Anima: A Divine Dungeon Series (Artorian's Archives Book 6) Read online

  Cale slowly drew a physical breath as he listened to the arguments. A self-soothing measure. “Minya entered stasis. She will be asleep for easily the next thousand years. There were some complications, and that number might double. As for Bob… the Bobs have left us. Those who knew him best had a private get-together as we saw the last one off. Bob Prime hung on as best as he could, and he left us with some warm words.”

  Cale trailed off at a visual memory, which he shared before picking the topic back up. “A grateful smile lingering on his face, he said his tribe has the best home it could ever have hoped for, and he never expected to live forever. He went out surrounded by loved ones with bright futures. For a Goblin that survived from the earliest days of my dungeon, when their race was still all the worst parts it could be… that was one Cal of an accomplishment. He said he was ready to go.”

  Silence hung heavy over the inner circle. The second circle remained empty today. This wasn’t news for their ears. Nobody complained. Deverash flopped back in his small, raised seat. “Can I avoid it by swapping into a geometric body?”

  The silent no he got back via a solemn shake of the head made him grit his teeth. He’d had… problems on Vanaheim. Turbulent discoveries he didn’t want to tell anyone about. Even if a few people likely knew. He expected Cal to remain quiet so he could solve it himself, but Brianna could be a danger if she brought it up. She hadn’t, and his philosophic friend hadn’t either. He figured they just trusted him to see it through, and didn’t need to draw a fuss.

  Tatum continued, since he technically still had the ball in his court. “I don’t mind entering stasis, but I’m not feeling any of this strain that was talked about. Life on Hel is incredibly dull. Sleeping will be no different. If I’m stuck there long-term for my own, and everyone else’s safety… it’s just a lonely existence. The visits to Midgard help.”

  Chandra squeezed a vine bracelet around his wrist in support, without ever needing to move her hand over to touch him. “If you go into stasis, I’m going in for an equal amount. I doubt we have to be kept in stasis for the exact time period. Only that we have to catch up on it.”

  Cale pressed his lips into a thin line, looking hopefully over to Artorian. The Administrator kept his hands folded, not needing to meet the dungeon’s stare for him to get the message. “About that… as Incarnates, Tatum and Dawn don’t seem to have the mortality problem the rest of us do. They can choose to enter stasis if they want, but it’s not life-critical, like it is for you and I.”

  Dawn raised an eyebrow, her chin tilting. “You’re silly if you think I’m staying awake to hang around while you’re dozing. I’ve had enough of that as is. I’ve handled things in my realm so I can hand over anytime. My worry is that my named ones will not live to see my return. If I go into stasis and come out to find I missed all of Caliph’s life, I’m going to be very upset.”

  Cale felt the need to swiftly protect himself. “That won’t be a problem. There’s several ways around that, and it all comes down to creatures being bound to Nodes or not. Most creatures on Muspelheim are Mage-ranked, but that doesn’t mean they have Node connections. Only those with connections will need to join you in sleep, but those who have them are effectively immortal.”

  He motioned to the moon. “Those who don’t can literally just be saved in a memory stone, and decanted when you’re back without it seeming like a day has passed. You can leave them out in the world, but their lives will continue. It doesn’t prevent me from making a memory copy at a later time, but it doesn’t seem that’s what you want. So choose either between saving your most precious few in memory stones, or whether you want to take a few decades and have them go through the cultivation process to Node-connect them. I expect it will be easier when they are premade of Mana. Still, your call.”

  Dawn sat back, her pose a copy of the Gnome’s as she had much to think about. Her leg extended, and her high heels nudged into Artorian’s shin. “What are you doing?”

  The table’s eyes meandered to the Administrator, who had never sat so rigid and stern at the table for this long. His nerves were tense. He was even in some outfit that made him look important. Some uniform, rather than the usual grandfatherly comfort-is-king robes.

  “Well… I will be finishing my current set of tasks. I’ve crossed the majority of works from my to-do list. Then, I am going into stasis until there’s no seed strain left. I’ve asked to be decanted when I’m at tip-top one-hundred percent. When I go back to sleep after… I will decide from there.”

  He glanced at the clock table. “I have chosen to hang my robes up soon. A few more years of activity at most. When I am back out, there are several projects I need to begin at that time. Including speaking to anyone who has refused to go to sleep.”

  Brianna smiled with coy venom. “You will do what at such a time? Come to forcibly dethrone us and make us slumber?”

  The reason Artorian sat stern came to bear. This was the exact question he’d been dreading. One of three. His gaze, wisened and stoic, turned to lock eyes with the Queen of Assassins. Artorian’s answer arrived with resolute resignation. “If I must, Brianna. Only if I must.”

  Chapter Two

  After that particularly haunting inner circle moot had taken its toll, Artorian hid in his warehouse of whizbangs and fiddlesticks for a month. On the plus side, broken items were being sealed and documented at a prodigious pace. On the downside, he wasn’t being particularly social. Unlike the usual routes where he sought escape from the confined space, this time he’d sought out the self-imposed exile like a mountain hermit.

