you see, Fleetmaster, this is not the only task group I have. In my own universe, I’ve positioned a far greater fleet around this world. My admirals are prepared to destroy the planet on my word. You’ll have no further time to evacuate: it will take maybe an hour for my courier to return to Umanitar and jump back to this system. The ships are already in formation, awaiting the order, and when it comes, they will launch all of their Essence Lances in concert. It will take maybe two hours before the planet’s core is breeched. When the White of our lances meets the Dark core…”

“How do we know you aren’t bluffing?” the response came.

Tane engaged the mute.

“You think they know?” Tane asked William.

“I doubt it,” the admiral replied. “How could they?”

“They have spies in our universe...” Tane said.

“Yes,” William said. “But even they need couriers. It’s doubtful they’ll receive any news for a while. Especially considering that we have warships guarding all known entrances to the Umbra.”

“Known entrances being the key words,” Tane said. “There are probably unknown rifts out there, in systems we’ve never explored. But still, I think you’re right. It’ll take them some time to confirm that we have no ships in place… I probably should have dispatched another fleet to Agrandazzer in our universe, just to be on the safe side. If the TSN wasn’t spread so thin…”

Tane took a moment to consider what he was going to say, and then canceled the mute. “You really want to take the risk that we’re bluffing?”

The response came thirty seconds later, rather than the usual fifteen. “I’m sending a series of coordinates. Tell your Umanitar fleet to create a forty-kilometer blast crater at the site. There are no dwellers or kraals currently inhabiting the coordinates, so the area will reset instantly to match your universe. When you have done this, I’ll send troops in to confirm the appearance of the crater.”

Tane muted the connection. “We can dispatch a courier to Umanitar, and then have a few ships jump in to blast out a crater with nukes. The dwellers will never know the size of the fleet we deployed.”

“But that will give them time to dispatch their own courier to Umanitar…” William said.

“Good point.” Tane weighed his options, then unmuted the line. “Fleetmaster Na’reem, I can certainly do this. However, my gut tells me you’re simply trying to buy time. If I have to send a courier, the instructions will be to destroy your world, not create a blast crater. This is your last chance. I’m not bluffing.”

The response came exactly forty-five seconds later. “That won’t be necessary. We believe you, Doomwielder. But you must know that we dwellers cannot simply surrender. Not without some sort of contest of wills. We live for the sport of war. Here is what we can offer you. Partake in Bra’Rak’Ma’Gar.”

Tane furrowed his brow, and muted the public line. “Gall, have you ever heard of this?”

“Yes,” G’allanthamas replied. “Bra’Rak’Ma’Gar: the Battle Decided By Champions. It was used most often in ancient times, when the generals of competing armies wanted to decide the fate of a battle without inflicting casualties on either side. It’s been a long time since any dweller army or fleet has actually employed it. After we achieved spacefaring status, I can recall it being used only a handful of times between different dweller factions, and never by the Cre’ite, who much preferred to quash their foes directly. It was how they built their dominance among the dwellers, after all. Champions were too unreliable.”

“So what does this so-called Battle involve?” Tane pressed.

“Essentially, they will choose a champion to fight for them,” G’allanthamas said. “And you will do the same. Normally the fight is to the death. If you do accept their proposal, I ask that you choose me.”

Tane unmuted the line. “Where exactly will the fight take place, Fleetmaster? You know I probably won’t accept an arena aboard one of your ships, or on your planet...”

The reply came in fifteen seconds. “For the sake of fairness, the battle will take place at a location beyond firing range of both fleets. In low orbit, so that each champion may Siphon.”

“Low orbit?” Tane said. “So what, inside an orbital base or platform or something?”

He glanced at William, but Pico was the one who answered: “I’m not detecting any orbital platforms.”

“The fight will occur in the void,” the alien answered.

“In the void, in low orbit…” Tane said. “Even if you choose a site on the far side, away from the two fleets, the combatants will still be in range of any surface-to-space weapons you might have.”

“We will choose a location well away from any surface-to-space defenses,” the dweller replied. “Or destroy the platforms, as necessary. We will allow you to send in surveillance drones to confirm that the region is free of such weapons.”

“Fine, let’s say I agree… what do I get?” Tane said.

The response arrived. “If you win, I guarantee you the complete and unconditional surrender of our fleet, placing it entirely under your control.”

“And if my champion loses?” Tane asked.

The lagged answer came soon enough. “Ah, but you will not have a champion. For you see, we do have one condition. In order for this agreement to be binding, we ask that you, the Doomwielder, face our chosen one. You must be the champion for the humans. And to answer your question: if you lose, assuming you survive, we will waive the requirement of your death. Instead, we will chip you, and you will be under our control. But live or die, you also agree to forfeit command of your fleet to us in the event of a loss.” There was a pause. “Do you accept?”

William muted the line with a wave of his hand. He shook his head. “The fleet will never follow this alien commander if you lose. You know that, don’t you?”

“I do,” Tane said. “I’ll expect you to jump everyone out of here if that happens.”

“You’re seriously considering doing it?” the admiral pressed. When Tane didn’t answer, he added: “This is a very bad idea. My advice: don’t go through with it.”

Tane rubbed his chin. “We need their fleet. Thoughts, Gall? Will they uphold their end of the bargain?”

“The outcome of the Battle Decided By Champions has always been honored,” G’allanthamas said. “So yes, I believe they will, even if Admiral William has no intention of doing so in the event you lose.”

“You’re damn right I don’t,” William said.

“But they will be certain to choose a champion well beyond you,” G’allanthamas continued. “I would advise extreme caution. You may be the Doomwielder, but you aren’t invincible. Though you possess every Essencework of the Dark and the White, and a couple of others in between, most of those works are low level. Winning won’t be easy.”

“I know,” Tane said. “It usually isn’t.”

“If I may offer my opinion...” Lyra interjected over the comm.

“Yes, let me guess, time is running out,” Tane told her. “Every moment I delay means more lives lost. I should accept, and beat the hell out of their champion so we can get this done.”

“I was actually going to recommend that you don’t do it,” Lyra said.

“Oh,” Tane said.

“Your life is far too valuable to risk on some arena battle,” Lyra said. “You’ll be exposed out there. The battle is to take place beyond firing range of the two opposing fleets? What’s to stop one side, or one ship, from closing the distance while you fight, and then opening fire?”

“Obviously we’ll have to instigate a very stringent set of rules regarding the behavior of both fleets,” Tane said.

“I’m telling you, I suspect treachery,” Lyra continued. “Your alien friend G’allanthamas believes they’ll honor the agreement, but he also admitted the Cre’ite haven’t participate in a champion battle like this since achieving spacefaring status over a millennium ago.”

“There you go,” William said. “Even the Volur agrees with me. We should attack straightaway. You can go onto our hull, and use your World Bending powers to teach them a lesson.”

“I need their ships intact...” Tane said.

The admiral shrugged. “Then destroy as few of them as possible. Bloody their noses.”

Tane pondered a moment longer.

Agreeing to this would show the dwellers he respected their culture and traditions, something that was important if he wanted them to follow him with any degree of loyalty.

But on the other hand, it would also put him into a very precarious situation.

He made up his mind and unmuted the line.

“I accept,” Tane said.

“Perfect, Doomwielder,” the alien responded. “I will relay the details shortly.”

With that, the dweller disconnected.

William sighed. “Well then, guess I’ll start working on the contingency plan for when things go south. Because mark my words, when dealing with dwellers, things always go south.”

20

Tane transferred to a warship and it carried him away from the fleet and toward the agreed upon location. Six other TSN warships provided escort.

He felt the Essences return as the vessel entered low orbit.

When it crossed beyond the horizon of the far hemisphere, and out of the line of sight of both fleets, he boarded an unarmed shuttle and launched.

He was wearing a high-end, military grade spacesuit—it was as close as he could get to power armor without having to inject nanotech to use it. He accessed the shuttle’s external camera via his HUD so that the video feed overlaid a portion of his vision. The stars of deep space took up the upper portion of the feed, while below, the planetary surface filled the view, an orange and black dome of rock that spanned from horizon to horizon. The planet, X92, wasn’t occupied in human space, but instead contained cities of dark crystal created by dweller Builders. Many of the crystalline metropolises existed underneath hydrocarbon seas, though there were also some on the surface for those dwellers who preferred to inhabit non-liquid environments.

The dweller fleet had unleashed a gorewar laser barrage at the continent below, eliminating all surface-to-space platforms that were within firing range of the combat zone. When the dweller vessels had vacated the area, TSN drone scouts confirmed that there were no longer any active weapon arrays within range on the surface.

Tane shifted in his spacesuit. Because the armor rating was so high, it was a little bulkier than the standard suits he was used to. Plus the jetpack he wore at his back didn’t help matters.

Tane hadn’t been able to fit the bone crown underneath his helmet. He could have had a smaller piece of bone carved from the grazer skeleton the flagship carried, but he decided to forego the Emerald for this fight: first of all, Illusion didn’t affect dwellers. And secondly, he wasn’t sure Summon Grazer or Lightning Storm would function properly in the void. If he tried either work, and it failed, he’d have no strength left to finish the battle. Earlier he had checked with Nelson to see if his TSN liaison could find him some legendary item that would boost his Endurance into the double digits to counter such drain, but the man assured Tane that if there was such an item, the owner would be a Volur, and most likely would never sell it, especially to the military.

So there would be no use of the Emerald this time. And in regards to the Gray: the rock he used to meld with the Naelbin didn’t fit inside his spacesuit glove, of course, so he had instructed Nelson to print up a compatible metal slab that Tane could slide into the glove instead, a flat, hand-shaped piece that would fit over his knuckles while still allowing him to wield equipment like the beam hilt or Staffs of Swirls.

While he wore that slab inside his glove now, he couldn’t actually engage Rock Skin, not unless he wanted to potentially damage the armored robe he wore under his spacesuit, or perforate the spacesuit itself. He planned to employ Rock Skin as a backup in case the suit ever lost pressure—assuming he didn’t lose consciousness at the same time.

So for the most part he intended to rely upon the tried and true works that were available to him in the Dark and White for the coming battle. He knew the pros and cons of those works very well by now, thanks to his extensive training against the kraals. He was as ready as he would ever be for this, the most important fight of his life thus far.

Sinive, aboard the flagship, had remained on the comm line the whole time, and watched his approach thanks to the repeater nodes carried by the warships that still escorted him.

“I hate this,” Sinive said.

“We talked about this…” Tane said.

“I know, but that doesn’t make it right,” Sinive told him. “We’re your friends. We should be able to help you.”

“I always knew my final fights would be alone,” Tane said. “It had to be this way. Most personal battles are.”

“Yes, but this battle isn’t personal,” Sinive said.

“It is for me,” Tane said. “A personal battle, with the fate of the entire universe at stake.”

The TSN escort withdrew, as per the agreement, and Tane’s shuttle entered a stable orbit. He prepared himself for the inevitable arrival of the dweller shuttle. He expected it to appear as soon as the warships were outside of weapons range.

He didn’t have long to wait.

“I’m detecting an incoming dweller shuttle,” the shuttle’s AI, Cron Job, said after ten minutes. “Closing from the direction of the enemy fleet.”

“Give me a visual, maximum zoom,” Tane said. A starfield overlaid his vision, and he saw the black, diamond-shaped craft closing, visible only because its silhouette blotted out the stars.

“Is it an unarmed variant as agreed?” Tane asked the shuttle’s AI.

“Scans indicate it is,” Cron Job replied.

“So far, they’ve kept up their end of the bargain…” Tane said. But that could change at any time.

It was possible the dwellers had modified the craft, and had weapons hidden aboard.

No. They won’t kill me. They still want me. I know they do. But their behavior during the last guerrilla attack tells me they’re willing to destroy me, if it means the TSN can’t have me.

When the approaching shuttle crossed to within the one kilometer mark, Cron Job said: “The alien craft has reduced speed, stabilizing its orbit. It has halted relative to us. A dweller is emerging.”

Tane examined the remote feed. He saw an Amaranth out there, wrapped in a dark sphere of Protective Environment. The alien’s approach seemed slow, at least in relation to its own craft, but Tane knew that was an illusion—they were both orbiting the planet at velocities of well over twenty-five thousand kilometers per hour. That speed essentially placed them in geosynchronous orbit for the purposes of the coming fight.

The Amaranth was solid and distinct, at least compared to Tane, whose body, and the shuttle around him, appeared blurry. The creature wasn’t wearing anything inside the Protective Environment as far as Tane could tell, except for the alien equivalent of a jetpack, strapped to the carapace. But a fully pressurized suit didn’t matter anyway, since dwellers weren’t affected by the void while in the Umbra. If that dark sphere failed, the exposed flesh of the alien would first burn as the liquid hydrocarbons of its Protective Environment instantaneously boiled away, and then freeze, but the Amaranth would still be alive. Tane wasn’t sure why the Amaranth even bothered with the Protective Environment here. He’d have to ask G’allanthamas later. Maybe it was simply a matter of comfort, which explained why so many chose to live within liquid hydrocarbon environments on the planet below.

Tane ID’d the creature.

Name: J’raagan.

Race: Dweller

Level: 35

Class: Amaranth

Weaponry:

None

Shielding system: Energy. (150/150)

Base Armor rating: 0

Total armor rating (including shielding): 150

He realized it was the same member of the Cre’ite faction who had been hunting him from the very beginning. The Amaranth that had showed up when he came to retrieve the final artifact. The alien that had nearly captured him on Remus before S’Wraathar had intervened. And probably the same creature responsible for the original attack on his farm.

And the Amaranth had listed a name, this time, Tane noticed. The alien wanted him to know the name of his tormentor. And potential vanquisher.

As he stared at that level, he realized this had definitely been a bad idea. Tane had to be very careful not to let this Amaranth get too close. Given that Tane’s overall level was twenty-one in comparison to J’raagan’s, and that his individual Essencework levels were likely far lower as well, he’d never be able to Deflect the Dark Hand favored by the Amaranth, a work that would see Tane frozen in place. At least not on his own: the legendary equipment he wore offered a chance to automatically Deflect incoming attacks, and the Essencework created by that equipment was at a much higher level than he was personally capable of. But there was no guarantee that work of Deflect, if it activated, was powerful enough to counter whatever J’raagan threw his way.

If the Amaranth succeeded in seizing Tane with Dark Hand, the alien would inevitably follow up with Disrupt, preventing him from Siphoning, and essentially bringing Tane out of the fight.

He remembered the first time he had faced this alien, when he had Sinive, Jed, and Lyra at his side. J’raagan had been with a group of Amaranth. They had seemed impossible to defeat.

What made Tane think he could defeat this J’raagan now?

The fight is a little fairer. He has no other Amaranth backing him up.

But a little fairer didn’t exactly equate to fair.

I can still turn back… it’s not too late.

But if he did that, he knew the dwellers would never follow him. At least not willingly.

They detested cowards of any kind.

Good thing Tane wasn’t one.

“Open up the ramp,” Tane said before he could change his mind. “It’s time to get this done.”

He stared at the stars that were revealed as the ramp opened. He was grateful for the emotion-numbing effects of the Umbra. Without it, the fear would have probably been debilitating. Then again, maybe not: he had been through several terrible battles over the past few weeks. He knew what to expect in terms of his own abilities by now.

“Good luck,” Sinive said. “Love ya.”

That was the first time she’d ever told him those words. The way she said it, using the informal “ya,” made it sound like she was only half serious, but he knew the truth.

“Love you, too,” Tane said.

He stepped down the ramp and leaped. The artificial gravity of the cabin left him, and he felt nauseous as he stared at the planet looming below him, eating up the view. He had his suit apply an anti-nauseant, and then he unleashed a spurt from his jetpack to clear the craft. Thin dark threads led away from his body toward the planet below, threads that vanished about a meter underneath him.

The shuttle receded behind him, thanks to his burst of acceleration, but it also moved away to the right via its own propulsion. The craft would cease its retreat at the one-kilometer mark, and remain in place so that Sinive and the rest of his Doomwalkers, along with the bridge crew of the Titanium, could witness the fight firsthand.

Assuming the dwellers didn’t jam the signal.

He glanced at his HUD. So far, the comm indicators were still green.

“Do you still read me?” Tane asked.

“We do,” Lyra replied.

“I’m probably not going to be saying very much for the next few minutes,” Tane said.

“Perfectly understandable,” Jed told him over the comm.

Jed. He remembered when the pair had fought side by side in the early days. Good times.

Clear your mind. Focus.

Tane released another burst from the jetpack he was wearing to line himself up with the incoming Amaranth. It was good to finally have an actual jetpack, rather than relying upon vented bursts from his oxygen tank to steer.

Tane had experimented with Invisibility earlier, but because his level in the work was so low, he wasn’t able to conceal his bulky spacesuit and jetpack in its entirety. That was too bad, because it would have been helpful right about now. Then again, the dark threads emerging from his body would have still given him away, at least at close range. Or maybe not, depending on his angle of attack: with deep space at his back, those threads were very hard to see.

The rules of the battle required that only weapons of the Essence be employed, in addition to whatever weapons came with one’s body naturally. While beam hilts were fair game, no plasma rifles, energy launchers, and so forth could be employed. While shield generators helped protect against the latter, they were useless against weapons of the Essence, but even so Tane had his shield generator active, since there was nothing in the rules banning their use. He had autogating mode turned off, so that slow moving objects such as tentacles wouldn’t penetrate until they depleted his shield first. It was a slight advantage that might mean the difference between a win and a loss.

When he reached the five-hundred meter mark out from the Amaranth, Tane Siphoned Dark and White into the rings he wore underneath his spacesuit gloves, starting the countdown for the chance to automatically release Essence Missile and Fingers of Ruin every two minutes.

In his left hand he held the Aeagal Might, a shield of Chrysalium that Jed had given him for this battle. In addition to upping his base armor rating, it also boosted how much White he could Siphon. In his right he gripped the Staffs of Swirls instead of his usual beam hilt—even though beam hilts were allowed. He gripped it mostly for the chance those staffs gave him of automatically Deflecting incoming works while equipped with the Robe of Swirls beneath his spacesuit.

Blurs of motion came at him from both sides.

Already?

21

Tane thought they were Fingers of Ruin launched by his foe, and he tried to Deflect them, but the objects passed right through his defensive work and slammed into his spacesuit, where they attached.

Those weren’t works of the Dark, but crillia. The hand-sized, glowing blue slugs swarmed him, passing right through his generated shield to latch on to him from all sides. Alarms began to sound as the creatures dissolved the fabric.

His enemy had done this, no doubt employing some work of the Dark to control crillias. It was something new to Tane: no such work was listed in the Dark Essenceworks Tiberius had granted Tane. Unless it was some high level variant of Control Kraal.

Either way, he had never seen the dwellers do this before, though admittedly he had never actually engaged in close combat with an Amaranth while in deep space within the Umbra. He just wished G’allanthamas would have warned him they could do this. But the alien was never one to volunteer information, unless Tane asked.

Tane quenched the flames of the Dark around him so that they appeared closer around his body, and caused the crillia to scatter. But the attack had been a distraction…

Fingers of Ruin smashed into Tane’s shield, cracking it open. Tane hurled it away hastily before the dark veins could spread onto his glove, and he lost the bonus to his armor and Siphoning in the process.

Tane barely Deflected the next Fingers of Ruin smears that headed toward his body. The problem was he could barely see them against the backdrop of space. And they were powerful, too powerful… the most he could do was slow them down, and then jet out of the way before they hit him.

He frantically glanced at his overhead map, searching for the Amaranth’s position, but he realized J’raagan had activated Blur Body and no longer appeared anywhere on the visual or thermal band. Tane would have to get close to the alien if he wanted to see him.

Two can play at that game.

While Tane’s White work of Invisibility wasn’t powerful enough to hide him, he also had the Dark. He released a work of Blur Body that he had prepared in reserve, then quickly jetted in a random direction as the Dark sphere enveloped him.

He could hear his breathing, sounding loud and ragged as it echoed inside his suddenly too claustrophobic helmet.

J’raagan had caught him off guard. He hadn’t expected the Amaranth to be able to use Fingers of Ruin, or any Dark work, from so far away. Tane’s own Fingers of Ruin could travel maybe a hundred meters before dissipating entirely. That J’raagan could use it from a distance of five hundred meters meant he had a very high level in that work.

Tane’s blur sphere suddenly dissipated—J’raagan must have gotten close enough to issue a Disrupt. Yet he couldn’t have known where Tane was located. He must have possessed a Mass Disrupt equivalent, capable of affecting an entire area: another work Tane didn’t know existed.

Before Tane could react, an invisible vise squeezed around his body, hampering all movement. Dark Hand.

But then he was free an instant later—his legendary equipment had Deflected the work.

Lucky.

He released a Dark Distortion Tunnel he had in reserve and jetted through it, putting some distance between himself and his enemy. He had placed it overhead, so that when he emerged the planet was directly below him. He had hoped that the relatively bright backdrop of the planet below would allow him to pick out the darker Blur Sphere of his opponent in the foreground. No such luck: Tane must have jumped too far away.

Either that, or J’raagan had already created a distortion tunnel to follow him.

Tane cast his Essence Sight about, searching for his mortal enemy, but couldn’t spot him. If J’raagan had jumped, it had been to the same plane as Tane, but beyond visual range.

Tane had only kept one each of Blur Body and Distortion Tunnel in his Dark reserves: he could still create a Distortion Tunnel immediately with the White if he needed to, but it would exhaust him utterly. And Blur Body would take him four minutes to create.

He jetted away, accelerating to top speed. He kept expecting J’raagan to jump him via a distortion tunnel, but so far the alien was holding back. Cautious, or cocky? Either way, the alien was likely following him.

Tane began a new Blur Body timeline. He considered retreating to the trailing shuttle, but that would be the same as giving up, and would be taken as cowardice by the dwellers.

I refuse to give up. I can do this.

He switched his combined Staffs of Swirls into his left hand, and retrieved the beam hilt hanging from his belt.

He glanced at his map: nothing there. With Essence Sight he searched the stars around him and the planet below, but couldn’t discern his enemy anywhere.

He remembered when he had first drawn Chrysalium through the hull of a TSN starship, while fending off the dweller fleet in Anteres. He had spotted two dark spheres of energy approaching him, spheres harboring two Amaranth. No doubt they had also been employing Blur Body in addition to Protective Environment, yet he had picked them out easily. Maybe it had been luck that he had spotted them, but more likely it had been the massive storm of White Essence shrieking across his bones, which had magnified his Essence Sight ability far beyond what he was ordinarily capable of. An enhancement he didn’t have now.