  When he again ventured out to sit on the porch of the pagoda to meet the sky, it felt like it had been a very long time indeed. To his surprise, the front door was gone. One of Zelia’s children informed her of his activity, and as was usual for matters with her Dreamer, she went personally.

  This was a nice day for Jotunheim. Pleasant even. The general air was cool, with steady warm waves brushing through fluttering robes. The opposite of a summer day, but just as enjoyable to bask in as the wind whistled across the Jotunheim mountains. This passing breeze sounded newly added windchimes. Some easily the size of buildings. Artorian relaxed, indulging in their calming notes, and pleasantly humming melody.

  Zelia daintily held her spidersilk paper umbrella as she approached, gracefully seating her violet kimono-clad self next to her Dreamer. She had a full wardrobe of such fine quality now. Clothes and attire were a passion, even if she didn’t fully grasp all the sympathies involved that led to her having such a drive. Her voice mimicked the pleasant local chimes. “The door appears to be missing, my Dreamer.”

  Artorian, clad in simple and dull, dirty white robes, nodded wordlessly. He provided a response after a few more lengthy chime chinks, realizing he was part of why. “All intelligent items are scrapped. Recanted as people in memory or Seed Cores. There’s no need for further possible complications at this stage. Not when we can pack the project in and test intelligent items again when things are stable. A reintroduction is planned for Alpha Two, now that Cal has scheduled a date. Again, not without its own set of complications.”

  His Arachnid chosen wasn’t following what he was on about. That mattered little. Zelia was ever supportive, but not any less concerned for the strange news after her Dreamer’s long month of isolation. She attempted to lace her words with calm tones, as Halcyon naturally did. “You speak as if the world is ending.”

  “It is.” His terse reply was not what she’d expected. The statement even made her head jerk away a few inches because she couldn’t believe it had been said.

  After a thoughtful moment, Zelia moved forwards again to resume graceful seating. Her hand wavered as it formed back into a carapace claw. A result from the rough time she suddenly experienced with self-control. Her two eyes became six, but she did her best to control the stress and managed to stabilize there. “That did not sound like one of your amusing jokes, my Dreamer. Nor a playful scheme you have enacted, and we kno
w you have enacted many.”

  Artorian held his own hands, thumbs rolling over one another as he hunched forwards. “It’s not a joke. Nor is it amusing. It’s quite the cause for trouble. When I finish that big to-do list down in the basement… the one taking up an entire wall? I will be going to sleep for a while. A very long, long while. When I wake again, the world will be different.”

  The breeze kicked up, fluttering his robes. “Then, depending on what the other supervisors have chosen, I have to go do some difficult things to save their lives. When all supervisors who remained have been recanted, what you said will occur. The world will end.”

  Artorian’s tone stayed soft, borderline somber. “Cal is going to reset it back to how it was at the start, with minor alterations that have shown to offer a consistent improvement. People and creatures will be kept in pause, let free to roam once again without ever being aware of the subtle differences. They won’t even question that whole rivers will have moved, or that herds prefer an entirely different diet.”

  Zelia’s kimono threatened to rip as her form wavered further. While her upper half successfully held onto its human guise, her mass below the waist reverted to being entirely spiderlike, multiple legs and all. “So you’re telling me that not only will you be leaving us for a very long time, but that when you return, we will forget the life we knew as we start all this work back over?”

  He shook his head no, and that set her, ever so slightly, back at ease. “The first part, yes. The second part… no. I have options for you, and I don’t want to choose them for you. I trust my three named ones, but the choices are difficult. Except perhaps for you, my dear. Yours is the easiest.”

  Zelia rolled her wrist, the sharp claw making a ‘go on’ motion. Her Dreamer spoke at her request. “Either we store the few important souls into memory Cores. Safely taking them back out without them being aware they lost a day of time. Their personal growth remains unaffected, and if they ever wish the satisfaction of a natural lifespan… They will have it. Not all wish to live forever, so I have learned from Bob.”

  Artorian drew a fresh breath. “Or, we take the time to increase their personal growth, until they can Ascend and be tied to a Seed Core. Then, even if their body dies, their mind will not. They will live eternal, but be forced to adhere to the same sleeping patterns I am subject to. Ten years of slumber, for every one of waking.”

  He tried to be supportive about the next part. “Your choice is easy, Zelia, because you are already tied to the Teleportation Node. Even if you didn’t fully know it. You didn’t begin with a Beast Core, as Halcyon did. Nor a cultivation center, like Yuki. You’re on super secret track three, having started life as a dungeon Core.”