Without warning several Essence Missiles and Fingers of Ruin erupted from his body, thanks to his two rings. He’d actually forgotten about the rings, and their chance to create those works every two minutes. Well, it was wasted: without targets, those works traveled out into empty space.

He kept waiting for J’raagan to close via distortion tunnel, but still the alien was still holding back.

Why?

Maybe J’raagan only had one work of Dark Hand in reserve. And he was staying back for the time being, to recreate that work. But it only required two minutes to create a new Dark Hand from scratch. Faster, at higher levels.

And then Tane understood.

The fate of the universe was at stake. This dweller had all the reason in the galaxy to finish this battle as quickly as possible, and yet J’raagan couldn’t resist the most primal urge innate to his species.

He’s toying with me. Drawing this out for the sport.

Tane could use that.

He wants sport? I’ll give him sport.

Tane began surreptitiously leaving Essence Traps of the White while he fled, placing the invisible works behind him like mines. He moved in an arc, traveling slowly to the right, and after a minute, he weaved to the left, flying in a similar arc in the opposite direction. He left Essence Traps at intervals behind him the whole way. This while he continued the Blur Body timeline.

He finished that timeline but didn’t release it, instead holding the work in reserve. He wanted J’raagan to see him, for now.

Tane continued changing his direction every two minutes as he laid those traps. He was beginning to grow weary from creating so many low-level White works, and rested longer between placing each trap. Still, he hoped luck would be on his side. There was a chance, if a small one, that while pursuing Tane, J’raagan would hit one of the invisible traps at some point. The detonation would reveal his position. And even if J’raagan had some Dark version of Deactivate in reserve that he could use to disable any traps in front of him, there were far too many for him to get them all, especially considering the creation time involved with new Dark timelines.

Finally the break Tane was looking for arrived.

A flash behind him alerted him to the explosion of one of the traps. Tane’s helmet AI recorded the position on his map.

Tane immediately released his Blur Body reserve to hide himself. Then he activated his jumpjets at full burn and accelerated toward the spot—the flash left by the explosion was long gone, but a translucent blue square overlaid his vision courtesy of his HUD, guiding him.

He must have been moving too fast for Blur Body to properly conceal him, because a Dark Hand wrapped around him again.

Tane was ready this time. He tried something he had never attempted before: releasing two works of Deflect, one Dark from his reserves, one White created at the spur of the moment. While either work was low level on its own, combined, he thought they might have a chance of stopping the work.

It succeeded. He was free to move.

Fingers of Ruin came at him next. The smears were thick, and he was able to easily trace them toward the source. Once again he combined Deflect from both disciplines, and shucked off the attack. He had no more Dark Deflects in reserve, so he’d have to make his next attack count…

He accelerated toward the source of the dark smears, and spotted the Blurring Sphere that enveloped J’raagan.

A Disrupt began to take hold over him. He was hoping he would be moving too fast for the Amaranth to snag him with that, but he was wrong.

The Deflect from his legendary gear saved him.

Tane unleashed his own Disrupt work from his Dark reserves, and created a White Disrupt at the same time, and laid both upon J’raagan. Once again the combination worked: the alien’s Blurring Sphere failed, as did the Protective Environment, so that J’raagan was suddenly exposed, floating naked in space. The sphere of liquid hydrocarbons that had surrounded him instantly turned to mist.

J’raagan would be unable to create any new works for the next few minutes while the combined Disrupt was in effect, and would have to rely upon any works the alien had in reserve.

Continuing to close, Tane released several Essence attacks at once. Of the White: Essence Missile. Forked Lightning. Paralyze Enemy. Of the Black: All his Fingers of Ruin reserves. Melt Metal.

Javelins of white light, bolts of blue electricity, smears of deadly black, all traveled away from Tane and toward his foe.

J’raagan Deflected two of the Missiles, but Tane thought the rest of his works got through. He couldn’t be sure, however, because in a split second he was already speeding past, still moving at full acceleration, his flyby complete.

He glanced at his rearview video feed. J’raagan remained in place behind him, drifting lifelessly, surrounded by dispersing yellow mist.

I got him.

Tane decelerated, and slowly approached.

Yes, most of his works had definitely struck home.

J’raagan had large black wounds all over his carapace where the deadly works had struck. He was missing three tentacles, and two legs, which were severed and floating alongside the body. The enemy’s jetpack had partially melted away, fusing with the region just behind the sideways-oriented head. J’raagan was also missing a large portion near the rear of his carapace. A thick black mist billowed from all the wounds as his blood vaporized upon touching the void.

Tane thought the wounds must be mortal, especially the latter one involving the big chunk taken out of the rear carapace. But J’raagan was still alive, at least for now: that sideways-oriented head tilted toward Tane. It was obvious from the way the jaw clenched and unclenched that the Amaranth was suffering and in great pain.

Tane held out his beam hilt and allowed the Essence ax to explode into existence.

Before he could deliver the killing blow, a final mercy, Tane was frozen by Dark Hand.

He tried to create Deflect, but it didn’t take—a work of Disrupt had already been lowered upon him.

Tane attempted to jet away, but the invisible vise held him firmly in place.

Had J’raagan done this, or…?

In answer to his question, several more Amaranth appeared around him.

So the dwellers had lied after all, and betrayed him in the end. Tane had won. But the aliens had never intended to live up to their end of the bargain.

The Amaranth had used Blur Body to close with him, making them essentially invisible until within range, masked as they were by the darkness of space. Tane had been concentrating all of his attention on J’raagan, further allowing the blurred Amaranth to approach unnoticed.

He instinctively tried to create an Essence Missile, but the Disrupt was still in effect, and the White work didn’t take hold in this reality.

“Thanks for letting me know about these other Amaranth, guys,” Tane said. Then again, given those blurring fields, and the range involved, the free-floating aliens would have been extremely hard to detect. Especially given that the rest of the fleet was beyond line of sight, with the only eyes on Tane at the moment located within the trailing shuttle.

He waited, expecting some lag, but no response came.

“Guys, do you read?” Tane said over the comm.

Still nothing.

22

Now that Tane thought about it, his Doomwalkers, and the admiral, had been uncharacteristically silent for most of the battle. Sure, he’d told them that he probably wouldn’t be saying much over the next little while, but that didn’t mean they would hold their tongues. He would have expected, for example, that Jed would offer unobtrusive advice now and then.

Tane accessed his HUD comm indicators: they’d all gone red.

Yep. Bastards are jamming the signal. The question is, for how long?

His HUD updated his motion vector. The aliens were dragging him away from the arena. They carried J’raagan with them, perhaps to heal the dweller, if it survived. Or to bury it. He wondered vaguely if J’raagan was also a Graaz’dhen in addition to Amaranth, just like S’Wraathar; if so, it was in their best interests to keep that particular dweller alive, since they would become stunned if J’raagan died. Assuming they belonged to the same fist that was mentally linked to J’raagan…

The invisible fingers that held Tane pried open his fingers one by one, and pulled the beam hilt from his grasp. With Tane no longer touching it, the weapon immediately deactivated. It floated away, discarded.

Individual blurring spheres appeared around Tane and J’raagan, blending them into the background like the others, and rendering him invisible to the trailing TSN shuttle.

A flash of light drew his attention to his right, where, according to his overhead map, the TSN shuttle had last resided. The blue dot representing that shuttle promptly vanished from the map.

The shuttle had been destroyed.

That could only mean the dweller fleet—or some of their vessels—had crested the horizon to move into line of sight once more.

Another flash came from the opposite direction, where the dweller shuttle had been waiting to collect their champion in turn. It, too, vanished from the map.

The Seventh Fleet had apparently flown into the line of sight of the arena as well, and returned fire in kind. However, while they had destroyed the alien shuttle, the fact that the fleet hadn’t targeted the Amaranth only confirmed their inability to detect them.

Tane continued to feed his dual rings with White and Dark Essence, but otherwise he couldn’t create anything with the Disrupt work upon him.

He was dragged for about a minute. And then he saw a larger, spherical outline of Darkness ahead, blotting out the stars. The dwellers were bringing him to a different shuttle, this one hidden by a blurring sphere. There were probably two or three Amaranth lurking aboard, maintain the sphere. The craft was likely the source of the jamming device.

As he approached the hidden shuttle with his dark escort, Tane’s extended arm jerked downward: he had been applying pressure against the invisible vise, and that he could finally move meant the Dark Hand binding him had worn off. He didn’t have much time before another replaced it.

He fought off the urge to throw Essence Missiles and other works at his captors. There wasn’t very much he could do alone against this many Amaranth, not without access to greater Chrysalium sources. Certainly, he could use the Dark Artifacts in his inventory to boost his Dark Siphoning, but Dark works needed time to create. And besides, just because Dark Hand had currently worn off, didn’t mean Disrupt wasn’t still active.

But there was one small thing he could try.

Before the aliens could replace the invisible binding, he reached into his inventory and grabbed the last Naelbin Artifact in his possession. He held it toward the closest Amaranth, but then Dark Hand gripped him anew and he froze.

But his glove, and the rock he gripped, still pointed toward the alien.

That particular stone contained the pre-stored work of the Gray known as Mind Shape. The effects of Mind Shape were strongest in the Sedentia, as that universe was closer to the Naelbin; Tane just hoped it was strong enough here against his current opponent.

Assuming it actually worked.

Alric had told Tane he only needed to hold the artifact toward his target for a few seconds, and then the contained work would trigger automatically.

But nothing happened.

Tane began to despair when the dwellers loaded him into the dart-shaped shuttle, and those black crystalline walls surrounded him. Artificial gravity glued his feet to the cabin floor.

It wasn’t supposed to end like this.

As expected, two dwellers were already waiting inside, responsible for maintaining the shuttle’s blur field. They sat in different holes in the cabin floor, depressions that were big enough to contain their carapaces. There were other hollows meant to hold more dwellers, but not enough for them all, so most of the Amaranth simply stood in place, crowding around Tane.

J’raagan was placed gingerly inside one of the floor hollows, and then the entry ramp closed, sealing all of them inside.

The Amaranth nearest Tane wrenched the black rock from his fingers with its tentacles, apparently wanting to examine the artifact.

And then it happened: Tane found himself worming around inside the brain of that particular dweller. Mostly incomprehensible images filled his mind. He thought some were of that dweller feeding. Others, mating. It seemed like the only things dwellers did all day was eat and mate. That, and defecate.

Not so different from humans.

The eight legs of the violated creature straightened, so that it towered over the other dwellers, and it scraped its sideways-oriented head against the ceiling.

The alien attempted to fight him by filling its mind with a sheer cacophony of random images and sounds, the latter comprised of those shrieks and clatters that served as the dweller language; it was a technique G’allanthamas had shared with Tane, meant to stave off the mental incursions of a Graaz’dhen. But this was no simple incursion, but a dominating work of the Gray fashioned by the creodenti, masters of minds.

He felt the vibrational source in the dweller’s skull that harbored the seat of his foe’s psyche. If Tane could reach inside that, and add his resonant vibration to its own, the dweller would be his.

But the creature was fighting him, dearly. That vibrational source darted about, constantly slipping from Tane’s grasp. And then Tane realized there were actually two vibrational sources, not just one. He wasn’t sure what that meant. Obviously dwellers had different brain structures than humans, but if there were two sources, perhaps that implied the dweller had four brain quadrants, rather than the two hemispheres found in a human. Well, Tane would just have to subdue them all.

As he sought to ensnare the sources, Tane was well aware that there was a chance the dweller could turn the Mind Shape back on him, using it to conquer his psyche instead, just as Tane had reversed the tables on Alric when the Paramount Leader had attempted the same work upon him. But Tane had the advantage in both scenarios, because he could Siphon the Gray, the Essence that birthed the work worming though the dweller’s mind at this very moment.

He did that now, Siphoning the Gray by melding with the metal piece inside his glove. He didn’t create anything with the Gray—the only work he knew of was Rock Skin, after all—instead, he simply allowed the quarks of the Naelbin to flow over his skin, hoping that would give him some advantage.

Perhaps it indeed helped, because a moment later he latched onto both vibrational sources in the dweller’s brain, and swathed the pair in an obdurate vise, drowning out their vibrations with his. He shoved his will inside, forcing the alien psyche to vibrate at his frequency—it was similar to synchronizing the atoms of his hand to match those of rock or metal when melding with the Gray, except this time done in reverse.

And then it was done. The alien psyche reverberated on the same frequency as his own mind.

The Amaranth was his.

The other dwellers seemed disturbed by the fact that their companion had reared up so high on its legs.

“You will act as if nothing is wrong,” Tane ordered with his thoughts. Mind Shape was supposed to translate language into intent, but he wasn’t entirely sure it would work on a dweller. He might have to try more visual commands.

But then the dweller relaxed, bending its legs to return to the same height as the others. That seemed to calm the other Amaranth somewhat. They clacked at him, and he lowed soothingly in return.

Tane issued another mental order. “You will surreptitiously deactivate the jamming device you and your friends have erected.”

He wasn’t sure the alien had access privileges to the device, but he hoped it had some dweller hacking skills that could get around that.

A moment later his comm signal went clear.

“Tane, do you read?” the admiral was saying. The words were distorted, no doubt because of the crystal hull around Tane at the moment, and the range to the flagship. Likely William had ordered telemetry drones to sweep the area in search of Tane, and to act as repeaters should he attempt communications, but the dwellers had probably shot down most of them.

“I’m here,” Tane said. He wondered if the dwellers would detect his communications. So far, they gave no indication that they had.

“What’s happening?” William continued. “During the battle, we lost comms. And then you disappeared from our sensors entirely.”

“I won,” Tane said. “But the dweller’s reneged on the agreement. I’ve been kidnapped by Amaranth. Track my current position, and prepare to fire on my command.”

“Understood,” the admiral responded. “I’m maneuvering ships into weapons range...” He paused. “By the way, are you sure about this?”

“Very,” Tane said. “I’ll need a precision strike with enough firepower to destroy a dweller shuttle. I’m hoping to have five meters clearance from the shuttle when I give the order. My coordinates will obviously change at the last second, so you’ll have to extrapolate the shuttle’s position based on my previous speed and direction.”

“Five meters is cutting it kind of close,” William said.

“Like I said, precision strike,” Tane told him.

He gave his next command to the Amaranth whose mind was his. “You will open the ramp, then Disrupt the Dark Hand that holds me in place, and guard me while I exit the shuttle.”

The ramp began to open, and the surrounding dwellers spun in surprise.

The Dark Hand released Tane. He surreptitiously reached inside his storage pouch, and retrieved his C’havar beam hilt. Before any of the aliens could react, he unleashed Shove, excluding the Amaranth that was on his side from the work’s effects. Though he was relatively low in level for that work, at this close range, it was enough to slam the unready dwellers quite hard into the surrounding crystal walls.

Tane activated the C’havar beam hilt and a fiery pole-ax of Darkness erupted from it, surrounded by ethereal flames that burned even in the void. He sliced his way through two dwellers that resided between him and the opening, and released Essence Missiles to his left and Forked Lightning to his right. Meanwhile the Amaranth under his control defended his back, Deflecting the smears of Fingers of Ruin and other attacks directed at him from the remaining dwellers.

Tane leaped past an Amaranth he’d cut in half, and vaulted out the now open ramp; as soon as the weightlessness of space hit, he activated the thrust on his jetpack.

“Fire!” Tane instructed William.

Large laser boreholes riddled the dweller shuttle in multiple places; one of those must have struck a critical component, because the entire craft exploded an instant later.

An Amaranth managed to escape the destruction—it had darted outside at the same time as Tane.

It wrapped him in Dark Hand.

Tane’s two legendary rings decided to kick in just then, creating multiple works of Essence Missile and Fingers of Ruin, and the White javelins and Dark smears penetrated the Protective Environment and slammed into his attacker. That mean the dweller had no works of Deflect in reserve. Too bad for it.

Black veins appeared over the blast craters caused by the Missiles, and the carapace cracked open.

The Protective Environment failed as the dweller died, and the liquid hydrocarbons became a yellow mist. Black blood evaporated from the dweller’s fatal wounds and joined that mist.

“I’ve sent four warships to retrieve you,” William said. “I’ve instructed them to shield you from the line of sight of the enemy fleet in case the dwellers are able to detect your position.”

Tane was still hidden by a work of Blur Body, so the dweller fleet would have a hard time tracking him down. The friendly warships on the other hand would be receiving positional information from him.

Tane glanced at his overhead map. He spotted the indicators representing the four ships: they were indeed closing.

He tried switching to the tactical display instead and was pleasantly surprised to find that he could still access it at this range. The battlespace was revealed in three dimensions around him. He didn’t entirely like what he saw.

“What’s the sit-rep?” Tane asked.

“The fleet opened fire shortly after we closed to weapons range. We’re doing our best not to destroy any of them, as per your orders. We’ve been keeping to the absolute limits of weapons range for the time being—excluding the ships we’ve sent to retrieve you. We’ve already lost two vessels to their Essence lances, however.”

As Tane watched, the four incoming TSN ships used their deflectors to repel the Dark spheres launched by enemy Essence lances. They didn’t fire their lances in return.

In moments the four ships reached him, and one of them, the Akkad—the closest—dispatched a shuttle to retrieve him. The warships masked the shuttle from the dweller fleet beyond, thus keeping it out of their line of sight and preventing the enemy laser turrets from targeting it.

Tane jetted inside the small craft.

“It’s time to teach the dwellers a lesson,” Tane told the admiral.

23

Tane received the response almost immediately.

“What are your orders?” William asked eagerly.

“I’m latching onto the hull of the closest ship, the Akkad. Have most of the crew evacuate, transferring to the escorting warships if possible. If they can’t, because there aren’t enough shuttles, have them use the lifepods and we’ll retrieve them when this is done. I want only a few specialists aboard to man the Essence devices. Though anyone with a Chrysalium Siphoning of level five or higher is to evacuate.” Tane was at level five in said Siphoning himself, and he didn’t need a specialist stealing the Chrysalium bonus away from him, as Lyra had once done. “The Akkad’s AI meanwhile will steer, with my assistance. Protect me with the rest of the fleet, as you can.”

“You got it,” William replied. “I have to say, I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time. Ever since seeing you in action in Anteres.”

“Glad I could make your dreams come true,” Tane said dryly.

He flew the shuttle underneath the Akkad so that he remained out of the line of fire of the enemy fleet, and had the shuttle AI match the bigger vessel’s speed and direction. Then he steered the craft close to the surface, opened up the ramp, and then jetted out. He latched onto the Akkad’s hull using the magnetic attachments on his spacesuit, then retrieved a Dark Artifact from his inventory, commanding it to enlarge beside him.

“Shuttle, I want you to press down, gently, against the Dark Artifact I just produced,” Tane said. That was the quickest way to secure it above him.

The shuttle approached.

Tane felt the weight of the artifact pressing into him. Hard. “Gently!”

“Sorry,” the AI transmitted. The shuttle backed off.

“That’s good enough,” Tane said. “Now use your grappling hooks and attach to the Akkad’s hull, as well as this artifact. I need you to keep it pressed against me at all times.”

“Will do,” the shuttle AI sent.

“Admiral, I need you to tap me into the Akkad’s AI,” Tane said.

“It’s yours,” William replied.

“Benjamin at your service,” a new voice came over the comm. “The crew calls me Ben for short.”

“I’ll need access to your propulsion system,” Tane told it.

“As you wish,” Ben responded. “It’s yours.”

Tane probably wouldn’t need such fine-grained control of the warship, since he trusted the AI to steer, but it was good to know that he had it just in case.

“I know that what you’re about to do will probably kill me,” Ben continued. “But I just wanted to tell you, I forgive you. I will do my part to save this universe.”

“Thank you,” Tane said, feeling slightly guilty as he stepped into the White through the Chrysalium hull and reached for the Dark through the Dark Artifact. A familiar notification appeared on his HUD:

Siphoning bonus. All White Essenceworks are enhanced 7990% due to Siphoning through Chrysalium hull.

Siphoning bonus. All Dark Essenceworks are enhanced 570% due to Siphoning through Dark artifact.

Tane unleashed his Essence Sight, throwing the lifeline far away so that his viewpoint resided far above the Akkad, allowing him to see the massive ribbon of Essence that needed growing. He created huge works of Air Current from the incredible amount of stellar wind the hull provided, using the black flames drawn through the Dark Artifact to control and buttress the Branchwork of frozen light. When the works were ready, he cast his Essence Sight out to the closest portion of the dweller fleet, a small group of five ships. He sent the Air Currents toward the ships in turn, allowing the works to set in this reality beneath their hulls.

The gusts of fleeting air produced by the Essenceworks nudged the ships into a slightly higher orbit, but the distance was too short for what Tane intended. So therefore next he concentrated all of the gusts upon one ship, and while the vessel moved a good distance farther than before, it was still too little for his needs. Not if he wanted to finish this before he wore himself out.

“William,” Tane transmitted. “Extend the evacuation order to the other three warships with me. I’ll need them all, it looks like. Tell everyone to evacuate. Meanwhile, have the ships change course to match the Akkad’s speed and direction. I want them all touching, shoulder to shoulder, in a line with the Akkad.”

“Are you sure you can handle that much of the White?” William asked. “I can’t claim to know how Siphoning works, but it seems to me that if one ship drains you to the bone, four ships will drain you to the marrow, so to speak. And beyond.”

“Leave the consequences of the Siphoning to me,” Tane responded.

He released both Essences to rest while the ships moved into place. In a few moments the warships had assumed the necessary formation, touching shoulder to shoulder. Evacuations were still ongoing, judging from the shuttles and pods leaving the ships. Tane decided he didn’t have time to wait for the evacuation to finish, considering that the enemy fleet was now unleashing all of its fury on these four ships, which were struggling to Deflect the incoming Essence lances. He hoped those who were still aboard would be able to evacuate if he Siphoned too much White and disintegrated the hulls.

William seemed to be doing his best to distract the dwellers with the rest of the Seventh—many of his ships had broken off and were accelerating toward the Akkad—but the aliens knew what was coming and focused their efforts on the four warships with Tane.

He accessed both Essences again.

Siphoning bonus. All White Essenceworks are enhanced 24569% due to Siphoning through Chrysalium hulls.

Siphoning bonus. All Dark Essenceworks are enhanced 570% due to Siphoning through Dark artifact.

An inconceivable amount of Essence flowed through him. He began shaping an Air Current, the most massive he had ever created. The Branchwork was almost too much White for him to control with the Darkness supplied by only one artifact. He probably should have used another at least, so that he could Siphon more Dark to help abate the exhaustion the White inflicted, but he decided he could manage with the one. It was practice for what was coming, after all.

He used his tactical map to choose the closest group of dweller ships once more, and then cast his Essence Sight to them. He unleashed the work of Air Current at the targeted ship. The incredibly powerful wind swept the dweller vessel completely out of its existing orbit, moving it well away from the planet.

Tane repeated the work several times, launching other ships from the group into high orbit one by one, cutting them off from the Dark Essence supplied by the gravity well so that they wouldn’t be able to flee by jumping out of the system. Nor could they attack with their Dark Essence lance equivalents.

He recalled his lifeline and switched to his in-body perspective to check the tactical map, which wasn’t available during Essence Sight. With that map, he located the next closest cluster of dweller ships composing the enemy fleet, and unleashed his lifeline to focus his Essence gaze upon them next. He sent those vessels into high orbit with powerful Air Currents in turn.

He repeated this, launching the propulsive works at different portions of the dweller fleet until all two hundred ships were cut off from the Dark Essence and stranded in deep space. Some of them seemed to understand their doom and were already fleeing, apparently heading toward the closest planet, which was over fifty million kilometers away.

Tane smiled grimly. They were moving far too slowly: there would be no escape for the dwellers this day. The lesson Tane had planned for them would be learned, and learned well.

Tane created Essence Missiles next. Massive javelins of light shot out from him, each one about twice the size of all four TSN warships combined. The works where shot through with black veins, and sparked with bolts of black lightning. They were coated in thin, ethereal flames, like those found on the pole-ax produced by a dweller beam hilt. The light from nearby stars bent around the edges of the Missiles, as if reality itself were distorting as the objects ripped past.

He steered the first set directly into four separate dweller ships, obliterating them entirely. The Missiles remained intact after the impact, and he guided them toward other ships beyond, but was more lenient this time, inflicting only glancing blows: enough to breach the hulls but not destroy the vessels. He reminded himself that he needed these ships intact.

Yes, he might not be able to destroy all the vessels, but he could certainly make these Cre’ite regret their betrayal.

To that end, he released a massive work of Forked Lightning next. He set it into this reality close to another dweller ship in a group of five. A massive electrical storm enveloped the hull, causing large scorch marks where bolts penetrated the hull on one side and emerged on the other. There were at least twenty to forty plasma channels in existence at any given time, sparking all over the ship. The lightning began to spread to the other ships in the group, traveling from ship to ship, damaging them in the same manner.

He wrapped an immense work of Telekinesis around one of the damaged ships, and sent those telekinetic fingers down into the hull, peeling it backward and ripping it open like a can of sardines. Twitching dwellers spilled out into the void. He removed the entire top section of the hull, so that with his Essence Sight he could see all the exposed decks and compartments within: it was like he was peering into the cross-section of a doll house.

Minus the dolls.

He wrapped Air Current around the expelled dwellers—who were yet living—and formed them into a long line. Then he sent two more Air Currents into them from either side, pressing the bodies together. He applied Telekinesis as well, magnifying the compressive effect, so that in moments all that was left of the long line of dwellers was a gory ball of twisted legs and carapaces, surrounded by the black mist of their blood.

Yes, learn your lesson, dwellers.

“We’re receiving their surrender,” William sent.

Tane ignored the admiral.

He peeled open another dweller ship and began to torture the still-living dwellers that were sucked out into the void in a similar manner. This time when he lined them up, he used Telekinesis to tear off their legs one by one, as a boy would do to insects he had captured. He was enjoying himself immensely—the emotion-numbing effects of the Umbra couldn’t suppress the pleasure he felt.

“Tane, you have to stop this,” Lyra said. “You’ve achieved your aim. The dwellers have surrendered.”

“I’m not happy with a mere surrender,” Tane said. “I beat their champion, following the rules they laid out for me. I won the fight. And they repaid me with treachery. Tried to capture me. For the last time. I can’t let that stand. They need to be punished. Taught a lesson.”

“You’ve punished them enough,” Sinive said. “Spare the hulls of the four TSN ships. End this.”

Tane unleashed a round of Forked Lightning into the convulsing string of dwellers, and the intense bolts easily incinerated them.

He began peeling open another ship.

“Don’t do this,” Sinive said. “It’s not you. Hell, it’s not even the World Bender. The grazer has infected your mind. They’ve already surrendered. What you’re doing now is only sheer, abject cruelty.”

Tane began to gather the next group of expelled dwellers into a line, and contemplated what torture he would inflict next. He thought their carapaces would look nice decorating the hull of the ship above them, their insides making a nice paste.

“No matter what you do, no matter what happens...” Sinive said. “I want you to know I’ll always be there for you. We’ll find a way through this. I know the good Tane is still inside, somewhere. The Tane who would never harm innocents like this. I know he’s there, because I love him.”

That brought Tane back. He paused, letting the hurricane of stellar wind waver uncontrollably outside the Akkad. He didn’t really think he had done anything wrong. Everything he had told Sinive was true. The dwellers had betrayed him, and deserved to be punished. They weren’t even human.

But they were sentient, he reminded himself. Beings aware of their own existence, with an intelligence on par with if not greater than that of humans. The dwellers he was torturing were minor crew members, aliens who had merely been following orders. They didn’t deserve to suffer ignominious deaths in the manner Tane was dealing it. Their captains and commanders, maybe, but not them.

He wondered what G’allanthamas would think of him. His friend was on the comm, as far as Tane knew, but the alien had remained silent, as was his way.

And then there were the hulls of the ships beneath him. If he kept Siphoning at his current intensity, the vessels would be lost—if they weren’t already.

Tane dispersed the Telekinesis work he had secured around the dwellers. He stepped out of the White, released the Dark, and slumped in his spacesuit, feeling utterly exhausted. The Dark had masked that weariness to some extent, but now it hit him full bore. It was probably a good thing he’d stopped when he had.

He closed his eyes but couldn’t sleep or nap. He was too tired for either. He could merely exist, feeling like little more than a simple slug, no doubt with similar brain activity.

He waited for the hull to disintegrate underneath him, or the Dark Artifact above, but both remained intact. He supposed he hadn’t drawn enough Essence through either to achieve that end, certainly not as much as he had when destroying the entire dweller fleet in Anteres. But he still felt just as bad. Actually, maybe even a little worse, probably because of the sheer amounts he had Siphoned in such a short time.

Voices came over the comm, but he didn’t hear. Or rather, he did hear, but didn’t comprehend.

He was barely aware as the shuttle ceased applying pressure above him. The Dark Artifact drifted away, still attached to the craft.

He hardly noticed when the magnetic mounts in his spacesuit disengaged, and he was retrieved by strong hands. One of his Doomwalkers, he thought.

What happened next was a blur. He was transferred to a shuttle. Then a hangar bay. Conveyed down a passageway on a stretcher. Deposited in a compartment, probably sickbay. He passed into and out of consciousness the whole time.

Finally, he opened weary eyes to find one of his Doomwalkers slouched above him. It was Siren. She stepped back, smiling weakly.

“Welcome back,” she said.

24

Tane sat up slightly and glanced around. The Titanium had a rather expansive sickbay. Lyra, Jed, Chase, and four other Mancers were present. Nebb was there, and Gia, and the most important person of all: Sinive. The two Volurs both looked like they’d run a marathon, and were slumped over, with pale faces. Just like Siren in fact, as well as the rest of the Mancers.

Tane realized then what they had done.

“You guys gave me stamina?” Tane said.

“Good guess, Engineer,” Jed told him.

“Well, I still feel like a transport shuttle plowed into me,” Tane said. “I probably should have used more than a single Dark Artifact. Siphoning all that White was too draining with just the one.”

Lyra smiled politely.

“What’s the status on the dweller fleet?” Tane asked.

The admiral stepped forward. He had been hidden in the back, behind the others. “They’re gathering in a sphere formation a hundred thousand kilometers to starboard. We’re keeping several warships in a dome configuration around the Titanium, just in case they decide to betray us again.”

“So they’ve agreed to follow me?” Tane said.

“They have,” the admiral said. “Their exact words were: we bow to the Doomwielder. I’ve assigned G’allanthamas as our direct liaison to the dweller fleet, and I’ve had the captain grant him access to one of the Titanium’s reactor cores so that he can modulate the power output at will, and thus transmit gravimetric messages to the dweller flagship using their own protocols. That way there’s no chance of any orders being lost in the translation, as it were.”

“Assuming G’allanthamas performs the translation correctly, yes.” Tane lay back. “So it’s done. They’re mine.” He looked at William once more. “How many casualties on both sides? I mean in terms of ships?”

“They lost eight ships in total,” William said. “Six thanks to you, two from us.”

“Six?” Tane said. “But I only destroyed four.”

“Yes, but you struck glancing blows to four more, and peeled open three others,” the admiral said. “Two of them were damaged beyond repair.”

“What about our side?” Tane said.

“We lost five ships to the dweller attacks,” William told him.

That wasn’t bad. It should still be enough for his needs.

He realized that he hadn’t even considered the human element. Five ships meant the loss of at least twelve thousand people. And how about all the alien lives lost? He had been looking at the ships and crews of both sides merely as resources to serve his needs. But those ships were full of Tanes and Sinives, Moms and Dads.

He lowered his head, sparing a moment to grieve for the fallen on both sides.

"What about the Akkad?” Tane said, looking up. “And the other three ships I Siphoned through?"

"Still intact," William told him. "Their hulls suffered some structural integrity damage. The Akkad had the worst of it. The captain has had his repair drones 3D-printing buttresses to support the most weakened Chrysalium sections. We expect all four vessels will be ready to make the jump when the time comes. The Dark Artifact you used, however, is lost. It disintegrated shortly after we retrieved it."

Tane nodded. So he’d lost it after all. He’d put too much of a strain on the item.

I should have deployed at least two artifacts.

Then again, he might have simply lost them both.

“All right then,” Tane said. “Send a courier to Alric. Tell him the dwellers have bowed to us. And that it’s time to save the universe.”

“It will be done,” William said.

Tane nodded. “As soon as a distortion tunnel matching my specifications is detected, we depart. Until then we wait here, in the Umbra.”

As mentioned previously, Alric had dispatched the star navy to every known system that lacked a TSN presence, and to many unexplored systems as well. The purpose: to keep an eye on the suns, and when a Z’Antamaraan distortion tunnel appeared next to a star, they were to measure the size and consumption speed, and if it was within the required specs, the vessel would jump back to Alric so that the Paramount Leader could dispatch a courier to notify Tane.

The visitors left sickbay to let him rest. All save Sinive, who stayed behind.

She opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Tane said: “Now do you believe me when I tell you there’s a monster inside of me?”

She merely stared at him, unsure of what to say.

“What I did out there…” He shook his head. “I’m afraid I’ll make the wrong choice when the time comes. That I’ll destroy the galaxy.”

“You won’t,” Sinive told him. “It’s not in your nature. You’re good at heart. I know you are. It’s like you said, you wear the mantle of the World Bender when you leave your quarters, but when you return to me, that mantle comes off, and the true you, the man who calls himself Tane Ganeth, is revealed.”

“Except it will be the World Bender who has to face the Z’Antamaraan, and not Tane Ganeth,” he said.

“And yet they’re one and the same,” Sinive said.

“You saw how cruel I was to those dwellers out there,” Tane said. “They surrendered, and yet I didn’t stop. They’re intelligent beings. And I tortured them. I—”

She rested a palm atop his knuckles. “That wasn’t you. It has to be the lingering effects of using the Emerald. The grazer…”

“No, while that’s a convenient excuse, it was all me,” Tane said. “I wasn’t even touching the bone crown. What I was doing out there was wrong, but I just couldn’t see it at the time. I’m supposed to be held to a higher moral standard than everyone else. Because of the power within me, it’s very important that I’m held accountable for my actions. I can’t do things like I did out there. I can’t allow myself.” He closed his eyes. “It’s my shadow. It has to be. I still haven’t overcome it. I thought saving you would do the trick, but it hasn’t. Tiberius warned me…” He shook his head. “It’s true what they say about absolute power corrupting absolutely. Which is why I need you, and Lyra and Jed, and all the Doomwalkers more than ever. You need to keep me grounded. Keep me away from my shadow. If you hadn’t been on the comm line out there, telling me what you did...”

He looked at her, into her eyes. He sighed. With his free hand, he rested it on her cheek. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you again.”

She smiled gently, squeezing her fingers around his hand. “All the more reason to save the universe.”

Tane lay back, and slid his hand from her grasp. “So. You love me. Did I mention that I love you back?”

“You did,” Sinive leaned forward to kiss him. “Too bad we’re in a sickbay or I’d jump your bones right now.”

“So what if we’re in sickbay?” Tane said. “I can have Pico disconnect the cameras and lock the doors.” He glanced over at another patient who was asleep on a bed nearby. “And the medics can give that guy a sedative…”

“Silly,” Sinive said, sitting in the chair beside his bed. “Recover your strength, and we’ll talk about it. Back in our stateroom.”

Tane shrugged. “It might be fun to make love in different parts of the ship.”

“You really want to do it here?” Sinive said. “With the smell of antiseptic in the air? And all this clinical whiteness around us? No thanks. I prefer my sex dirty.”

Tane smiled, but his thoughts quickly wandered. He had so many things on his mind. Too many.

He stared at the ceiling. “I still can’t believe everything that’s happened. I was a hydroponics engineer, once. It seems like so long ago. And now, look at me. The Paramount Leader has knelt before me. The dwellers have done the same, essentially.”

"So what are you?” Sinive said. “Emperor of the galaxy?”

“Emperor?” he looked at her in disbelief, but then couldn’t help a chuckle. “No, I’m no emperor. And here I thought that you and the others grounded me. Emperor Tane Ganeth.” He shook his head, but if he was honest with himself, he had to admit he liked the sound of it. He exhaled. “No. I plan to step down when this is done, and cede power back to the respective governments.”

“So you’ll give the TSN back to Alric?” Sinive said. “After everything you told me about him? How he killed his best friend, the president, in a coup? And then made a deal with the creodenti to give him the ability to bend minds to his will?”

“Yes,” Tane said.

“But if you’re going to give up your position, why not restore the constitutional republic first?” Sinive pressed. “The TSN can go back to being a navy, and a part of the Thorran Republic, rather than a military junta.”

“That’s not my job,” Tane said. “Politics isn’t my forte.”

“But it could be,” Sinive said. “Becoming good at political intrigue is merely an injection away.”

“Yeah, but I also have no interest in any of that,” Tane said. “I’ve already made up my mind. Besides…” His voice trailed off, and he couldn’t help the sudden wave of sadness that filled him.

“What?” Sinive said.

“Nothing.” He hadn’t told her, but he didn’t expect to survive what was coming. How could anyone live through the task he had been given?

And the worst of it was, he might not even win.

Tane stared off into space. “I’m taking the combined fleet to the galactic core, soon. And then I’ll face the Z’Antamaraan. It will be a battle completely unlike any I’ve ever fought. And the stakes… beyond comprehension.”

“You’ll find a way to succeed,” Sinive said. “Somehow.”

He stared into her eyes. There was complete faith in her eyes, complete trust in his abilities. She believed in him, even if he did not.

“I don’t deserve you,” Tane said.

She laughed. “Honestly, I think that about you more than ever. I keep expecting you to get rid of me for someone more beautiful, like Lyra or Gwenyth. Strangely, you never do.”

“Trust me, Lyra and Gwenyth aren’t my type,” Tane said. He leaned toward her. “I thought we already talked about this. You’re more than worthy of me.”

“I know,” Sinive said. “I tell myself that, but look at it from my perspective. You’re the World Bender. The man destined to save the galaxy. All women want you.”

“No they don’t,” Tane said. “Most are afraid of me.”

“Okay that’s true, not all of them want you, but a lot do,” Sinive said. “Whenever I watch the videos of you streamed to the Galnet, and I see all the comments, I’m only reminded of how much other women want you. And men of a certain disposition, too.”

“Then stop reading the comments,” Tane said. “Because I have no interest in any of them.”

“And then there’s the way some members of the crew look at you, when you don’t know they’re watching…”

“Sinive,” Tane said. “Stop. You’re mine. And I’m yours. You’re the one who’s here with me now in sickbay, and no one else. That should tell you everything you need to know. Besides, I’ve caught members of the crew looking at you, too, so I’m not the only one who’s sought after.”

“I appreciate your telling me that,” Sinive said. She smiled sweetly, and rested a hand on his.

They sat in silence together until Tane dozed off. When he awoke, she was gone.

Even though he’d received all that stamina from his Doomwalkers, Tane didn’t feel like leaving the bed. He didn’t want to face the universe. He wished to be Tane, not the World Bender, for a while longer. And so he lay there.

Different Doomwalkers came to visit him while he rested. Tane felt flattered by the attention, because it wasn’t like he was recovering from an acute illness or anything. But he was happy to receive their visits, because they treated him like the man he was, rather than the legend.

Lyra came at one point with her sister, and she gave him another beam hilt. This one a version II.

“Thank you,” Tane said. “Though I probably won’t need it, given where I’m going.” He offered it back.

“Keep it,” Lyra said. She folded her fingers around his, closing his hand around the hilt. “It will remind you of who you are. And perhaps it will give you stamina at some point, when you need it most.”

He shook his head. “I can’t take it with me. You know that.”

But nonetheless Tane set it down on the bedside table. He had to admit it would feel good to have it hanging from his utility belt again, while he could still wear it.

Even so, it was such a small thing. Almost primitive, compared to the many Essenceworks he now wielded. He had evolved far beyond it…

There goes my hubris again.

Maybe Lyra was right to give it to him. The device would remind him, like she said, of who he was, and his humble origins.

Two hours later he finally gathered the resolve to leave sickbay and return to his quarters. Four of his Doomwalkers escorted him.

On the way, G’allanthamas called, voice only.

“Hey Gall,” Tane said. “You’re calling to update me on the status of our newfound allies, I take it?”

“Allies?” G’allanthamas replied. “I was of the understanding that the Cre’ite were the conquered. And I’ve been treating them as such, promising that the Doomwielder would cut off their tentacular genitals if they did not obey.”

“Yeah, you might want to back off with the genital-severing rhetoric,” Tane said. “Since I don’t actually plan to hurt them, going forward.”

“Unless they fall out of line?” G’allanthamas asked.

“Well, sure, but—”

“Then I will continue with the genital-severing rhetoric,” the dweller stated.

“All right, well, you know best how to manage them,” Tane said. “But I don’t suppose your hatred of the Cre’ite is influencing your attitude, is it?”

“Not at all,” G’allanthamas said. “While I certainly hold a grudge against them for conquering the homeworld of my tribe and placing it under Cre’ite dominion, I don’t hate them. Not like I do the TSN. Remember, I’m only here because you have the Hated Enemy on a leash.”

“About that,” Tane said. “How do the other dwellers feel about fighting alongside their Hated Enemy?”

“They abhor the thought of it, like me, as can be expected,” G’allanthamas said. “But you are the Doomwielder. Of course they must follow. As must I. And if not, you will cut off our genitals.”

“Okay, so, I’m going to tell you something about that,” Tane said. “Why it’s bad to rule by force. You see, we humans, we’re descendants of animals called primates.”

“I know of them, yes,” G’allanthamas said. “As I told you, I have studied you humans. I am an anthropologist.”

“Well, okay, so these primates,” Tane said. “Those that battled their way to the top of their bands and kept their positions through force often died ignoble and brutal deaths. All it took was a moment of weakness: an injury sustained in a hunt, or a disease, and the others in the band would turn on them and rip them apart. The whole live by the sword, die by the sword deal. Whereas those that made their way to the top via social alliances, and not force alone, often ruled for a long time, and had their allies there to protect them when weakness arose.”

Tane had received that knowledge as part of the nanotech injection for his Leadership skill.

“Interesting analogy,” G’allanthamas said. “But it only proves you’re doing the right thing. You use brutal force to keep those you’ve conquered in line, and in times of personal weakness, you’ll have myself and your other friends to protect you. Win-win all around.”

“I think the moral of the story was lost on you,” Tane said.

25

While Tane waited for the courier to arrive from Alric with news of the appearance of an appropriate distortion tunnel, Tane worked with Pico to run simulations for the upcoming task. In all of the computerized test runs, the ships of both fleets survived the massive strain imposed on their collective structures, at least up until the five minute mark. After that, the hulls began to fail.

Tane would just have to make sure he did what he needed to do in under five minutes.

But then again, those were just simulations. Despite the accuracy of all the data Tane fed to the computer, there were still unknowns that could come into play. Perhaps the Z’Antamaraan would intervene in some way, and cause the hulls to fail in thirty seconds instead of five minutes. Perhaps physics would be vastly different that close to the massive black hole at the heart of the galaxy…

Yes, there were only so many simulations and trial runs that could be performed, because in the end reality was the only run that mattered. Reality, and Tane’s ability to act on his feet.

While waiting for the news, Tane had the fleet jump to Anteres, and there they took up positions near the center of the one-way rift that would return them to their own universe. Tane had elected to stay in the Umbra for the time being to reduce the chances of Umanitar's weakened boundaries affecting his fleet. After all, it could be as long as a few weeks before news of a suitable distortion tunnel arrived. Though Tane hoped it would only be a few days.

A courier vessel jumped into Anteres on the second day. Even though it was a scheduled arrival, Tane was ready to give the order to proceed, just in case the courier imparted the news he was looking for. But it was just a standard update from Alric. In his message, the Paramount Leader reported that a Z’Antamaraan distortion tunnel had in fact appeared a few days ago in one of the uninhabited numbered systems, 2968562, but the tunnel didn’t match the specs Tane had given. The star was simply too small.

Tane needed a system with a big sun whose estimated engulfment time was ten hours or more, giving the fleet ample time to jump to the system in question and then to make their way to the star before the tunnel closed.

On the fourth day an unscheduled courier arrived and reported that a tunnel matching the required specs had appeared in the Handorite System. The combined human and dweller fleet had fourteen hours to travel to the distortion tunnel in question before the sun was fully engulfed.

Tane gave the departure order to William and G’allanthamas, who in turn transmitted it to their subordinates, and soon the fleet was traveling through the Anteres Rift. When the vessels emerged on the other side and into Umanitar, they began gathering in groups to make the jump to the Handorite System.

The bigger ships could hand off their distortion tunnels to subsequent vessels, so that they all arrived at the same location. It required special superstructures built into the hulls of both craft, with the AI and jump specialist of the subsequent vessel taking control of the tunnel just before the first ship finished passing through. The tunnels were stable enough to remain open for one minute, which was usually sufficient to allow the passage of fifteen ships reliably. But after the one minute mark, the tunnels could collapse at any time, so jumps were limited to groups of fifteen at most.

This was why it was such an amazing feat that the Z’Antamaraan could create such huge distortion tunnels, and yet keep them open for the number of hours that they did to swallow suns. The technology involved, and the Essence required, was unfathomable.

Tane hadn’t been able to get the precision jump technology from S’Wraathar and his patron, and the other creodenti hadn’t given Tane the knowledge, so each group would still appear at a random location in the destination system, and the entire fleet would have to regroup at a designated site. The dwellers had the same limitations, seeing as they’d copied the tech from the TSN; S’Wraathar hadn’t shared his jump science with the Cre’ite, either.

Ships like the Mosaic and Red Grizzly didn’t have the ability to share tunnels at all, of course, and they’d have to jump in individually, arriving alone in random locations.

The flagship’s group arrived in the Handorite System about forty-four million kilometers out from the star, a main sequence that burned on the blue spectrum. They headed for the agreed-upon rendezvous site eight million kilometers away from the stellar object.

Tane had the security forces across the fleet maintain a high alert during the journey. He was worried about the signs of the weakened boundaries between universes manifesting.

About four hours in, William gave him a status update.

“Because the different groups appeared in random locations throughout Handorite, not everyone is going to make it,” William informed him. “Some are simply too far. We can’t wait for them to reach the rendezvous site.”

“Give me numbers,” Tane said.

“It looks like we’re going to have forty-five ships on the TSN side, and one-thirty on the dweller side,” William said.

Tane nodded. “I’ve run successful simulations with less. The operation is still a go.”

William merely stared at him, though Tane had the sense the admiral had the same unsaid doubts as he did: they’re merely simulations.

Before the point of no return, Tane instructed the crews to eject fleet-wide. The plan was for the ships to be mostly AI operated, with skeleton crews babysitting critical systems aboard. The evacuation order was optional, as Tane couldn’t force those brave men and women to abandon their posts if they didn’t want to.

All of the Doomwalkers had remained, including the core members, even though they had little reason to, but he had expected this. He was more surprised at how many crew members remained at their posts in the remaining ships: the admiral reported that roughly twenty-five percent of all crews stayed aboard their vessels. Far more than was needed. G’allanthamas reported even greater retention rates among the dweller crews.

The Mosaic and Red Grizzly were among those that would reach the distortion tunnel in time; he had told Nebb and Gia that they didn’t have to be here, that they could turn back, but both had stayed. It was a touching gesture on their parts. He just hoped it wasn’t their last. He was worried most of all for Sinive, and the other core members of his Doomwalkers, because what was the point of saving the universe if they ended up dying? But if things went well, they should still be able to escape. It was doubtful that Tane, on the other hand, would have such a luxury.

There is no escape for me.

Despite the growing sense of impending doom, he continued to pretend, for Sinive’s sake, that he was coming back.

William visited him in his office during the Titanium’s evacuation, and shared one of the external camera feeds with him. They watched the pods and shuttles evacuate together.

“Those warships that can’t make the jump will certainly be busy collecting all of these,” Tane said.

“Have you considered why so many people are staying aboard?” William asked.

“I guess I thought it was to be a part of something bigger than themselves?” Tane replied.

William smiled as if amused. “A noble notion. And maybe true for some. But most, I think, have different motives.”

“Okay, why?” Tane said.

William merely stared at Tane.

And then it dawned on him.

“You think the slower dweller ships, those that will stay behind, are going to attack once I’m gone…” Tane said.

“You’re the only one keeping both sides from each other’s throats at the moment,” William said. “When you’re gone, the remaining starships, the escape pods, everything will be fair game.”

“Well I guess they’re in for a fight then,” Tane said. “Because I have bigger problems to worry about than the destruction of a few ships and pods. Namely the destruction of an entire universe.” It was perhaps a cold statement, but true. “I’m sure the TSN will coordinate with the rest of the navy to bring in reinforcements if they need to.”

“I’m sure they will,” William said. “But still, those who are staying would much rather throw in their lots with you.”

When the pods and shuttles finally ceased their flight, Tane switched the camera view to the sun, and he gazed at it, watching as the distortion tunnel slowly swallowed the white-blue mass. The star was only a hemisphere at the moment, half engulfed.

“Are you sure you’re ready to face what lies beyond that tunnel?” William asked.

“No,” Tane said. “But I have no choice.”

The fleet gathered at the rendezvous point, and Tane waited for as many starships to arrive as he could afford to before having the combined fleet set course toward the star.

If they could plot a course through the distortion tunnel without crashing into the sun in the process, on the other side their vessels would function essentially as if they had reactionless drives: the creodenti promised that while the distortion tunnel was still open, gravity on the other side would cease to have any effect within a radius of fifty million kilometers. Ordinarily the fleet would have been doomed by traveling that close to the event horizon of the black hole at the heart of the galaxy, but because of the nature of the tunnel, and the process necessary to draw in the star, the Z’Antamaraan invoked an anti-grav field. Even artificial gravity aboard the starships would fail. The combined fleets would be able to maneuver as if they were in the pure deep space that could only be found between galaxies, allowing them to navigate away from the star with ease. Gravity would continue to function in a localized sphere around the star, from the corona downward, ensuring its mass held it together.

Unless the creodenti were wrong.

The only other option was to jump directly coreward, several light years away from the event horizon, searching along the rim for signs of the Z’Antamaraan. But that would take a very long time.

When they were about four million kilometers away from the star, William launched the probes. Tane watched on the external camera as the scouts advanced, black dots against the backdrop of the bright blue underneath them. All of those unmanned craft were expendable: on their way to the distortion tunnel, they would head inside the star’s event horizon, so that when they returned—if they returned—locked in a decaying orbit, they would spiral into the sun and burn up.

He quickly lost sight of the objects so that he had to wonder if they hadn’t burned up already. Pico informed him that the scouts were still transmitting, so apparently not.

William reported in ten minutes later. “The probes just returned. Before burning up, they confirmed that the location on the other side was indeed near the galactic core. Also, there was no gravity to speak of. It seems your creodenti friends weren’t lying after all, at least about that part.”

“Okay then,” Tane said. “Take the fleet through. I’ll make my way down to the shuttle bay.” When the artificial gravity failed, he wanted to be strapped into the necessary shuttle and ready to launch when the time came.

Tane kissed Sinive farewell. It was the hardest farewell he’d ever given her, because it truly felt like the final one.

“Let me come with you,” Sinive said.

“No one can come with me,” Tane said. “You know that.”

“At least let me pilot the shuttle,” Sinive said.

“You’re already doing enough by your mere presence on the Titanium,” Tane said. “I want the peace of mind of knowing you’re safely aboard. If you come in the shuttle, I’ll be worried about you the whole time, and I won’t be able to concentrate. I’ll have enough trouble concentrating as it is, considering I could destroy the ship. Or the Z’Antamaraan could. Like everyone else, I want you suited up, and near the escape pods in case things go wrong.”

“Yes yes,” Sinive said. “In case you disintegrate the ship. We’ve been through this a thousand times.” She paused. “At least let me escort you to the shuttle bay.”

“No,” Tane said. “Because then we’ll have to go through this all over again.”

He kissed her one last time and then forced himself to pull away. As he stepped into the passageway outside the hatch to his quarters closed behind him with a finality that seemed to forebode of things to come.

Four Doomwalkers—two robots and two Mancers, including Chase—escorted him through the passageways to the hangar bay.

The deck shook and bulkheads moaned as the vessel fought against the competing forces that acted on the hull: momentum, gravity, propulsion.

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Chase said.

“As you shouldn’t,” Tane said. “How have you been, by the way? We haven’t talked in ages, it seems like.”

“Good of you to check up on me now, before leading us to our dooms,” Chase said. He smiled. “I’m kidding. I’ve been good. I’m ready to go on another kraal hunting mission whenever you are.”

“There won’t be any for a while yet,” Tane said. There probably never would be again, at that.

Tane entered the locker area outside the airlock to the hangar bay, and Jed was there.

“I can’t let you come with me,” Tane told the Volur.

“I know,” Jed said. “I came only to see you off. Good luck, Engineer.”

“Thank you,” Tane said.

Jed and Chase helped Tane suit up, and then he loaded into the specially constructed shuttle to wait for the crossing.

“How are you doing, Beowulf?” Tane asked as the seat clamps secured him.

“Fine, considering the circumstances,” the shuttle’s AI replied.

Tane pulled up the tactical display, since that gave him the best picture of the fleet and their position in relation to the distortion tunnel. The sun appeared as a huge dome underneath the vessel—there was only about twenty-five percent of the star still left. Ahead he could see the outer boundaries of the black ellipse that was the distortion tunnel.

The AIs of the different vessels across the fleet had calculated the necessary trajectory. Because so much of the star had been swallowed already, there was a rather large gap between the corona and the outer edge of the distortion tunnel, coming in at a little over four million kilometers. Though that gap shrank as Tane watched, and would probably be reduced to under three million by the time the fleet arrived.

Despite the fact that the star was seventy-five percent gone, that was still a lot of gravity to contend with, not to mention thermal energy: the heat and radiation shields of the fleet vessels would only be able to withstand it for thirty minutes—twenty on this side, and ten when they passed through and had to deal with the other seventy-five percent of the star. Their trajectory had to essentially be perfect: fly just underneath the rim of the rapidly shrinking tunnel, and pull up immediately on the other side to get away from the terrible heat. Plus they had to navigate to the target before the tunnel closed entirely and the Z’Antamaraan released their anti-grav field.

Up until now, the shuttle had shielded him from the effects of the vibrating deck, but even the cabin floor began to vibrate as the seconds ticked past.

“Talk to me, Admiral,” Tane sent.

“We’re holding up, barely,” William replied. “We’ve lost one dweller ship, and one TSN vessel so far. Both sustained damage in the previous attack, and their hulls couldn’t withstand the tidal forces.”

“A hint of things to come…” Tane mused. “You think the tidal forces are bad now? Just wait until the anti-grav field goes down on the other side.”

“Can’t say I’m looking forward to it,” William told him.

After another five minutes of shaking, they reached the distortion tunnel. Tane knew they had passed through, because all of the vibrations suddenly ceased.

That, and the fact his stomach was doing somersaults thanks to the sudden cessation of the artificial gravity. He wasn’t sure how that worked, considering that the inertial dampeners were still active, preventing the acceleration effects from smearing the crew’s insides across the bulkheads.

“We’ve made it to the other side,” William said. “The Titanium is issuing emergency acceleration to pull away from the star. I have to tell you, I wish our drives behaved this way all the time. Reactionless is the way to go.”

“Too bad it’s not going to last,” Tane said. “Do we have the target in sight yet?”

“Target is in sight,” William replied. “I’m putting it on Screen Two. You might want to take a deep breath before you look…”

Tane pulled up the appropriate screen. William was right: Tane could have used an extra inhale, because what he saw took his breath away.

26

In front of Tane was an accretion disk, or rather, disks, unlike any he had ever seen. Basically, there was this all-consuming blob of darkness directly in front of him, completely devoid of stars. But around it were several rings of stellar material, disk-like rings that were at angles to one another—the remnants of ripped-apart stars. They were being drawn into the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy, and as their gases rubbed against one another, they lit up with all the colors of the rainbow, producing incredible heat and radiation. It was a spectacular, almost surreal light show.

Closer to the rim, the distortions produced by the gravitational lens effect around the black hole made it almost appear as if a bulging, invisible band of sorts surrounded the top and bottom, a band whose contents were the warped points of light from the distant stars beyond.

Tane activated the special autogating shield generator that Nelson had procured for him. Worn at his belt, the device would protect him from the massive pulses of radiation emitted by the accretion disks when he finally went out there. He’d done some light reading earlier regarding black holes, and discovered that the black hole in and of itself gave off very little radiation. Apparently, quantum effects allowed the black hole to leak electromagnetic radiation beyond its event horizon as if emitted from a black body with a temperature inversely proportional to the mass of the black hole. And since this black hole had a whole lot of mass, it acted as an extremely weak black body, with emissions well below cosmic background radiation levels.

He returned his gaze to the black hole and scanned for the Z’Antamaraan mining core the creodenti had told him about. William had said the target was in sight, but so far Tane couldn’t... no wait, there it was: a cloud of nebular gases, floating along the rim of the event horizon, just above the point at which entering light could not escape. These gases were iridescent in color, and shapeless, unlike the strands forming the accretion disks, as if unaffected by the gravity. They seemed to shimmer as he watched, almost as if they weren’t completely real, and didn’t belong in this universe—which they didn’t.

There were apparently many of these mining cores orbiting the supermassive black hole, and were the means the Z’Antamaraan used to interface with our reality. The Z’Antamaraan existed inside the sub-universe formed by the black hole, and the mining cores allowed them to create the huge distortion tunnels they employed to suck in the stars and add mass to the galactic core, increasing their power and allowing them to widen the gap they had formed between their universe and our own, increasingly destabilizing this one.

The creodenti had been studying the Z’Antamaraan for many centuries, and they’d determined there was a limit to how close the Z’Antamaraan distortion tunnels could be used to reel-in suns. The Gravity Born couldn’t make the stars appear inside the event horizon, for example. Hence the current positioning.

“Move the fleet into formation,” Tane ordered.

“Already two steps ahead of you,” William said.

Tane glanced at the tactical display. The combined fleet was traveling away from the star, and the still-shrinking distortion tunnel. The individual vessels expanded outward as they advanced, forming the line Tane had requested.

“Will we make it before the distortion tunnel closes?” Tane asked.

“We will,” William responded.

According to the simulations, when the anti-grav field deactivated, while every vessel would be able to withstand the tidal forces between the star and black hole, the fleet would essentially be stuck in place, which was why it was so important to get into position before then. When the time came to escape, the ships planned to create distortion tunnels in the direction of their orbits around the black hole. It was the only way they’d be able to leave, given that propulsion would be mostly useless.

“You might want to move into position,” William said. “You’ll be locked into place like the rest of us, once the gravity sets in.”

“Don’t you die out there,” Sinive added over the comm.

Tane ignored her words. How many times does she have to tell me that?

If she knew he wasn’t coming back, he wondered what effect it would have had on her. Would she be crying? Would she try to run down to the hangar bay to give him one last kiss goodbye?

He decided it was best not to answer her.

“Take me to the designated coordinates, Beowulf,” Tane ordered.

The shuttle left behind the hangar bay for the void of space.

He glanced at his rear-view feed: he could see the blue star from Handorite System, about the size of his fist, given the current distance away that the fleet was. The sun was almost fully emerged now, and still showed no effects of any influence from the nearby black hole, thanks to the Z’Antamaraan anti-grav field that remained in place around the region.

Since Tane still didn’t entirely trust either side, TSN or dweller, he had several shuttles out there joining him. Manned by AIs, the other craft physically shielded him while Beowulf took him to the designated spot between the gathered fleets, a spot situated squarely between the human and dweller sides.

The deck shook slightly underneath Tane.

“Chrysalium and Darcanium additions are in place, and touching their counterparts on either side,” Beowulf announced.

“Thank you.” Tane rested his gloved hands on the specially constructed bars that had been extended from either wall of the cabin, one bar made of Chrysalium, the other Darcanium. Those constructs passed through the shuttle fuselage on either flank, where they made contact with the respective Chrysalium and Darcanium hulls of the human and dweller ships that lurked on either side.

The remaining ships in the fleet had assumed their places in the line, so that all the ships of the combined fleet were touching. On the right were the TSN ships. On the left, the dweller vessels. In the middle resided Tane in his shuttle, nestled at the join between the two fleets, so that by gripping the two extensions inside the cabin, Tane was essentially touching one huge Chrysalium source on his right and a counterbalancing Darcanium source on his left.

He took a deep breath to prepare himself for what was coming. Already he could feel the incredible forces vying to be unleashed upon this universe from underneath his palms.

It’s time to begin.

He stepped into the White through the Chrysalium and touched the Dark through the Darcanium. His skeleton was nearly ground into nothingness by the unbelievably fierce wind of the Lumina that scraped across the peaks and valleys of his bones. His core was almost burned to a crisp by the star-like nuclear fire of the Umbra that raged through him. He allowed that wind to howl across his bones, and meanwhile constantly quenched the flames of chaos that erupted all around him. He couldn’t actually see those flames... there were too many of them, extending well beyond the cabin, but he sensed them.

The surge he experienced then… the sense of power... was incredible.

An alert appeared on his HUD.

Siphoning bonus. All White Essenceworks are enhanced 319,600% due to Siphoning through Chrysalium hulls.

Siphoning bonus. All Dark Essenceworks are enhanced 495,300% due to Siphoning through Darcanium hulls.

He unleashed his Essence Sight lifeline far afield so that he was hovering well above the fleet. He could see the huge ribbon of White that fluttered from the center of the combined fleet like a candle flame, waiting to be grown and shaped. The fires of the Dark burned for several kilometers around the ships, lighting up the surrounding space in a display that was brighter even than the stellar masses being consumed by the black hole. A display only he could see.

All that sheer energy at his beck and call, waiting to obey his commands...

This is what true power is. The ability to shape the galaxy.

Or destroy it.

Tane began to Siphon. He created a simple tree of the White, growing it forward into a long beam that he directed toward the Z’Antamaraan mining core. He buttressed the colossal Branchwork with the flames of the Dark so that it wouldn’t dissipate on him. It wasn’t so much the design of the White and Dark mix that was important, as he had no intentions of ever letting the work set in this reality. In fact, for his purposes, it was better that the mixed work not set. It served only as a delivery vehicle for the massive streams of Essence sourced from the two universes that sat above and below his own.

The Dark and White beam touched the gas cloud of the mining core, and its advance ceased. Tane continued to Siphon more and more Essence into that beam, attempting to push it forward, but he felt a resistance, and was unable to penetrate. The creodenti had told Tane to expect this, however, so he kept Siphoning, continually directing all of the Essence into that beam. The hulls of ships on either side, meanwhile, would be slowly degrading, thanks to all that Essence passing through them.

I have five minutes until the hulls become too weak to withstand the tidal forces, and break apart.

Five minutes. In theory.

All the Dark provided by the dweller ships easily mitigated the exhaustion caused by the White, so that he felt no wearier than he would have at this point if he had Siphoned through a single ship alone. In fact, he felt better than the first time he had ever Siphoned the hurricane of White through a starship, during the Anteres invasion, because back then he only had a single Dark Artifact and its Darcanium to mitigate the effects of the White. But now he had a whole fleet of ships providing him with Darcanium, so many in fact that he was supplied with much more Dark than White.

If he had known that having so much Dark at his fingertips would abate the exhaustion like this, he would have drawn in a few of the dweller ships during the Anteres invasion to join the TSN vessel he was mounted upon, and then sandwiched himself between the Chrysalium and Darcanium hulls.

Those thoughts happened at the back of his mind, of course, as he was concentrating all of his efforts on quenching those flames, and guiding the stellar wind across his bones, and forcing the Dark and White beam against the resistance he faced.

The iridescent color of the nebula gases that composed the mining core flashed for an instant, and Tane felt a change in the resistance. It was still present, but weaker. He found that if he tried hard, he could force the Branchwork to grow inward once again.

That meant he had opened a small breach into the sub-universe at the heart of the black hole, where the Z’Antamaraan resided. It was working, then.

He pushed even harder and the resistance weakened further.

He felt another change, then, this time in his body. Artificial gravity had kicked in once more aboard the shuttle. The cabin’s fuselage began to groan in complaint. He heard it because the cabin was pressurized, and his helmet microphones picked it up and transmitted the sound to his ears.

That meant the distortion tunnel had finally closed behind them, and the sun had fully entered the galactic core region. The Z’Antamaraan had no reason to maintain the anti-grav field, so the ships of the fleet were now locked in place, encased in the invisible vise of the black hole’s immense gravity.

Tane ignored the groaning of metal and continued Siphoning, focusing on enlarging the breach. He was suddenly worried that the shuttle would succumb to the tidal forces, despite the modifications the engineers had made to protect against that eventuality.

It will last.

And if not, he still had a backup work he could use, if need-be. Beowulf would let him know…

Blue and purple smears of energy, like the northern lights, began to bleed from the edges where the Essencework beam touched the mining core.

One of the downsides of creating this breach mean the Z’Antamaraan now had a way to extend themselves farther into this universe, taking physical form.

Have.... to... get... this done!

He pressed harder. Tane needed to widen the breach for what was coming. As he watched those blue and purple smears in their inevitable advance, he knew that if he failed to succeed in time, he would have only further accelerated the demise of everything, destroying the universe, as Lyra had once told him he was capable of.

Some of the ships attempted to fire plasma throwers at the incoming smears of energy, but the weapons distorted terribly and merely passed through the colorful smears unharmed. The blue and purple energies maneuvered as if unaffected by the physics of this universe, and spread out, while the human and dweller ships they faced were helpless before them, locked in place by the gravitational pull from the massive black hole.

Those blue and purple masses began reaching the outskirts of the dweller fleet, and destroyed entire ships upon contact. One moment a dweller ship existed in formation, and the next it was gone. Tane felt the loss in Dark Siphoning keenly. He was just glad that so far, the attacks occurred at the outskirts of the fleet: if he lost a ship closer to his position, the gap between that vessel and the others would be impossible to fill, as the remaining ships wouldn’t be able to maneuver into touching distance again.

Tane pushed harder.

And then, just like that, he felt no resistance at all.

He was through.

The tip of the massive Branchwork vanished inside the nebular cloud, swallowed by the opening as he continued to grow the beam, sending it into the pocket universe that existed within the black hole.

To his far left, dweller ships on the outskirts of the line continued to vanish from existence as the Z’Antamaraan constructs kept up their attack. Tane ignored the drop in Darkness, and pressed on.

A moment later he felt more resistance, this time coming from somewhere deep inside the pocket universe. No matter how hard he pushed, he could not penetrate this final barrier.

He had done all he could from here.

It was time to face the Z’Antamaraan in person.

Tane stepped out of the White and released the Dark, and slumped slightly. He felt weary, but it wasn’t as overwhelming as he thought it would be, given the mitigating effects of wielding that much of the Dark.

He released the Chrysalium and Darcanium grips, then stepped into the White and touched the Dark using the limits of his own body. He created the level six work of Dark and White Mixing that he had been saving for this moment: Anti-Grav Bubble. It took him a full minute, a timespan that saw the loss of six more ships, and when he was finally done he placed the work around his body and extended it until the bubble enclosed the shuttle as well.

The moaning of metal stopped.

“Beowulf, take us into the breach,” Tane ordered. He ignored the nausea he felt anew in his stomach.

No longer affected by gravity, the shuttle was able to move forward easily. Once it had broken away from the other ships, and its hull no longer touched the adjacent vessels, Tane gripped the Chrysalium and Darcanium extensions once more so that he could more easily maintain the bubble—it had been an effort to envelop the shuttle, but with the small boost provided by the grips he no longer had to overly exert himself. That was good, because he needed to conserve his strength for what was coming.

The shuttle approached the iridescent cloud that squatted above the rim of the event horizon. There was a dark circle situated in the center of that cloud: the breach that Tane had created. It led, quite literally, into nothingness.

The shuttle flew directly into that circle.

27

The shuttle’s external cam, as projected on his HUD, became dark.

Tane knew what was coming next and he prepared himself.

“Goodbye, Beowulf,” Tane said. “Thank you for volunteering for this.”

“It was a pleasure to serve,” the AI said.

The hand-shaped metal slab that Nelson had printed up for Tane rested above his knuckles inside his glove, and he used it to meld with the Gray.

He held his breath and created Rock Skin; his skin hardened as a thick layer of gray mineral enveloped his epidermis. The metal slab was engulfed by the rock as well so that he remained in contact with it.

The suit punctured from the inside, thanks to that work, but it didn’t matter because invisible forces assailed the shuttle and it dissolved around him, explosively decompressing. His suit disintegrated as well, exposing his naked body to the void of space. But the Rock Skin protected him.

He released the reserve Dark work of Protective Environment he had created earlier, and he used Air Current to flush out the liquid hydrocarbon environment that filled it, since the protective work was designed for dwellers. Still holding his breath, he created Infuse Oxygen with Dark and White Mixing. It took him thirty seconds, and when the work set inside the Protective Environment, an atmosphere with the necessary ratios of oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen formed.

Tane opened his mouth to inhale deeply, as his nose was plugged entirely by Rock Skin, and he panted for breath. He had half an hour before he had to create another work of Infuse Oxygen to replenish the atmosphere.

Sound was muffled—his ears were also covered by rock. His vision was blurry, thanks to the thin film of translucent rock that covered his eyes. He attempted to cast out his Essence Sight lifeline, but found that his viewpoint remained locked inside of himself.

He felt no sensation of motion, but he had to assume that he continued to drift forward in the same direction as his previous momentum, as he still held the Anti-Grav Bubble around his body. Then again, physics might work differently here.

Around him, the blackness gave way to a rust-colored mist. It swirled about him, sometimes seeming to create ghostly shapes. He was reminded of the mirror universe where he had witnessed copies of himself and Sinive running about, where the buildings were choked out by a reddish-black haze. Except here there were no buildings. No anything.

That wasn’t entirely true.

Tane was here.

He noticed a series of red droplets spiraling away in front of him, seemingly sourced from his body.

He glanced down. Trickles of red emerged from the rock that covered his chest, as if the minerals sweated blood. At first he thought it might be condensation of some kind, but he realized that wasn’t the case, because the droplets appeared from the same area of his body: his solar plexus. They rose from the surface and formed the spiral he saw before him: an ever-widening circle of red dots that vanished into the mist.

He was inside the pocket universe formed by the black hole at the center of the galaxy, a shared sub-universe that existed at the core of all galaxies in Umanitar. The spiral of red drops emerging from his body was probably the manifestation of his ability to Siphon whatever Essence this universe produced. Not that he knew how to even begin that Siphoning.

He still had access to the other four Essences he knew. Which was good, because he needed them to maintain the atmospheric bubble that was keeping him alive.

As he floated there, he couldn’t help the strange sense of peace that overcame him. The only sound was that of his breathing, which he heard because of the oxygen environment with which he had surrounded himself. The only sight was that swirling mist.

He wanted to turn his body around to view his surroundings, but he wasn’t sure how. Perhaps he could vent oxygen through the Protective Environment somehow. But before he did anything, his body rotated of its own accord.

Strange… I had merely to think about turning, and I turned.

He imagined rotating in the opposite direction. Sure enough, his body now revolved counterclockwise.

What about other movements?

He envisioned himself traveling forward through the mist, and on cue the swirling clouds advanced past him.

Interesting. To move here required no physical force of the body; he could simply will himself around the place with his mind.

“Do you feel it?” a voice said.

Tane glanced about, seeking the source of that voice, but saw no one.

He revolved in place with his mind until he was facing the opposite direction.

There.

A phasic being hovered three meters in front of him. It blinked into and out of existence at seemingly random intervals, and when it did exist, it was partially translucent, making it difficult to discern within the mist. About the size of a man, it reminded him of an amoeba because of its amorphous shape. Cilia coated its surface, and fingerlike projections of protoplasm randomly protruded at intervals.

“Who are you?” Tane asked.

“The Spokesman,” the phasic being replied. The voice came from Tane’s mind. It was neither male, nor female, but something in between.

“The Spokesman…”

“Of those you call Z’Antamaraan,” the voice said. “The Gravity Born. What you see is a pale imitation of my true form, a manifestation caused by the intersection of my universe with this one.”

If that wasn’t its true form, he wondered what these creatures actually looked like.

“We scanned your mind when you entered,” the Spokesman continued. “Constructed simulations from your engrams. Time passes differently for us. Seconds for you are the equivalent of years, for us. We learned your language, and how to interface with portions of your brain. We are learning more about your primitive mind as we speak.”

Tane wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that. The last thing he needed was these creatures creating some sort of control chip and implanting it in his head. He considered forming a work of Repel Nanotech as a precaution, but somehow he didn’t think it would help.

“Do you feel it?” the Spokesman pressed.

“Feel what?”

“You exist in all universes at once, including our own,” the Spokesman said. “You have the same powers that we do. Powers that are amplified here, in the sub-universe formed by the galactic cores.”

“I… feel different,” Tane said. That was an understatement. Now that he thought about it, he felt better than he had his whole life. The sense of peace was still there, but he also felt more alive than ever before. Sight, sound, everything seemed enhanced. Though currently there wasn’t much to see or hear of course.

And yet what if the Gravity Born were the root cause of the sensation? The Spokesman said they had learned to interface with portions of his brain. It stood to reason that they could access other regions beside his speech center…

“We want to crown you emperor of this universe,” the Spokesman said.

Tane merely stared at the entity.

“Join us,” the Spokesman said. “Enjoy this power forever.”

“No,” Tane said. “You intend to destroy this universe, and those adjacent to it.”

“We will destroy this one, it is inevitable, yes. Like us, you exist in multiple universes. If you join us, when this universe is destroyed, you will absorb all of its power, keeping the amplified energy you feel here inside the galactic core. But we can spare the adjacent universes… the Umbra, Khaeota, Lumina… so that you can still draw power from them as well. Without the boundaries of Umanitar in the way, the power you can draw from them will be unlimited. Already you must sense this, because here inside the galactic core, all boundaries are removed.

“Here, all of your Essenceworks are the equivalent of level fifty, and your overall level is one hundred. You will not feel any stamina drain when you Siphon, and can continue to do so for as long as you wish. You will never die, unless you choose. You have the ability to travel anywhere you please, in this universe while it still exists, or in any other universe you choose to reside in. You do not need substrates such as bones and rocks to achieve other Essences: they are all integral to your being, here. You are, in all senses of the word, unstoppable.”

Tane checked his stats. Everything the Spokesman had told him appeared true, at least when it came to the levels of his Essenceworks. But the question was, were the Z’Antamaraan merely manipulating the chip he had in his head, or did he actually have these levels?

As a test, he stepped into the Essence. He nearly destroyed himself in the process, because he hadn’t been expecting the sheer hurricane that resulted. It was as if he were Siphoning through a starship like the Mosaic. He created an Essence Missile from the resulting ribbon of stellar wind that raged before him: it was difficult without Essence Sight, since he couldn’t see the frozen light in its entirety, but he grew the work by touch. Incredibly enough, he didn’t need the Dark to buttress it in place.

When he set the work in this reality, a lance of light that was as big as the Mosaic formed, something that previously he would’ve only been able to achieve with a large Chrysalium source. He released the unexpectedly large work, and it roared through the mists, leaving them swirling in its wake. He felt no exhaustion whatsoever.

They’re telling the truth.

He quenched the sudden hunger he felt, the avarice for this power, crunching down upon it with all his being.

“And what happens to my friends, and to everyone I care about?” Tane said, fighting against the thirst for that power. What about Sinive? “They’ll be lost with Umanitar.”

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” the Spokesman said. “They can come with you to a higher universe. You and those you choose to accompany you will become the last manifestations of Umanitar… the remnants of that universe will live on forever in you and your friends. And when your companions die, you can simply Revive them. Repeatedly, for all eternity. When the life leeches come, you will destroy them without effort. Perhaps we will take the universe those leeches hail from next, so that you need never worry about them again.”

“And what about everyone else?” Tane said. “The countless lifeforms that currently exist in Umanitar? The trillions upon trillions that must exist, not just in this galaxy, but in all galaxies…”

“They will be lost when we absorb this universe,” the Spokesman admitted. “But it is a small price to pay for the unlimited power you will have. You don’t know them. You never will know them. Why do they matter, when your friends are safe?”

Tane considered that. “You raise a convincing argument,” he said, stalling for time.

“So, will you help us consume this universe?” the Spokesman asked.

“How?” Tane replied.

“You can help twofold,” the Spokesman said. “Because this is your native universe, you can leave a portion of yourself behind here, and keep the powers that come without boundaries while you project yourself anywhere you please. Use this ability to create more breaches in spacetime like the one you made already, so that we may extend our influence farther, and reach ever beyond the confines of this black hole. Also, you can bring us more suns: gravity feeds our power. While we work on the suns of the inner core, you can bring us those suns currently out of our reach, those belonging to the outer rim. You can send yourself out to several galaxies at once to do this… with you helping us, we can absorb this universe much faster.”

Tane didn’t reply. He was tempted. Sorely tempted. But the cost, it just seemed too great. Even if it meant he could save his friends, he didn’t think he could live with the guilt.

“I don’t—” Tane said.

“Here,” the Spokesman said. “A taste of what you will have, if you help us.”

Tane felt what could best be described as a mental Push. Something reached inside of him and shoved.

He resisted.

“Let me take you,” the Spokesman said.

Tane resisted once again. Good. He wanted to know that he had the ability to deny them. For now.

“Do you not—” the Spokesman began.

“Go ahead,” Tane said. “Give me this taste you mentioned.”

The Push came a third time. This time Tane didn’t resist.

It felt like something passed down inside of him, crosswise, splitting him in two laterally, and his psyche fractured.

The mist was gone.

28

Tane found himself standing on a floor of blue-vein white marble. It felt cold beneath his bare feet. His gaze was directed upward: far above lurked a vaulted ceiling covered in paintings of robed men and women who carried staffs. That ceiling was held in place by intricately carved columns.

He slowly lowered his eyes from the ceiling. Men in double-breasted formalwear and women in evening gowns chatted away at different points throughout the room. Some held chalices in hand. They all wore silver accessories that Tane immediately recognized as Chrysalium.

This was some kind of Volur party.

The room fell silent as individuals began to notice him. Some of them gasped, their expressions full of apparent outrage. Others looked at him with longing—women mostly, though there were a few men—and their respective gazes were almost always directed toward his nether regions.

Tane glanced down at himself and realized he was stark naked.

He immediately covered his groin with both hands. His face felt molten, and he began eyeing the different corners of the room, searching for an exit.

A taste of what I will have? That bastard.

He realized that most of those present were now looking past him, gazing toward someone or something on the far side of the room, as if looking for a cue on how to behave regarding his intrusion.

Keeping his hands firmly cupping his groin, he turned around until he was facing in the same direction.

Four meters in front of him, two men and one woman sat in three chairs set side-by-side. The men wore armored robes, the woman an armored dress, the metal plates folding atop one another to form the skirt region. Volurs. Their hands rested on silver armrests, the same material as the rest of the chairs—Chrysalium. Crimson pads cushioned the seat and backrest areas.

Combat robots—skirmishers and scepters—lurked on the far left and right flanks of those chairs, and their weapons were pointed directly at Tane. Other individuals stood behind the chairs, also obviously Volurs—they were wearing armored dresses or robes along with various Chrysalium accessories, and clutched staffs in their hands.

His gaze was drawn to the wall behind them all, where a mural had been painted. It towered above the room’s occupants, and depicted three silver robes silhouetted against a white, circular backdrop. The arms of those robes were extended, with the sleeves between each of them interlinked as if holding hands. On the left and right sides the sleeves ended in silver staffs.

That symbol was familiar somehow. And then he knew what it was as soon as that thought entered his mind.

But that couldn’t be right.

Tane checked his map. He had a connection to the Galnet here, and it updated his location immediately. He was positioned inside the Palace of the Triumvirate on Talendir, the Volur homeworld.

That wall mural was the symbol of the Triumvirate. A symbol to be respected.

And feared.

These were the people Tane had thought he would be visiting from the very beginning, after Lyra and Jed had first taken him from his farm. The prospect had both frightened and excited him at the time, but frankly he had been looking forward to it. At least until Lyra had told him the truth regarding the Volur, about how they wanted to control him utterly—they were little different from the dwellers and TSN.

Funny how destiny had done a full circle and taken him here anyway.

Or rather, the Z’Antamaraan had. In his embarrassment and confusion, he had almost forgotten the powerful forces that had conveyed him here. Was this place even real? Perhaps the Gravity Born were masters of illusion, just like the archaeoceti.

Well, if it was an illusion, it was certainly a convincing one.

“What is the meaning of this?” the seated woman said, drawing him out of his confused thoughts. Her voice seemed boosted by some work of the Essence to carry unnaturally across the room. “Invisibility is not allowed in the Formal Chamber.”

Tane ID’d her.

Name: Hanna Fahvlin Montides

Race: Human

Level: 35

Class: Second Triumvir, Volur Triumvirate

Weaponry: None

Shielding: Energy. (135/135)

Base Armor rating: 65

Total armor rating (including shielding): 200

“It’s the Bender of Worlds,” the man seated beside her hissed.

In the next moment, everything seemed to happen at once.

The invisible hands of Telekinesis gripped him. There were multiple works, coming not just from the triumvirs, but the Volurs behind them, and those in the throng at Tane’s back. He knew, because his body seemed to be jerked about in multiple directions, as would only happen when several works struck.

Disrupt was coming next, no doubt, to prevent him from creating anything in return... if such a work hadn’t struck him already.

He stepped into the White. Once again he was taken aback by the sheer amount that gusted through his core. He didn’t think that would be possible, given that he no longer resided in the heart of the galaxy. It was like he was touching a starship hull.

Essence Sight worked here, and he cast out his lifeline to better shape the giant hurricane of White that erupted from his core. He created a work of Deflect and set it into this reality around himself, and was happy when it took: that meant no works of Disrupt had hit him; either that, or his level was higher than any Disrupts that had, or the sheer force of White he could Siphon outpunched anything the Volurs could place. One of those three was certainly true... it didn’t really matter which, he supposed. That work of Deflect would prevent anything else from touching him, as long as he continued to feed White into it. Once more he felt no exhaustion.

Keeping the Deflect active, he grew another Branchwork from his core, creating a massive work of Disrupt. He let it set into this reality, placing it down upon every man and woman present so that no one would be able to grow any new Essenceworks. Because of his high level, and the sheer size of the Branchwork he had created, it would last for a very long time: at least ten minutes, if not far longer.

Someone gasped. A woman screamed.

The skirmishers and scepters opened fire.

As those plasma and laser beams struck the invisible half dome of Deflect around him, they dissipated along its surface. Tane melded with the Gray through the marble floor that touched his toes, and was almost overcome by the sheer torrent of quarks that flowed onto his skin.

He quickly covered himself in Rock Skin, just in case Deflect failed or someone produced a weapon powerful enough to penetrate. Then he unmelded with the Gray. Rock Skin remained active.

He touched the Dark and yes, the flames of chaos, too, were all-consuming, and filled up the entire room, right up to the vaulted ceiling and beyond. He was strong in everything.

He began a Melt Metal timeline, intending to create a few more works of the White in the interim, but was shocked by the speed with which he created it. He was done in a few seconds, rather than the usual full minute, and he promptly released it.

The work was more powerful than he intended, and every single robot in the room began to melt, when he had merely intended to destroy their weapons. In moments the robots had been reduced to puddles of molten liquid on the floor. Those people standing near them had to leap out of the way or get burned. Others dropped weapons that melted in their grasps.

More screams.

Tane invoked Mass Telekinesis. Because of the amount he could Siphon, he was able to wrap it around every man and woman present, freezing them all.

The doors to the throne room slid aside, and Tane turned toward them as several mechs charged inside.

Tane created another work of Mass Telekinesis before the machines could open fire, and hoisted those mechs from the marble floor and hurled them into the open doorway, blocking it with their mechanical bodies. He created another work of Melt Metal, and this time dialed back the amount of Dark with which he imbued the timeline, and as he set it into this reality, he carefully directed the work between the seams of the robots, melding them all together to form an impenetrable plug.

A circular region of the arched floor spiraled open, and a defense platform rose from where it had been hidden underneath. Several laser turrets trained upon Tane.

He released a huge, blinding Essence Missile, and destroyed it.

Then he turned to face the triumvirs once more. “That’s better. For a moment there I thought you were going to try to capture me. I’m glad that you decided to have a change of heart.” He regarded them with slight amusement, as he would children who had been misbehaving. “I suppose you have security forces with beacons leading to this room. I suggest you tell them not to jump here. Unless you want them to join those fellows by the door. I’ve left your network connections active...” Not that he could actually disrupt those connections, but no one present knew that.

Tane loosened his telekinetic grip around the mouth regions so that the triumvirs could speak.

“Red Force, stand down,” the woman, Hanna Fahvlin Montides, Second Triumvir, said softly.

“Good choice,” Tane told her.

“What do you want?” a man seated on the throne beside her asked.

Tane stepped forward. “Kneel before me. All three of you.”

He released the trio from Telekinesis entirely, but laid another work of Disrupt upon them for good measure.

The three exchanged surprised, yet also distasteful, glances.

“Kneel,” Tane repeated. “Oh great Triumvirate of the Volur. The World Bender commands you.”

They knelt.

Tane couldn’t help but smile.

This was rather fun.

“Effective immediately, you and all other Volurs report directly to me, not the TSN,” Tane said. “Is that understood?”

“It is, World Bender,” Hanna said.

He dispersed the Rock Skin.

“Give me your armored robe,” he told the man kneeling next to her. His ID named him Min-Jun Kor, First Triumvir. He seemed about the same build as Tane. It was hard to guess his height because we was kneeling, however.

The man promptly removed his armored robe, and Tane froze all three with Telekinesis before shrugging it on. The fit was close enough.

“Do you have a beam hilt?” Tane asked the man, releasing Telekinesis from the three once again. Tane hadn’t taken his storage pouch with him, since he knew he would lose it and all of his items when he passed through the gateway to the sub-universe at the heart of the galaxy. Or at least he suspected that would occur, given what the creodenti had told him had happened to their probes.

Min-Jun produced a beam hilt from his storage pouch.

Tane latched onto it with Telekinesis and jerked it away from the man before Min-Jun could do something he might regret.

“A Class Five, nice,” Tane said, examining the weapon. He wondered how big the resultant energy ax would be if he Siphoned all of the Lumina he could now wield into it. The blade would probably reach right to the vaulted ceiling, and maybe even beyond.

Tane gingerly secured the hilt to the provided loop in the utility belt that gird the armored robe. “How about a Dark hilt? A C’havar?”

Min-Jun shook his head.

“None of you have a C’havar?” Tane asked the other two.

They both replied in the negative.

“Too bad,” Tane said. He turned toward Hanna. “I’ll take your beam hilt, too, then.”

The second triumvir produced her own beam hilt, and once more Tane retrieved it with Telekinesis. He secured it to another free loop in his belt.

Tane laid Telekinesis thickly onto the three of them, so that he could survey the throne room one more time without worrying about them trying to jump him.

He gazed past the translucent stellar wind and chaotic flames that wavered in front of him. The place was so grand. And all of those Volurs in their formal wear only added to the ambiance.

All of this was essentially his, now.

Yet it would all be gone if he allowed the Z’Antamaraan to destroy this universe.

On cue, the Spokesman appeared beside him. Though the alien was more translucent than ever, almost a mere outline.

“Are you not pleased?” the Spokesman asked.

Tane glanced at the triumvirs. Their eyes seemed to bulge out of their heads as they stared, shocked, at the phasic being. Similar reactions were apparent on the faces of the other people present. Mass Telekinesis had little control over micro expressions, after all, at least not unless Tane concentrated his telekinetic efforts down to the facial level.

“No, I’m not really,” Tane said. “What’s the point of all this? Sure, it was kind of fun to make the three most powerful people in the galaxy kneel before me, but none of them—” he swept a hand around the room—“and none of this, will exist when you’re done.”

“Bring them with you to a higher universe along with your friends,” the Spokesman said. “Then command them for all eternity.”

Tane frowned. His eyes drifted to the fluttering ribbon of stellar wind that erupted from his core, filling up the room in front of him along with the Dark flames.

“Why can I still Siphon so much here?” Tane said.

“As I told you, you have the ability to leave a part of yourself behind inside the sub-universe at the center of the galaxy,” the Spokesman said. “While you project your remaining energy outside. Since this is your native universe, you can travel anywhere you want, even to another galaxy. Whereas we are limited to the region immediately surrounding the core, at least until you open more breaches. In time you will learn to perform this separation of energies on your own. We will teach you.”

“If you’re limited to the region around the core, why are you here now?” Tane said. “Or is all of this just some illusion?”

“Not an illusion,” the Spokesman said. “I am a projection bounced off of your consciousness. Without you, I would have no ability to reach this place.”

Tane considered everything the Spokesman had told him.

And then he thought of something.

29

“I have the ability to travel anywhere in this universe, you say?” Tane asked.

“You do,” the Spokesman replied.

“And you said I could Revive anyone I wanted now, anyone at all?” Tane pressed.

“You can,” the alien said.

“Is there a limit to the age of the person I can Revive?”

“None that we know of,” the Spokesman replied. “Though our knowledge is limited to that which we’ve gleaned from your own mind, since we don’t use the particular Essence involved ourselves. The same rules still apply, as you currently know them.”

“So I’ll need a full body,” Tane said. “Or at the very least, a full skeleton.”

“Yes.”

“All right, I want to travel somewhere,” Tane said. “Somewhere far away. How do I do it?”

“Imagine the place in your mind’s eye,” the Spokesman said. “And simply step through. Assuming you have seen it.”

“Oh, I’ve seen it.” Tane imagined a certain tunnel set into a cliff overlooking a purple sea, and then stepped through with his mind.

Surprisingly, it worked. Just like that he was standing at the spot he had imagined.

He wasn’t sure how he had known precisely how to “step through with his mind” like that... he suspected the Spokesman or its ilk had already begun to implant memories into Tane’s brain, just as nanotech would. Influencing him.

They’re going to be in control of me soon, if I’m not careful.

That meant he didn’t have much time.

With that thought in mind, he turned away from the sea and entered the darkness of the cave. He still retained the armored robe the first triumvir had given him, he noted, along with the two beam hilts hanging from his belt.

The Spokesman was not there beside him. The creature hadn’t found where he had gone. Not yet. Or maybe it had, and was simply lurking.

Tane created Night Vision with the Dark and the cave lit up. He advanced deeper inside.

He reached the end of the tunnel. A mound of stones formed a cairn. The skeleton of a man rested atop.

There was a Dark Artifact next to the cairn, rising from floor to ceiling, its infinite darkness impenetrable even to the gaze of Night Vision.

Tane touched it.

He stood on the beach below the cave. The waves lapped against the rocks that lined the shoreline nearby.

His lips moved, and the ancient voice of Tiberius came from his throat.

“So you have come at last,” Tiberius said. “I appreciate the gesture. You thought only to pay your respects, I’m sure, but I have one final gift for you. The knowledge of a lifetime. When you are ready, touch this artifact again, and invoke the following work.” He created a work of Dark and White Mixing that burned into Tane’s muscle memory. “When you do this, you will receive all of my memory in its entirety. Everything. Nothing will be held back. My childhood. My time spent with the dwellers. My struggle against my shadow. All the missing works of Dark and White Mixing and everything in between. The locations of my legendary item stashes. Everything.”

The beach winked out and he was back inside the cave.

Tane released the Dark Artifact. He hadn’t been expecting that. It changed everything. He had come here wanting to repay a debt to someone he considered an old friend. But with this artifact, Tiberius might actually be of some use to him.

The Spokesman promised Tane no longer needed a substrate such as a grazer skeleton to reach the Synthate: with a part of himself still embedded within the galactic core, it would come to him immediately.

Time to test that theory.

Tane parted the veil to the Emerald. He felt the force of a thousand grazers attempting to deny him, but he beat them back easily. They tried to cling to his mind and control him, but he shrugged them off and they fell away like the formless, fleeting ghosts they were.

Overwhelming pain wracked him, but it was gone in an instant as unimaginable pleasure sparked across his neurons.

So it’s true.

Tane created a huge work of Revive with the incredible amount of Synthate available to him, the Emerald relentlessly sparking through his neurons in waves of lightning. He Siphoned so much of the stuff that green sparks passed up and down his skin. His body had essentially become a conduit for an entire universe of Synthate.

He created a giant, electrical brain that spanned beyond the confines of the cave, and he centered it upon the skeleton in front of him before allowing it to set into this reality.

He had a vague thought at the back of his mind.

What if those bones don’t belong to Tiberius?

That would be a cruel joke if there ever was one.

The wind howled at the entrance to the cave, and outside the sky had darkened. Tane walked to the entrance. Red lightning flashed down from above as a huge monster arose from the ocean. It was one of the multi-headed insects that came whenever he used Revive, except it was far bigger and had more heads than any he had ever faced. Its thorax and abdomen were the size of a stadium. Its necks were skyscrapers.

Those heads bashed into the cliff.

Tane held them off with Deflect.

The creature unleashed swarms of insects next.

Tane continued to hold them off with the same work.

Large worms, as big as his body, clambered up the cliff and attempted to grapple him. But they could not penetrate his Deflect.

With Essence Sight, he glanced over his shoulder, and saw the red globes that had appeared. There were so many of them hovering above the bones of Tiberius that the globes had no distinct edges, but rather seemed to be one thick mass. They sucked white streams of energy from the skeleton.

Tane unleashed Mass Telekinesis upon that mass of red and it worked for once—he’d tried it before, as had Mancers with him, but had never been able to affect the life leeches. His level in Mass Telekinesis had never been high enough.

But it was now.

He gathered them into a larger ball above the body and destroyed it with an Essence Missile, taking care to control the size of the work so as not to harm the skeleton.

Then he turned back to the terrible monster, which was continuing its barrage of attacks against him. Tane created another Essence Missile, allowing this one to grow to an immense size. Then he hurled it at the creature’s thorax, carving a huge crater.

The beast howled.

Tane unleashed Mass Telekinesis once more and forced the creature’s heads and abdomen inward, crushing everything into the shape of ball. Then he launched three more Essence Missile barrages, and the creature sank lifelessly into the sea. He released a long stream of Persistent Flame at the worms and insects that remained behind to assail the Deflect work he had kept intact at the lip of the cave, incinerating them.

The red lightning stopped and the sky brightened once more.

He turned around. A naked man lay in place of the bones on the cairn. Tane recognized Tiberius from his memories. The man had returned in his middle years.

Tane walked to him and dismissed his Night Vision, instead creating a Star Light to illuminate the area so that Tiberius could see, too. The man seemed frightened and confused. He held his hands above his head as if he was worried Tane would harm him.

Like Gwenyth, who had been dead for twenty years, he had no memory of who he was.

Tane offered him an open palm and managed to coax Tiberius into taking it. Then he helped him to his feet and led him to the Dark Artifact.

Tiberius seemed afraid of it, but Tane cajoled the man forward with calming words and gentle nudges. Then, when they were both standing before it, guiding his hand, Tane made Tiberius touch the artifact.

Tane created the work that he had just learned from the artifact. The work that would unleash all of the memories stored inside of it. He lowered that work onto the artifact while Tiberius yet touched it.

Tiberius’ eyes went wide and the man gasped. He seemed to be struggling to remove his hand from the surface but couldn’t—it was glued fast.

Tiberius screamed, falling to his knees, hanging by his arm because the hand was still affixed to the black surface.

The artifact dissolved and Tiberius slumped to the floor.

He looked up at Tane, shielding his eyes, as if everything was suddenly too bright. He spoke gibberish.

Tiberius, as a member of the Ancient Terael people, spoke a language Tane didn’t understand, and since Tane didn’t have a Dark Artifact to impart the meaning behind the words directly into his brain, he had to rely on other methods. Thankfully, while binge shopping at TSN headquarters for nanotech upgrades, one of the updates he had installed was Ancient Language Translation. Whether or not it would actually work with whatever dialect of Terael that Tiberius was speaking, well, that was another story.

Tane switched it on and chose language auto-detect.

To his relief, the words Tiberius spoke were translated into something that made sense. “Why have you disturbed my rest?”

“I’m your student,” Tane said. His chip acted as a man in the middle between his speech center and his mouth, so that his words came out as Ancient Terael. “Your lessons reached down the centuries and saved me. I have Revived you to repay that debt.”

“Debt?” Tiberius said. “You owed me no such debt!”

“But you always talked about how you wanted to meet me…” Tane said.

“I was speaking figuratively!” Tiberius said. “I never wanted to return! Never wanted this! You should have left me in peace! You know nothing of my wants and needs. My motivations. Nothing!”

“I—” But Tane didn’t finish. He truly didn’t know what to say. He thought Tiberius would be pleased. Not angry.

The Spokesman appeared. “This one will prove fine company in the years to come. If anything, he’ll be a source of amusement.”

“What is that?” Tiberius said.

“We are the Z’Antamaraan,” the Spokesman said, readily changing to Terael. The ease of the change disturbed Tane.

How much of my brain do they have access to?

“The who?” Tiberius said.

“We have come to absorb this universe into our own,” the Spokesman said. “Your young protégé here is helping us. He has chosen you as the recipient of his benevolence. You will be one of those who lives, while the rest of this universe dies.”

“Thanks for that,” Tane told the Spokesman. He wondered if the Spokesman, and thus the Z’Antamaraan, knew precisely what Tiberius was: that like Tane, he existed in multiple universes at the same time.

Tiberius shook his head. “I’ve made a grave mistake. I should have never left behind artifacts to train you.” He leaned backward, collapsing against the cave wall. “But who am I to judge you? I always knew you would have a choice, and I left these memories behind knowing this full well. A choice to save the universe, or destroy it. I guess I never really thought you’d choose the latter.”

“Wait here,” Tane told Tiberius.

The man frowned, and gazed at the cave entrance. “Like I have anywhere to go.”

Tane imagined the red mists of the galactic core and stepped through with his mind.

He was back in the sub-universe of the black hole. He was still wearing his armored robe, with the beam hilts hanging from his belt. He was also still surrounded by a breathable atmosphere, a testament to the fact that a part of him had never left. He invoked another Protective Environment, layering it atop the first, and dispelled the last since he didn’t want it to suddenly wear off. He used Air Current to push out the liquid hydrocarbons, and Infuse Oxygen to replace the contents with a fresh breathable atmosphere.

The phasic creature appeared beside him.

“So you will join us?” the Spokesman said.

Tane regarded the amoeba-like entity uncertainly. Now that he was back here, and could feel the immense power beckoning from beyond the edges of reality, he found his resolve wavering.

“Keep in mind that if you refuse, the power you wield will be lost,” the Spokesman said. “And you will not be able to save your friends when this universe dies. You can do nothing to stop us. Your only choice is to join.”

Tane hesitated only a moment longer.

“I don’t see the downside,” Tane said. “I can live forever, along with those who are the most important to me. Travel to any world. Any universe. Who wouldn’t want that?”

“Good choice. So then, to prove your good intentions, we ask that you open another breach, right now. Here.” The Spokesman pointed directly in front of Tane. “Use the Dark and White, as you did to enter this place. We have no access to these Essences.”

Tane stepped into the hurricane of the White, and touched the conflagration of the Dark, and began growing the Branchwork to create the breach that would be the beginning of the end of his universe.

30

As the powers of both universes filled him, and the breach slowly enlarged in front of Tane, he couldn’t shake the sense that what he was doing was wrong.

Utterly so.

He would be helping these Gravity Born snuff out all life in his home universe, just so that he, and a select group of friends could live forever. Trillions of lives lost.

That was the downside.

And a very big one it was, at that.

He reminded himself that all other humans, even Volurs, were ants compared to the power he now wielded. As long as he stayed here, or at least kept a part of himself in this place, he was immortal. And all powerful.

He heard Lyra’s words yet again.

“Sometimes we have to decide: do we save one or two lives, or do we save thousands?”

There was also the chance the Z’Antamaraan were lying. In fact, they probably were. When his universe died, he probably would, too.

But what if they told the truth?

Tane stared at his hands.

This power… power beyond imagining. All mine. Do I really want to lose it? I can travel anywhere I want. Revive anyone with ease. Sinive and I can roam the galaxy forever… and not just this one, but other galaxies. Other universes.

But then he thought of what she would think of him, once she found out the cost he had paid for the power he had. She would revile him. As would all his friends. Oh sure, they’d present a false front, pretending to love him beyond all things, but they’d secretly hate him, living their days in fear of him.

There’s no challenge in life with these powers. Everything is too easy. It’s almost not real. I, like most humans, thrive on the sense of challenge and competition that life brings. If my mind controls the universe and reality, and I can do anything I want, what is there left to challenge and surprise me? I will live, but I won’t really be alive.

He reached down to his belt, and gripped the beam hilt that hung there. Such a simple weapon. A weak weapon. So below his current abilities. A weapon of the Volur. Beings who were insects to him.

He squeezed that hilt tightly.

No. Human beings aren’t insects. Lyra gave me a hilt like this to remind me of who I was, and where I came from.

I will do what I came here to do.

I will save the galaxy, and the universe.

Tane released the Branchwork.

“We are destroying your fleet as we speak,” the Spokesman said. “Your friends are out there, yes? The only way you’ll save them in time is by helping us. If you do not, we’ll destroy them all, I promise you.”

I can’t lose Sinive.

But once more he thought of the revulsion she would show him if he saved her life in exchange for letting the universe die.

Tane made up his mind.

Forgive me, Sinive.

He created the necessary beam of Dark and White once more and propelled it into the mist. The Dark wasn’t strictly required, since he no longer needed the flames of chaos to buttress the White work, but he supplied it anyway, since the Spokesman seemed to think it was needed to properly penetrate.

“Yes!” the Spokesman said. “Excellent choice.”

With a spare portion of the White, he manifested a work of Create Beacon, and marked the mists of this place.

Then he imagined himself back on the planet where he had left Tiberius and stepped through with his mind.

Once more he stood within the cave mouth overlooking the purple ocean. The sun was setting.

He wasn’t sure if the part of himself that remained behind in the sub-universe would continue the Dark and White work. It seemed likely.

He found Tiberius sitting there at the lip of the cave, staring out across the sea. The man had procured a simple, threadbare black robe. Where he had found it, Tane didn’t know. Maybe there was a stash somewhere behind the cairn.

Tiberius looked up when he realized Tane was present.

“Surprised to see me?” Tane asked, and his chip translated the words into Terael.

Tiberius shrugged. “Not really.”

He tossed Tiberius the spare beam hilt. “I need you.”

The man stared at the weapon uncertainly. “I’m not helping you destroy our universe.”

“You misunderstand me,” Tane said. “I’m destroying the universe of the Z’Antamaraan. Or at least, the pocket universe they’ve created in our own. And all of them, in the process.” Tane glanced up suddenly. “We don’t have much time. They’ve found me.”

Tiberius stood. “I’m in. Let’s bend worlds together, shall we?”

“You might want to create a Protective Environment and fill it with oxygen,” Tane told him.

Tiberius cocked his head, and then a Dark environment appeared around him. That he had created it so fast told Tane that the man had already prepared it in advance and stored it in reserve. Tiberius flushed out the liquid hydrocarbons inside and thirty seconds later replaced them with a breathable atmosphere.

There was still the small problem of actually transporting Tiberius to the galactic core. The Z’Antamaraan had said he could bring his friends and anyone he wanted to other universes. But they hadn’t taught him how, yet.

Tane would need to create a special version of Distortion Tunnel To Beacon. He wasn’t sure it would actually work, since he was trying to create a distortion tunnel that led across the galaxy, something that even starships couldn’t do even with the massive amounts of Essence that could be Siphoned through their Chrysalium hulls, at least not in a single jump. Then again, the tunnel he needed would be far smaller.

But it would also need to traverse universes.

Tane had an idea about that as well. He’d been studying the level seven work of Dark and White Mixing known as Inter-dimensional Distortion Tunnel. The design of the White was identical to a normal distortion tunnel. He should be able to use Distortion Tunnel To Beacon in its place, and apply the usual Dark work. It would try to bring him to the galactic core inside the Umbra, but since the beacon already existed inside a pocket universe, and not the Umbra, Tane hoped the work would sort out the proper destination.

There was a chance it would fail disastrously of course, and devour anybody that attempted to pass through, which was why he himself planned to return to the galactic core with his mind, and not via the tunnel. He decided not to tell Tiberius about the dangers… there was no point in frightening him for nothing. Tiberius probably wouldn’t feel a thing if it failed and he died anyway.

Tane began the work. As usual, he sped through the Dark timeline involved, so that he could grow the White portion all the faster, and something that should have taken ten minutes was done in seconds.

Tane created the distortion tunnel. Air was sucked into it violently from this side. Tane used a work of Telekinesis to keep himself and Tiberius in place, and then he slowly moved Tiberius through into the red mist waiting beyond, and then released the tunnel.

The violent inrush of air receded and he allowed the Telekinesis work to dissipate.

Tane imagined himself back at the center of the universe and stepped through.

Tiberius was waiting for him, floating in his Protective Environment.

So it worked.

Tane was still enclosed in his own Protective Environment, and the part of himself he had left behind continued to launch the White and Dark drill into the swirling mist. A new breach was forming.

“Do you actually have a plan to defeat them?” Tiberius asked. The man was communicating directly with Tane’s mind.

That was new. Tiberius definitely hadn’t taught Tane all the Essenceworks he had once known.

“Uh, I was hoping you had one,” Tane thought in return, unsure if the man would read the words.

“Wonderful!” Tiberius replied, the sarcasm obvious even though he wasn’t actually speaking.

Tane wasn’t joking: he didn’t actually know how to destroy the Gravity Born. The creodenti had told him how to enter the galactic core, and how to destroy the sub-universe it contained, in a process the creodenti had named “The Ruin.”

But what they had not told him was how to eliminate the Z’Antamaraan themselves. The Gravity Born would not die when this sub-universe collapsed: they would return to their own realms, waiting until they built up enough power to someday return. And the sub-universe might not actually collapse, not if it was true that the Z’Antamaraan continued to destroy the fleet Tane had transported here, as that fleet was the key to completing the Ruin.

He needed to end these Z’Antamaraan, right here, right now.

He needed to kill them all.

The question was, how?

Well, he had some ideas.

But first he needed to actually see them in the swirling mists that surrounded him.

He remembered the echo effect he had seen earlier when he had combined all four Essences. He released the Branchwork drill and instead joined White, Dark, Gray and Emerald into a random construct. He made it as big as he was able, so that it spanned the equivalent of an entire city block around him.

“What are you doing?” the Spokesman said.

And then he saw them. All around him. The Spokesman was a mere echo of how big the Z’Antamaraan actually were. Their bodies towered over him in the same amoeba shapes, though colossal in size.

Tane had thought humanity a bunch of ants? Tane was the ant, now.

“Tiberius, is there a way you can see what I’m seeing, without a chip?” Tane thought. Since he had Revived the man from his bones, Tiberius would not have any nanotech in his mind to accept a sharing request. And because Tiberius didn’t know how to Siphon the Emerald or the Gray, he wouldn’t be able to combine Essences to see these creatures.

Tane felt an intrusion in his mind and realized Tiberius had placed some unknown work upon him.

“I see them,” Tiberius sent with his mind.

“Good.”

Tane grabbed the remaining beam hilt from his utility belt and ignited it. The resultant Essence blade was huge, given the amount of White he could Siphon here, and reached several stories tall. He swung it at one of those giant Gravity Born, but the ax passed through harmlessly, doing nothing.

“Fool,” the Spokesman said.

He felt that psyche-fracturing mental Push again. He resisted. The Z’Antamaraan were trying to project his psyche out of the black hole, as they had done when they sent him to the Volur Triumvirate.

It came again. Stronger. He shoved right back.

“You leave us no choice but to destroy you,” the Spokesman said. “Pity. Perhaps the one you have Revived, this Tiberius, will be more amenable to our needs.”

So they knew what Tiberius was after all.

And then they attacked. Powerful beams of blood red spurted toward him as the Gravity Born used their particular brand of Essence upon him. He created Deflect and cast the works aside. Tiberius did likewise, seeming surprised by the sheer power he now wielded. Like Tane, since Tiberius existed in all universes at once, his powers were amplified here in the sub-universe at the center of all galaxies.

Which was why Tane had brought him here in the first place.

Tane struck again with his giant blade. Tiberius created a similar Essence ax, and attempted to attack another Z’Antamaraan beside them. Both blades still had no effect.

Tane remembered how he had to wrap his blade with Healing to defend against the Malefactors, evil beings that had gained access to the Khaeota universe where the archaeoceti resided thanks to the weakened boundaries the Z’Antamaraan caused. They were apparently from a universe adjacent to the Gravity Born, so it stood to reason that they would be harmed by a similar work.

Several more deadly beams came in at Tane and Tiberius, and they Deflected the works. The beams were growing more powerful, it seemed, and traveling closer to the humans at the center of the Deflect shields each time.

We won’t be able to keep this up for long. They’re adapting.

I know, Tiberius thought back.

You weren’t supposed to hear that.

Tane attempted to apply a huge work of Healing to his dual-bladed ax via his Essence sheath skill. He allowed it to set in this reality just as he struck another Z’Antamaraan.

It didn’t work. There had to be some combination of Essences that would harm them. There had to be.

He redirected some of the Dark flames to encompass the blade as well, forming a Fingers of Ruin timeline almost instantaneously, and placing it on the surface of the ax along with Healing. He also created an electrical brain of the Emerald, sheathing the blade in Lightning Storm, and at the same time allowed a work of Rock Skin to envelop the weapon.

He struck the towering Z’Antamaraan, allowing Healing, Fingers of Ruin, Lightning Storm, and Rock Skin to set into this reality at the same time. The White, Dark, Gray and Emerald blade passed into the protoplasm of the huge amoeba, and the Gravity Born winked out of existence.

Tane wasn’t sure if the destruction of the being was due to the actual works Tane had created, or the simple act of combining all four Essences into a single weapon, but he had found a solution, and planned to use it.

“What have you done?” the Spokesman said.

“Wrap the blade in Healing and Fingers of Ruin!” Tane shouted at Tiberius with his mind. Tane struck down another of the Gravity Born. That one must have been the Spokesman, because the smaller phasic being winked out of existence at the same time as the larger.

“It’s not working!” Tiberius returned mentally.

“Try adding these as well.” Tane directed unset works of Rock Skin and Lightning Storm toward Tiberius, and the man instinctively knew how to accept them. Though Tiberius had no knowledge of how to create those works, he had the ability to wield the Gray and Emerald, like Tane, and that was enough.

Tiberius set the works into this reality, along with, presumably, Fingers of Ruin and Healing, wrapping all of them around his giant blade as he swung.

The Z’Antamaraan he impacted with the ax vanished from existence.

Tane continued to partition off works of Rock Skin and Lightning Storm, sending them to Tiberius as the man fought his own Gravity Born, while Tane created more such works to handle his own opponents. And so the pair moved from Z’Antamaraan to Z’Antamaraan, killing as they went.

Tane used his mind to advance through that pocket universe, an ability Tiberius mimicked. Tane continued to use the random combination of four Essences to illuminate the Z’Antamaraan in a city-block radius around him, the same four Essences he then applied to kill them.

He took great pleasure in the slaughter, even without the bone crown. Perhaps it was because of the Emerald flowing through his veins, and the psyches of a thousand grazers he had tapped into for access to all that Synthate. Or perhaps the pleasure was due solely to the cruel, slaughtering creature he had become. Because truly, he killed without thought or hesitation, butchering these beings who had come to destroy his universe.

At one point a Gravity Born struck at Tane from behind, catching him off guard.

Tiberius was there to Deflect.

Another time a Z’Antamaraan managed to envelop Tiberius, ripping away his beam hilt, but Tane in turn was there to strike at the Gravity Born and destroyed it. Tiberius recovered his beam hilt and was back in the game.

They fought on like that, protecting each other’s backs. They toiled for what seemed hours. The Z’Antamaraan encounters became infrequent, and Tane soon had to roam far and wide before he found any. He couldn’t afford to let even one of them live.

Finally, after making three full passes through the sub-universe without encountering any, he was satisfied that he and Tiberius had killed them all.

“Well, that looks like the last of them,” Tiberius sent to his mind.

But Tane hardly heard. He was lost in his own jubilant thoughts.

I’ve won. I’ve overcome my shadow.

The sense of euphoria was undeniable.

And yet, a part of him couldn’t deny that the euphoria had partially come from the pleasure of killing those aliens, and receiving no injuries to himself in the process. So perhaps his shadow wasn’t truly overcome if he still took joy in the suffering of others. He had sacrificed an entire species to save this universe, after all. So the cost was not cheap.

Even so, the Z’Antamaraan deserved their fate for what they had planned to do.

“We can’t stay here,” Tane said mentally. “With the Z’Antamaraan gone, there is no one to maintain this sub-universe. It should be shrinking even now, as we speak, thanks to the Essence lances of the fleet I brought here with me, firing Dark and White into the breach.”

“Yes,” Tiberius said. “I can sense the outskirts closing in upon us.”

“As soon as this sub-universe winks out of existence, so will we,” Tane said. “Unfortunately, while I should be able to project myself out of here, I’m not sure how to send you back.”

“No need, I can take care of myself,” Tiberius said. “I used Create Beacon before I left to mark the cave. I’ll use Distortion Tunnel To Beacon to return. The inter-dimensional version, which you apparently figured out how to use on your own. With the amount of Essence I can Siphon here, it should be easy to travel across the galaxy.”

Tiberius created the necessary distortion tunnel. Tane felt the outward pressure as air was sucked inside from beyond, but he remained in place thanks to Telekinesis. As did Tiberius.

Beyond that spacetime rip, Tane could see the cave entrance and the purple ocean.

“I’ll see you on the other side,” Tiberius said. “Sometime. Perhaps we shall bend worlds together again someday.” The man used Telekinesis to float himself through and the tunnel vanished behind him.

Tane decided not to project himself out just yet. Just in case, he waited until the shrinking confines of the mist around him were reduced to the size of a city block, and then he checked one last time for echoes of Z’Antamaraan. There were none.

He and Tiberius had indeed gotten them all.

Time to get out.

But if he imagined himself back aboard the Titanium, would he merely project a part of himself, or would he travel in his entirety? He suspected the latter would be the case. But even if not, the part he left behind would soon die when this sub-universe collapsed. That meant either way he’d never have access to the immense powers he now had at his fingertips.

Not ever again.

Good riddance.

He imagined himself back aboard and stepped through with his mind.

It didn’t work.

He tried again.

Nothing.

He began to despair. He’d waited too long, allowed the sub-universe to shrink too much, and his powers along with it.

I should have gone with Tiberius.

Now he had no way out. He had been right after all about never returning. He would die here.

Wait. Calm down. You can do this. Focus.

He imagined every last detail of his bedroom in the stateroom, rather than some cursory image. The king-sized bed in the center of the room, with its blue and white comforter. The nightstands and closet. The double-decker bunk on the far bulkhead.

He tried to step through with his mind again.

And then he was there, in his quarters.

Sinive stood up from where she sat on the bed, stunned. She let out a yelp of excitement and relief, and threw her arms around him, hugging him dearly. Tears streamed down her face.

“I thought I’d lost you,” Sinive said.

“Never,” Tane told her, squeezing hard.

Epilogue

After Tane had returned, he asked Sinive for some time alone in their quarters. She gave him that time without hesitation.

When she was gone, the first thing he tried to do was part the veil to the Synthate, even though he wasn’t wearing his bone crown. He couldn’t do it. He still felt the White and Dark beyond the boundaries of perception, but it was the usual small amount, not the howling hurricane and raging conflagration he had experienced in the galactic core. As a test, he attempted the Dark work of Blur Body—the regular flames sprouted around him, not a firestorm, and the timeline formed at the customary slow rate. He dismissed the Dark timeline after twenty seconds.

He was back to himself. Just the ordinary World Bender, constrained by the standard limitations that came with each Essence, at least as he had come to know them.

He tried to imagine himself standing elsewhere aboard, and then stepping through with his mind. It didn’t work.

He was definitely back to normal again.

Good.

Though if he was honest with himself, he couldn’t help the sense of loss.

At least I have Sinive. And my friends. Something that no power in the universe can ever replace.

The surviving ships continued to fire their Dark and White Essence lances into the original breach, precisely as he had instructed them to. Those combined lances completed the destruction of the Z’Antamaraan sub-universe, enacting the “Ruin” the creodenti had described to him. When the nebular mist that formed the mining core dissipated, Tane knew that the sub-universe was gone entirely, and his home universe was safe once more: the weakened boundaries of Umanitar would heal.

With the mining core gone, the individual ships in the fleet shut off their Essence lances, and began to decelerate one by one to leave formation, causing them to fall toward the black hole. A few of the ships were torn apart by the tidal forces involved, but the rest managed to create distortion tunnels in their paths to allow them to jump out. The fleet couldn’t simply jump while still in formation, since all of the vessels were shoulder to shoulder, and invariably there would always be a ship that was only partially through when a tunnel closed, and said vessel would be ripped apart.

When they were clear of the galactic core, the fleet began gathering for the next jump.

Tane spared a moment to review notifications he had received while away.

Level up. Your overall level is now 22! Neural pathways have been enhanced and reinforced! You now have an attribute point to allocate.

Level up. Your overall level is now 23! Neural pathways have been enhanced and reinforced! You now have an attribute point to allocate.

Level up. Your overall level is now 24! Neural pathways have been enhanced and reinforced! You now have an attribute point to allocate.

Level up. Essence Sheath is now Level 3. You can now wrap the Essence blade produced by your beam hilt in works from other Essences.

Not too shabby. He put all his points into Endurance, as always.

After gathering, the combined fleet jumped to Gregious Facile, heart of the TSN empire, and made their way to the planet Abracade, the TSN homeworld. The fleet had arrived in separate groups because of the jump, and when they rendezvoused at a point halfway to the homeworld, they were met by several more TSN vessels—part of the system’s defenses.

At that point, the admiral suggested that the dweller portion be directed into orbit around the moon of a nearby gas giant, while the rest of the fleet proceeded toward Abracade, just to be on the safe side.

“We still don’t know how far we can trust them,” William said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if they tried to take a potshot at the imperial palace if we allowed them into orbit. Or something worse.”

“All right,” Tane said. “We’ll allow only two of their ships to join us, one of them their flagship. The remainder will orbit the moon you mentioned. We should have a sizable group of TSN warships escort them.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” the admiral said. “You’re getting good at this.”

The vessels in question departed to assume their requested orbital positions, while the rest of the fleet continued onward.

Tane monitored the Galnet along the way, and received an update from Alric. Missing person reports had ceased, or at least returned to normal levels. And there were no more sightings of strange aliens appearing in the middle of cities. The universe was healing well.

On the way back, Tane organized a meeting of his core Doomwalkers to thank everyone, and to announce his intentions to step down.

“I’m going to jump out before we reach Abracade,” Tane said. “And then get as far away from civilization as I can. I plan to live out the rest of my days on some planet near the outskirts of the galaxy. All of you are welcome to join me. I’ve been wanting this for a while.”

“You can’t abandon humanity, not after everything,” one of the Mancers, Siren, said. “You’re needed now more than ever!”

G’allanthamas spoke up. Or his hologram did anyway, projected from the cargo bay he currently resided inside. “The Z’Antamaraan were one threat, yes. But the work of the Bender of Worlds is only just begun. You have worlds to explore, powers to unlock. And bringing peace and prosperity to the galaxy was only the first step: now you must maintain that peace.”

“You know, the TSN will probably try to make your current position as leader of the free galaxy permanent,” Chase said.

“I won’t accept,” Tane told him.

“Won’t you?” Jed said.

“I—” Tane shook his head and glanced at Sinive. “I once wanted to unlock all of my powers. Now I’m content with what I have. A beautiful woman at my side. A handful of dedicated men and women ready to follow me anywhere. Life is good. I think this is the point where we say: and he lived happily ever after.”

But Jed wouldn’t have it. “The TSN and dwellers alike could use a good unifying figure. Why not take advantage of the current advantageous political climate while you can? You just saved the galaxy. You’re a hero among both species. You now have a historic opportunity. Become emperor. Restore the human republic, and free the dwellers from Cre’ite tyranny. Unite them under one banner: yours.”

“I’ll think about it,” Tane said.

Tane had already saved the universe from the Z’Antamaraan. And he’d brought temporary peace to the galaxy in the process by allying dwellers with humans.

And now they wanted him to do even more. They wanted him to accept the responsibility to keep that peace.

As much as he hated to admit it, Jed was right. Without Tane to keep the dwellers and humans in their places, that fragile alliance wouldn’t last long.

If he assumed the mantle that Chase and Jed seemed to think the two spacefaring races would offer him, that of emperor, it would be a full-time job.

But what about that small planet waiting for him somewhere on the outskirts of the galaxy?

You’ll get your quiet, far corner of the galaxy.

Someday.

For now, you have two universes to rule.

The End

Thank you very much for reading!

Tane Ganeth

Tane’s current attributes, skills, and equipment

Attributes

Name: Tane Ganeth

Race: Human

Level: 24

Class: Bender of Worlds

Strength: 10

Intelligence: 32 (49 with Beam Hilt I, Chrysalium Star Rings, Feral Necklace, Finger of Malevolence, Missile Quartet, Robe of Swirls, and Nova Bracelet I equipped)

Dexterity: 16

Endurance: 34 (55 with Beam Hilt I, Chrysalium Star Rings, and Endurance Necklace I equipped)

Charisma: 10

Armor Rating:

- 190 (with Robe of Swirls reduced for layering underneath Spacesuit II; and Nova Bracelet I, Osmium Gauntlets I, and A7 Personal Shield system equipped)

or

- 200 (with Robe of Swirls alone; and Nova Bracelet I, Osmium Gauntlets I, and A7 Personal Shield system equipped)

Skills

Ancient Language Translation. Level 2.

Bargaining. Level 2.

Chip Database Upgrade. Level 3.

Crop Gene Splicing. Level 2.

Cycling. Level 2.

Electrical Engineering. Level 1.

Endurance Running. Level 1.

Hacking. Level 2.

Hot-Wire. Level 2.

ID Spoofing. Level 1.

Kissing. Level 2.

Land Vehicle Pilot. Level 2.

Leadership. Level 2.

Learning. Level 5.

Mechanical Engineering. Level 2.

Mountain Climbing. Level 1.

Piano. Level 2.

Rake Fighting. Level 0.

Sex Mastery. Level 1.

Sharpshooting. Level 2.

Social Skills. Level 3.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Pilot (Small Craft). Level 1.

Essence Skills

Chrysalium Siphoning Level 5.

Darcanium Siphoning. Level 4.

Dark Artifact Control. Level 2.

Dark Beam Hilt Control. Level 1.

Dark Siphoning. Level 7.

Dark and White Mixing. Level 7.

Emerald Siphoning. Level 4.

Essence Link. Level 1.

Essence Sight. Level 4.

White Beam Hilt Control. Level 5.

— Blade Manipulation. Level 2.

— Essence Sheath. Level 2.

White Siphoning. Level 7.

White Essence Specific

White Siphoning Level 1 Essenceworks:

Air Current. Level 3.

Essence Missile. Level 4.

Persistent Flame. Level 2.

White Siphoning Level 2 Essenceworks:

Wound Healing. Level 3.

Light Glove. Level 3.

White Siphoning Level 3 Essenceworks:

Distortion tunnel. Level 2.

Public profile masking. Level 1.

Telekinesis. Level 3.

Deflect. Level 3.

White Siphoning Level 4 Essenceworks:

Distortion tunnel to beacon. Level 1.

Stamina transfer. Level 1.

Disrupt Essence. Level 1.

White Siphoning Level 5 Essenceworks:

Reveal Surveillance. Level 1.

Paralyze enemy. Level 1.

Forked Lightning. Level 2.

White Siphoning Level 6 Essenceworks:

Deactivate. Level 1.

Invisibility. Level 2.

White Siphoning Level 7 Essenceworks:

Create Beacon. Level 1.

Mass wound healing. Level 1.

Mass Deactivate. Level 1.

Essence Imbuement. Level 1.

Shove. Level 1.

Mass Telekinesis. Level 1.

Dark Essence Specific

Dark Siphoning Level 1 Essenceworks:

Night Vision. Level 2. Creation time: 13 seconds.

Melt Metal. Level 2. Creation time: 55 seconds.

Fingers of Ruin. Level 3. Creation time: 53 seconds.

Dark Siphoning Level 2 Essenceworks:

Convert kraal. Level 1.

Blur body. Level 2.

Dark Siphoning Level 3 Essenceworks:

ID masking. Level 1.

Dark Hand. Level 2.

Dark Siphoning Level 4 Essenceworks:

Distortion tunnel. Level 1.

Deflect. Level 1.

Dark Siphoning Level 5 Essenceworks:

Distortion tunnel to beacon. Level 1.

Sow Confusion. Level 1.

Disrupt. Level 1.

Dark Siphoning Level 6 Essenceworks:

Control Kraal. Level 1.

Protective Environment. Level 1.

Dark Siphoning Level 7 Essenceworks:

Create Beacon. Level 1.

Renewal. Level 1.

Dark and White Essence Specific

Dark and White Mixing Level 1 Essenceworks:

Repel Nanotech. Level 1. Creation time: 2 minutes.

Infuse Oxygen. Level 1. Creation time: 30 seconds.

Dark and White Mixing Level 3 Essenceworks:

Control Nature. Level 1.

Dark and White Mixing Level 6 Essenceworks:

Control Robots. Level 1.

Anti-Grav Bubble. Level 1.

Dark and White Mixing Level 7 Essenceworks:

Inter-dimensional Distortion Tunnel. Level 1.

Essence Reservoir Creation. Level 1.

Emerald Essence Specific

Emerald Siphoning Level 1 Essenceworks:

Revive. Level 4.

Summon Grazer. Level 1.

Emerald Siphoning Level 2 Essenceworks:

Illusion. Level 1.

Lightning Storm. Level 1.

Gray Essence Specific

Gray Siphoning Level 1 Essenceworks:

Rock Skin. Level 1.

Equipment

From Tiberius:

- Dark Staff of Swirls (Legendary) - offers a Darcanium boost

- White Staff of Swirls (Legendary) - offers a Chrysalium boost

- Aegis of Tiberius / Robe of Swirls (Legendary) - armored robe; excellent base armor rating; when equipped with both Staffs of Swirls, offers a chance to automatically Deflect incoming works of Dark or White

- Missile Quartet (Legendary) - ring; every two minutes, has a chance to produce between two and four Essence Missiles at your current level

- Finger of Malevolence (Legendary) - ring; every two minutes, has a chance to emit a Fingers of Ruin at your current level

Otherwise:

- A7 Personal Shield System

- Armored Robe

- Blur cap

- Basic outfit.

- Beam Hilt II (White Beam Hilt)

- Beam Hilt V (White Beam Hilt)

- C’havar Beam Hilt (Dark Beam Hilt)

- 5x Chrysalium Star Ring I

- D29 smart targeting plasma rifle.

- Endurance Necklace I (Epic)

- Feral Necklace (Epic)

- Harness with 2 incendiary grenades.

- Nova Bracelet I

- Osmium Gauntlets I

- Spacesuit IV

- Traveler’s Delight (Personal Storage Device III). Capacity: 100. Items: Suitcase of clothes, many Dark Artifacts, and other miscellanea Tane acquired during his journey.

White Essenceworks

List of publicly available White Essenceworks

Essenceworks available to White Siphoning, Level 1.

Shapist:

Star Light. Positions a light globe in the immediate area; the globe follows the Essenceworker. Higher levels allow one to choose different wavelengths, from infrared to ultraviolet, and to place the globe farther away. Stamina drain: low for short durations.

Silence Cage. Envelops an area in silence, preventing sound from entering or leaving. Higher levels offer a greater area of effect. Stamina drain: low for short durations.

Warmancer, ranged:

Air Current. Launch a gust of air. Strength of gust increases at higher levels, or when Siphoning through Chrysalium. Ineffective against energy shields until level 3. Stamina drain: low to high, depending on gust strength.

Essence Missile. Launch a missile of pure Essence at an opponent. Energy shields offer no defense. Stamina drain: medium to high, depending on strength of missile launched.

Persistent Flame. Create a persistent flame in the palm of your hand. At higher levels, can be used to burn objects. Ineffective against energy shields. Stamina drain: low to high, depending on flame strength and duration.

Warmancer, hand-to-hand:

Essence Trap. Create a small trap on an object such as a door or vault that detonates when the object is opened. Higher levels inflict more damage. Stamina drain: medium.

Essenceworks available to White Siphoning, Level 2.

Shapist:

Blur features. Hide your face from the facial recognition algorithms in cameras by applying infrared light globes around one’s features. At higher levels, you can affect other individuals, and also change the shape of your face on the visual band as well. And at the highest levels, you can affect larger objects such as small shuttles, allowing you to blur the thermal and visual signatures, effectively hiding the craft from detection by passive sensors. Stamina drain: medium to extremely high, depending on object size.

Healer:

Wound healing. Heals wounds on one subject. At higher levels, major wounds can be healed. Stamina drain: high. Note: requires physical contact with the subject.

Warmancer, hand-to-hand:

Light glove. Your hand becomes coated in a glove of white Essence, allowing you to punch through shields, hitting any armor beyond. Stamina drain: medium for short durations.

Essenceworks available to White Siphoning, Level 3.

Distorter:

Distortion tunnel. Create a distortion tunnel to jump from one point to another. At higher levels, the range and size of the tunnel increase. Jump points must be within line of sight. Cannot be used as a weapon or breach tool: distortion tunnels will not open over solids such as bulkheads or human beings. Note: knowledge of this skill is not needed to operate a starship jump chamber, as the operator merely Siphons while the AI aboard the starship handles the actual creation. As such, Essence Jump Chamber Control is not considered a White Essence Skill. Stamina drain: high.

Shapist:

Public profile masking. Alter your public profile in realtime to fool customs and other officials. Stamina drain: low for short durations.

Speed boost. Momentarily boost your speed, or the speed of another. Stamina drain: low.

Warmancer, ranged:

Telekinesis. Remotely manipulate objects. Stamina drain: low to high, depending on range and size of object to be manipulated.

Warmancer, hand-to-hand:

Deflect. Deflect incoming works of pure Essence, including Essence Missiles. As an added bonus, starting at level three, it also deflects standard laser beams and plasma bolts. At still higher levels, it deflects explosions and shrapnel as well. Stamina drain: medium.

Essenceworks available to White Siphoning, Level 4.

Distorter:

Distortion tunnel to beacon. Open a distortion tunnel to an object previously marked with a beacon. The range you can be away from the beacon increases at higher levels, or if Siphoning more Essence via Chrysalium. Only one object can be marked with a beacon at any given time. Stamina drain: medium to extremely high, depending on range to beacon.

Shapist:

Stamina transfer. Use to steal or transfer stamina to or from another. Range increases at higher skill levels. From levels 4 and above, can also be used to put subjects to sleep. Stamina increases upon a successful drain. Upon failure, stamina drain is medium.

Warmancer, hand-to-hand:

Disrupt Essence. Prevent an enemy from creating an Essencework for a short period of time. Must be next to the enemy at low levels. At higher levels, the range increases, as does the time period. Stamina drain: medium to high, depending on time period.

Essenceworks available to White Siphoning, Level 5.

Shapist:

Reveal Surveillance. Allows the Essenceworker to search for hidden surveillance, tracking devices, or traps. At high levels, can be cast over a larger radius, and can penetrate the human body to search for trackers. Stamina drain: medium.

Warmancer, hand-to-hand:

Paralyze enemy. Momentarily paralyze an opponent at close range. Stamina drain: medium.

Warmancer, ranged:

Forked Lightning. Sends multiple streams of energy at a group of foes. Range, damage, and number of foes targeted increases at higher levels. Energy shields offer no defense. Stamina drain: high.

Essenceworks available to White Siphoning, Level 6.

Shapist:

Deactivate. Use to deactivate individual weapons, traps, and surveillance devices. At higher levels, can be used to safely destroy a tracker hidden inside a human body, and to disable robots. Stamina drain: varies depending on the size of the object to be deactivated. For something like a tracker embedded in a human body, the drain is tiny. For a full-sized robot, medium.

Warmancer, hand-to-hand:

Invisibility. Become invisible to enemies for short periods of time. At higher levels, that period increases. Note: you become visible during attacks. Stamina drain: medium.

Essenceworks available to White Siphoning, Level 7.

Distorter:

Create Beacon. Mark an object with a beacon. Once marked, the Essenceworker can open a tunnel to the immediate vicinity of that object. Only one object can be marked with a beacon by the Essenceworker at any given time. Stamina drain: extremely high.

Healer:

Mass wound healing. Heals wounds on multiple subjects. The higher the level, the more subjects healed, and the greater the healing effect. Physical contact with subjects is not required, but a healing bonus is applied to any subjects the Essenceworker physically touches. Stamina drain: extremely high.

Shapist:

Mass Deactivate. Use to deactivate multiple weapons and traps in a given area of effect. At higher levels, AOE increases, and the Essenceworker can selectively omit items to deactivate, allowing the weapons of one’s companions to remain unaffected. Stamina drain: extremely high.

Essence Imbuement. Imbue an object with the Essence, so that it grants the bearer extra abilities while equipped. More powerful imbuements are available at higher levels in this Branchwork. Stamina drain: extremely high (one-time cost during creation).

Warmancer, hand-to-hand:

Shove. Forces an enemy group away from the Essenceworker, regardless of whether they have energy shields. Area of effect, and actual shove distance increase with level. Stun upgrade available at level three—shoved enemies are stunned. Fire upgrade available at level six—shoved enemies are lit on fire. Hidden upgrade available at level ten. Stamina drain: medium to high.

Warmancer, ranged:

Mass Telekinesis. Remotely manipulate several objects. Stamina drain: high to very high, depending on range, size, and number of objects to be manipulated.

Dark Essenceworks

List of Dark Essenceworks passed down to Tane from Tiberius Tribulantes

These works can be created well ahead of their intended use. Once created, a Dark Essencework can be held indefinitely for little stamina cost, and released at leisure. You may only hold in reserve as many works as your current overall Dark Essence Siphoning level.

Higher levels in each Essencework listed below reduce the individual creation time.

Essenceworks available to Dark Siphoning, Level 1.

Imprint Location: Sigma 231, Vantaar system. Universal Polar Coordinates: -12.92568738, 179.67468954.

Builder:

Night Vision. Allows the wielder to see in the dark. At higher levels, the ability lasts longer and you can see farther. Current range and duration: 20 meters, 10 minutes. Stamina drain: low. Creation time: 15 seconds.

Amaranth:

Melt Metal. With this ability, you can selectively melt away metal objects within the work’s area of effect, including weapons, while preserving the metal items of your companions. At higher levels, the area of effect increases, as does the size of the objects that can be melted. Works through energy shields. Current AOE: 3 meters. Stamina drain: medium. Creation time: 60 seconds.

Fingers of Ruin. Sends dark fingers of unreality at a single opponent; black veins grow outward from the impact site, veins that crack open to wound the target. At higher levels, the damage increases. Pierces energy shields. Stamina drain: medium. Creation time: 60 seconds.

Essenceworks available to Dark Siphoning, Level 2.

Imprint Location: Septes IV, Tanori System. Universal Polar Coordinates: 45.24621455, -134.57892352.

Builder:

Convert kraal. Can be used to convert a kraal into the dark energy store known as the Dirac that kraals and dwellers feed upon. While the resulting Dirac is not particularly edible for a human being, it can be useful as a diversionary tactic when pursued by a herd of kraals, causing the aliens to break off the pursuit to feed if they are hungry enough. Or the resultant Dirac can simply be collected for resale back in the Umanitar—humanity’s universe. At higher levels, multiple kraals can be converted. Stamina drain: medium. Creation time: two minutes.

Blur body. Hide your form from any facial recognition and thermal detection algorithms in cameras and sensors by applying a special cloud of darkness around your body. Also successfully subverts LIDAR and echolocation. At higher levels, it can be applied to multiple targets at once. Useful when traveling at night. Stamina drain: medium to high, depending on number of targets. Creation time: four minutes per target.

Essenceworks available to Dark Siphoning, Level 3.

Imprint Location: Septes IV, Tanori System. Universal Polar Coordinates: 172.87389256, 39.54689674.

Builder:

ID masking. Creates a magnetic resonance compatible with dweller chip readers, simulating the dweller equivalent of Public Profiles. Useful when used in conjunction with Blur Body to fool dweller AIs. Stamina drain: low for short durations. Creation time: three minutes per target.

Amaranth:

Dark Hand. Use the Essence to manipulate, crush, etc. Similar to White Essence Telekinesis ability. Stamina drain: medium. Creation time: two minutes.

Essenceworks available to Dark Siphoning, Level 4.

Imprint Location: Chanis 12, Serepte System. Universal Polar Coordinates: 145.21424655, 38.92357852.

Builder:

Distortion tunnel. Create a distortion tunnel to jump from one point to another. At higher levels, the range and size of the tunnel increase. Jump points must be within line of sight. Cannot be used as a weapon or breach tool: distortion tunnels will not open over solids such as bulkheads or human beings. Note: knowledge of this skill is not needed to operate a starship jump chamber, as the operator merely Siphons while the AI aboard the starship handles the actual creation. As such, Starship Jump Chamber is not considered a Dark Essence Skill. Stamina drain: high. Creation time: five minutes.

Amaranth:

Deflect. Creates a field that deflects incoming works of pure Essence, including Fingers of Ruin. Also deflects standard lasers beams and plasma bolts, and at higher levels explosions and shrapnel. The length of time the field remains in place depends on the level. At higher levels, the diameter of the field can also be expanded to include others nearby. Note: will only partially deflect higher-level works, reducing their intensity. Stamina drain: medium. Creation time: two minutes.

Essenceworks available to Dark Siphoning, Level 5.

Imprint Location: Chanis 12, Serepte System. Universal Polar Coordinates: 89.42215546, -5.57892357.

Builder:

Distortion tunnel to beacon. Open a distortion tunnel to an object previously marked with a beacon. The range you can be away from the beacon increases at higher levels, or if Siphoning more Essence via Darcanium. Only one object can be marked with a beacon at any given time. Stamina drain: medium to extremely high, depending on range to beacon. Creation time: ten minutes.

Amaranth:

Sow Confusion. A concentrated mind blast that allows you to confuse a foe, causing it to attack its comrades (it will continue assaulting you if no other opponents are nearby). At higher levels, you can confuse more than one opponent. Lasts thirty seconds at level one. Won’t work on stronger-willed targets, such as other Essenceworkers. Stamina drain: medium to high, depending on number of kraals controlled and their level (a large stamina hit is taken during creation, and a smaller one when the Essencework is released). Creation time: twenty minutes.

Disrupt. Prevent an enemy from creating an Essencework for a short period of time. Must be next to the enemy at low levels. At higher levels, the range increases, as does the time period. Stamina drain: medium to high, depending on range. Creating time: two minutes.

Essenceworks available to Dark Siphoning, Level 6.

Imprint Location: Chanis 12, Serepte System. Universal Polar Coordinates: -167.14524655, 21.97852352.

Amaranth:

Control Kraal. Allows you to control a kraal. At higher levels, you can control more powerful kraals, or many weaker kraals. Lasts until the kraal dies, or you release it from your control. Note: while it is more reliable than Sow Confusion, it can only be used in the Umbra, where kraals exist. Stamina drain: high to extremely high, depending on number of kraals controlled and their level (a large stamina hit is taken during creation, and a smaller one when the Essencework is released). Creation time: twenty minutes.

Protective Environment. Surround yourself with a protective environment. Allows you to exist in the void, or incompatible atmospheres, without a spacesuit or pressurized battle armor. Initially lasts for two hours, though at higher levels the duration is longer. Stamina drain: medium (a small stamina hit is continually taken thereafter for the duration the environment is active). Creation time: twenty minutes.

Essenceworks available to Dark Siphoning, Level 7.

Imprint Location: Metieus Prime, Anulis System. Universal Polar Coordinates: 63.46451452, 123.85239725.

Builder:

Create Beacon. Mark an object with a beacon. Once marked, the Essenceworker can open a tunnel to the immediate vicinity of that object. Only one object can be marked with a beacon at any given time. Stamina drain: extremely high. Creation time: one hour.

Amaranth:

Renewal. A way to reinvigorate one’s body. Requires drawing the Dark Essence through a large piece of Darcanium. Cannot be used within an Essence Link. Stamina drain: high. Creation time: 5 minutes, though the age-reversing effects become apparent within the first thirty seconds.

Dark and White Essenceworks

List of known Dark and White Mixing Essenceworks passed down to Tane from Tiberius Tribulantes

Available only to those rare human individuals who can Siphon both the White and Dark Essence. Such as you, Bender of Worlds.

Because of the time required to create a work of the Dark, the combined works are delayed for however long it takes to create the Dark portion. The White Essence must be added in while the Dark work forms. Because White Essence cannot be held in reserve, when the combined work is completed, it must be released immediately.

Higher levels in each work listed below reduce the creation time.

Note: the Essencework lists for levels two through six are currently locked, and will be revealed once the associated dark artifacts are accessed.

Essenceworks available to Dark and White Mixing, Level 1.

Imprint Location: Kharikhan V, Abakan System. Universal Polar Coordinates: -109.67251482, -3.72439967.

Repel Nanotech. While active, prevents nanotech from attaching to your cerebral cortex and motor control centers, so that if an enemy such as a dweller or human injects controlling nanotech, a control chip will never form. At level one, this “repel” effect remains active a full minute after creation. The work will also remove any existing control chips formed by nanotech that have been previously injected. The removal is selective, leaving other helpful chips in place. Stamina drain: medium. Creation time: two minutes. Note: this work can also be used on another subject, however physical contact is required between the Essenceworker and the recipient.

Infuse Oxygen. Infuses a ten cubic-meter volume with oxygen. The rectangular volume can be centered around you, or positioned so that the volume begins up to one meter anywhere around you. At higher levels, a bigger volume can be created, and it can be moved farther away. Stamina drain: low. Creation time: thirty seconds.

Essenceworks available to Dark and White Mixing, Level 2.

Imprint Location: Neomalgam, Tavoc System. Universal Polar Coordinates: 16.78935482, -23.87839274.

Contents hidden until unlocked.

Essenceworks available to Dark and White Mixing, Level 3.

Imprint Location: Neomalgam, Tavoc System. Universal Polar Coordinates: -74.68626482, 101.04554967.

Control Nature. Command a group of lesser beings to obey your will, for example schools of fish, herds of deer, or flocks of geese. Also works on the smaller kraals. At higher levels, more may be controlled, from a greater distance. Stamina drain: medium. Creation time: Five minutes.

Essenceworks available to Dark and White Mixing, Level 4.

Imprint Location: Neomalgam, Tavoc System. Universal Polar Coordinates: 3.30911788, 91.35927256.

Contents hidden until unlocked.

Essenceworks available to Dark and White Mixing, Level 5.

Imprint Location: Epsilon Kaitos, Xochiquetzal System. Universal Polar Coordinates: 45.57212165,-132.13560145.

Contents hidden until unlocked.

Essenceworks available to Dark and White Mixing, Level 6.

Imprint Location: Delta Kaitos, Xochiquetzal System. Universal Polar Coordinates: 12.14620124, 169.52910729.

Control Robots. Command a group of robots to obey your will. The higher the level of the involved robots, the less the number that may be controlled. As your experience in this work increases, you can control more higher level robots at the same time, from a greater distance. Stamina drain: medium. Creation time: Five minutes.

Anti-Grav Bubble. Envelops your body in a bubble of anti-gravity, protecting you from the influence of gravity wells. Creation time: One minute.

Essenceworks available to Dark and White Mixing, Level 7.

Imprint Location: Roma II, New Capri System. Universal Polar Coordinates: -63.52310177, -54.36516174.

Inter-dimensional Distortion Tunnel. The ability to travel back and forth between Umanitar—humanity’s universe—and the Umbra. You and a nearby circle of friends are brought back to the same place in Umanitar as you exist in the Umbra, and vice versa. Stamina requirements: extremely high. Creation time: 10 minutes.

Essence Reservoir Creation. The ability to create an Essence reservoir and apply an Essencework of your choice to it, either White, Dark, or a combination of both. Accessible upon touch to anyone with the skill to siphon both White and Dark (i.e.: essentially only you). Stamina requirements: extremely high. Creation time: 1 hour, plus the time necessary to form the Essencework to trigger.

Emerald Essenceworks

Emerald Siphoning Essenceworks

These works are created from the electrical Essence drawn from the universe known as Khaeota. Each work of this Synthate, or “Emerald” Essence, evokes a massive cost on stamina, and as such, it is recommended that only one particular Emerald work be used in a given Siphoning interval. When you have rested fully, then you may create another work.

Also note that the aforementioned stamina drain is apparent only upon the closing of the Essence veil. As such, while it might be tempting to create more works, since you will feel fine, there is a good chance you will destroy yourself.

Higher levels in each Essencework listed below increase the potency of the particular work, but at greater stamina cost.

Emerald Siphoning Level 1 Essenceworks.

Revive. Bring back the dead. Can be used once per entity, as the spiritual bonds become stretched too thin after the first raising. If a resurrected entity falls again at some later point, their death will be permanent.

This work also opens gateways to multiple higher dimensions, attracting beings that feed on the life forces of the living. These beings, sometimes commensurate in power to the fallen but usually much stronger, will tag along for the ride and attempt to feed on the life force of the reviving entity before his or her energy can be fully bound to the body. You will have to fend them off using all means available to you. Lose, and the death of the one you are trying to revive becomes permanent.

Note that a larger than normal source of the Emerald Essence must be employed. This means you cannot use something like a bone staff—instead, you will likely require a fully intact skeleton.

However as you increase this work’s level, you can revive your allies with smaller pieces of bone. However, you must also deal with more powerful life force feeders.

Summon Grazer. Summons the grazer associated with the bone or skeleton you are Siphoning the Emerald Essence from. This will be the same grazer who in life had that bone or skeleton physically inside of it.

The grazer will assume its original shape as pure energy. The being cannot be harmed by plasma bolts, laser beams, or blunt force weapons. Only the Essence, or creatures of similar energy, can deal any sort of damage.

At higher levels, the grazer will stay with you for longer periods of time. At level one, the grazer will only remain in your universe for five minutes.

Emerald Siphoning Level 2 Essenceworks.

Illusion. With this ability, you can make an object as large as an entire starship appear to be something else entirely. You can also change your appearance, and that of your friends. The effect lasts for one hour. Higher levels increase the duration.

Lightning Storm. Attack a group of foes with green lightning rained down from the sky. Higher levels increase the damage and area of effect.

Levels 3 and above are locked until the appropriate base Emerald Siphoning level is attained.

Gray Essenceworks

Gray Siphoning Essenceworks

The Naelbin is the sub-universe that exists within the molecules of mineral rock. Siphoning the Gray Essence essentially means funneling the quarks of the Naelbin sub-universe onto one’s skin in a process known as “melding.” Contact must be maintained with a mineral rock, or an item derived from such rock, for example metal.

Once the Gray Essence has been Siphoned and melded onto one’s skin, by focusing the mind’s eye upon the constituent quarks distributed across the epidermis, the Gray Essenceworker rearranges them into known fractal patterns. When “set” into the current universe, these patterns evoke the reality-bending effects associated with them.

Gray Siphoning Level 1 Essenceworks.

Rock Skin. Envelops your body in a thick film of rock, protecting you from exposure to the void, or from other attacks, by increasing base armor rating. Duration: ten minutes. Stamina drain: low.

Skills

Partial list of publicly available skills

General:

Chip database upgrade. Learn what they are hiding from you! Identify most weapon types and human classes, in addition to some alien. Level 2 will allow you to ID all known alien and weapon types. Level 3 IDs all known alien ship types.

Detect trap. The thief’s specialty! Useful when disarming traps in storage vaults and containers. Also provides a chance to detect any traps hidden in walls and floors.

Hacking. Leave your hammer at home! Break into shops, cars, low-level vaults, and more!

Hot-wire. Steal the vehicle of your dreams! Note: Not for the moral of heart. But since you’re shopping at my store, I assume your morals are probably somewhat questionable anyway.

Vehicular:

Land vehicle pilot. Learn how to drive. Required to operate land vehicles. Increasing levels provide for more aggressive driving skills.

Shuttle pilot. Let’s fly baby! Operate everything from flyer taxis to starship shuttles.

Sneak. If at first you don’t succeed, hide! Improved chance of hiding in the shadows to avoid detection. Can also sneak up on enemies without drawing attention to yourself.

Sprint. When you can’t fight an enemy, run! Increases movement speed on run.

Swimming. Never drown again! Learn the breaststroke, the front crawl, and the backstroke.

Starfighter pilot. Now you’re playing with some serious firepower. Learn how to operate starfighters; higher levels unlock a greater range of fighters.

Starship operations. Learn your way around a starship cockpit! High levels unlock different ship types.

Combat:

Battle armor. Looking to wear some battle armor? You’ll have to learn how to use it, first! Required to equip enchanted battle armor. Increasing levels improve mind-body connection between brain and armor, allowing for higher armor protection levels.

Battlefield medicine. Everyone loves a doc! Learn how to use everything available inside military grade med kits.

Cardiovascular and endocrine mastery. Don’t let that heart rate abate! Learn how to control your heart, lung, and endocrine system like a pro.

Grenadier. Kaboom! Improved bonuses to target accuracy, damage, and critical hit probability. Eligibility: all grenade types.

Mech pilot. No shoes, no mech, no service. Required to operate mech machines. Increasing levels offer more advanced fighting techniques. Different specializations available for mech types.

Mixed Martial Arts. Never lose a street fight again! Learn a mixture of Jujitsu, Karate, and Kung Fu, with emphasis on grappling techniques.

Pain Control. Be the master of your own domain! Block out most pain.

Pistoleer. Hit that ten ring! Use pistol weapons. Eligibility: laser and plasma pistols.

Sharpshooting. Kill bugs dead! Use rifles. Eligibility: laser and plasma rifles.

Small unit tactics. For those who always wanted to join the TSN but never could! Learn how to fight in a unit.

Essence:

General:

Chrysalium Forging. Make equipment out of processed Chrysalium. Higher levels are required to make weapons and armor such as the beam hilt and battle dress.

Chrysalium Siphoning. Needed to Siphon the White Essence through Chrysalium.

Darcanium Siphoning. Required to Siphon the Dark Essence through Darcanium.

Dark Artifact Control. Needed to control the Dark Artifacts Tane finds scattered throughout the Umbra.

Dark Siphoning. Needed to Siphon the Dark Essence, or Arcanum.

Dark and White mixing. The ability to mix both White and Dark Essence to form a hybrid work of both universes.

Essence Sight. During Siphoning, allows you to place your perspective outside your body. At higher levels, the range increases.

Traveling Essence Sight. Allows you to dispatch Essence sight anywhere. Range determined by skill level, or amount of Essence currently Siphoning (i.e. like most Essence skills, it is boosted by Siphoning through Chrysalium)

White Essence Linking. The ability to grant another Essenceworker access to your Essence. At higher skill levels, you can accept Essence from others (the higher your level, the more people you can accept Essence from).

White Siphoning. Necessary to Siphon the White Essence, or Esoterum.

Combat:

Beam Hilt Control. Learn how to use the warmancer’s favorite weapon. Because the beam hilt can launch Essence bolts, it is favored by ranged specialists and hand-to-hand alike.

Chrysalium Sword Control. Learn how to use the warmancer’s second favorite weapon. Favored by hand-to-hand specialists.

Starship-specific:

Essence Deflector Control. Required to operate the Essence deflector aboard a starship (deflects incoming Essence lances).

Essence Disruptor Control. Necessary to operate the Essence disruptor aboard a starship (stops enemies from jumping).

Essence Jump Chamber Control. Needed for the operation of a starship’s jump chamber (allows for interstellar travel).

Essence Lance Control. A must have if you want to operate a starship’s Essence lance (fires a large lance of Essence at an enemy, capable of penetrating their energy shields).

Afterword

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About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Isaac Hooke holds a degree in engineering physics, though his more unusual inventions remain fictive at this time. He is an avid hiker, cyclist, and photographer who sometimes resides in Edmonton, Alberta.

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isaac@isaachooke.com

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Acknowledgments

THANK YOU to my knowledgeable beta readers and advanced reviewers who helped smooth out the rough edges of the prerelease manuscript: Nicole P., Karen J, Jeremy G., Doug B., Jenny O., Amy B., Bryan O., Lezza, Noel, Anton, Spencer, Norman, Trudi, Corey, Erol, Terje, David, Charles, Walter, Lisa, Ramon, Chris, Scott, Michael, Chris, Bob, Jim, Maureen, Zane, Chuck, Shayne, Anna, Dave, Roger, Nick, Gerry, Charles, Annie, Patrick, Mike, Jeff, Lisa, Jason, Bryant, Janna, Tom, Jerry, Chris, Jim, Brandon, Kathy, Norm, Jonathan, Derek, Shawn, Judi, Eric, Rick, Bryan, Barry, Sherman, Jim, Bob, Ralph, Darren, Michael, Chris, Michael, Julie, Glenn, Rickie, Rhonda, Neil, Claude, Ski, Joe, Paul, Larry, John, Norma, Jeff, David, Brennan, Phyllis, Robert, Darren, Daniel, Montzalee, Robert, Dave, Diane, Peter, Skip, Louise, Dave, Brent, Erin, Paul, Jeremy, Dan, Garland, Sharon, Dave, Pat, Nathan, Max, Martin, Greg, David, Myles, Nancy, Ed, David, Karen, Becky, Jacob, Ben, Don, Carl, Gene, Bob, Luke, Teri, Robine, Gerald, Lee, Rich, Ken, Daniel, Chris, Al, Andy, Tim, Robert, Fred, David, Mitch, Don, Tony, Dian, Tony, John, Sandy, James, David, Pat, Gary, Jean, Bryan, William, Roy, Dave, Vincent, Tim, Richard, Kevin, George, Andrew, John, Richard, Robin, Sue, Mark, Jerry, Rodger, Rob, Byron, Ty, Mike, Gerry, Steve, Benjamin, Anna, Keith, Jeff, Josh, Herb, Bev, Simon, John, David, Greg, Larry, Timothy, Tony, Ian, Niraj, Maureen, Jim, Len, Bryan, Todd, Maria, Angela, Gerhard, Renee, Pete, Hemantkumar, Tim, Joseph, Will, David, Suzanne, Steve, Derek, Valerie, Laurence, James, Andy, Mark, Tarzy, Christina, Rick, Mike, Paula, Tim, Jim, Gal, Anthony, Ron, Dietrich, Mindy, Ben, Steve, Allen, Paddy & Penny, Troy, Marti, Herb, Jim, David, Alan, Leslie, Chuck, Dan, Perry, Chris, Rich, Rod, Trevor, Rick, Michael, Tim, Mark, Alex, John, William, Doug, Tony, David, Sam, Derek, John, Jay, Tom, Bryant, Larry, Anjanette, Gary, Travis, Jennifer, Henry, Drew, Michelle, Bob, Gregg, Billy, Jack, Lance, Sandra, Libby, Jonathan, Karl, Bruce, Clay, Gary, Sarge, Andrew, Deborah, Steve, and Curtis.

Without you all, this novel would have typos, continuity errors, and excessive lapses in realism. Thank you for helping me make this the best novel possible, and thank you for leaving the early reviews that help new readers find my books.

And of course I’d be remiss if I didn't thank my mother, father, and brothers, whose wisdom and insights have always guided me through the dark paths of the Umbra and beyond.

— Isaac Hooke

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