  Artorian wasn’t certain how to categorize the look he was getting. “I’m going to assume several things I just said didn’t make sense to you. I’ll simplify. The choice is for a natural end to one’s life, or to deny that. Living until all you know is a burden; for no reason other than seeing whatever you hold on to, to fruition, until the very end.”

  Zelia calmed, and the light flickering behind her eyes spoke volumes of the energy she was investing into thinking this over. “Will you end naturally, Dreamer? Or is it too late for you, as I think is the case?”

  Feeling like an old man, he eased his grasp over and squeezed her claws. “Too late for me, I’m afraid. I’m here for the full duration. That includes living on well past the time where we are stuck in this Soul Space. All the supervisors are in this position, everyone in charge of a realm. It’s part of what got us the position, you see.”

  He rubbed his thumb over her smooth carapace. “We made a deal with Cal for it, the Great Spirit. It includes an unbreakable vow of loyalty, so he can trust us. While we all have different methods, it’s in his interest to let us roam free and see to our tasks. No, my dear. I will not end naturally. My end will be chosen, or forced.”

  Artorian needed a moment to breathe. “I… I have a third option, but it is currently well outside my grasp, and even then I am simply not certain it is a path I wish to tread.”

  Zelia decisively squared her shoulders. “Then my choice is easy. I choose the latter, and choose to stay. I don’t know what the dungeon Core track is, but if it did come with a natural end, I choose to throw that away. I refuse to leave my Dreamer, and you will have to deal with me through famine and feast. Tell me how I am already tied to whatever this Node is. I have always felt strangely about my comparison to the other chosen. All my growth is… horizontal. Never vertical. I do not grow stronger, I grow more skilled. Meanwhile Halcyon and Yuki do develop vertically, and their power wells.”

  Artorian released her claw, but she did not pull it away. Choosing to resettle it on his shoulder instead for a firmer grip. He didn’t mind. The touch was a kindness. “Yuki’s method of growth is similar to my own, before I became ‘The Administrator.’ In our old world, it worked like this: One gathers energy to build oneself up, and at a certain point—after much toil—one is able to Ascend and connect to a Node. A Law.”

  He focused some energy above his palm, forming a glowing pink orb. “A kernel of truth in and of the universe to which they seek to further dedicate themselves. A deep point of focus and purpose. When one Ascends to such a point, cultivation must continue for vertical growth to continue. As you have no such method, I’m not surprised by your words. I believe keeping you at the B-rank you are, with that body malleable as it may be, was intentional. Yet if you wish to change that, I will sink my considerable efforts into your well. So you may see it fill.”

  Zelia approved of this. “What of Halcyon?”

  His mouth opened to speak, but closed for a pensive moment as he released the orb. “Halcyon started on the Beast Core track. She began as a beast, and has gained intelligence and power from that point. All she has to do for growth is to keep doing what she’s doing, and eat plenty. She will never have the utility or plethora of skill you or Yuki will, but her raw affinity for the few things she can do will be extreme. I figure that’s how she got a hold of flight so quickly. It’s just more swimming, except through the sky.”

  That mention made them share a soft smile. “Yuki had memories of cultivation before she arrived, and while she does not have all the clues, knows enough to fuel her growth. I expect when she hits a bottleneck, I will receive a visit. I planned to tackle it then. There are some additional difficulties when mixing D-ranked cultivation skills with a body in the mid B-ranks.”

  The Arachnid next to him was taking her time molding back into a humanoid shape. It was slow going, but he let her take all the time she wanted without a single snappy comment. She calmed when she managed to sit properly on her butt once again, her kimono untarnished as she picked the paper umbrella back up. “You will ask them the same question?”

  The Administrator nodded. “I will. I honestly expect them to choose the former. Yuki and Cy are supportive, but they have their own lives. I do not wish to strip those from them. Cal and I had a behind the scenes talk about that. He was fiddling around with something he’s calling ‘Titles,’ and they’re supposed to provide innate traits when ‘applied.’”

  He wibble-wobbled his hand. “Not sure what he means yet, but he mentioned that if a named one chose to remain natural, the Named Aspect could become a Title. That Title could then resurface later in the family line, with someone who would be fitting of it. They would seek me at that point, I am told. Informed by some kind of prompt. It’s in the works, so who knows.”

  Zelia’s parasol twirled. “I will tell them. This news will be easier for them if it comes from me. Yuki is warming, but her frost is strong. She doesn’t know what to think of you, still. I, on the other hand, am considered a friendly face. As I meet with her often, concerning documents, stories, and the like.”

  She verbally mulled things through. “Halcyon may take your request well, but her heart will break when you must tell her that you are leaving. I don’t know what our normal lifespans are, but her worries wi
ll grow deep when she dwells on it. Especially of possibly expiring before you return. She requires more of your time, and attention. Perhaps do not be free from us too soon? What you have prepared will cause others to have a taxing time.”

  The soft nod she received set her at ease once more. Artorian spoke while mired in thought. “I’m sure some last-minute scribbles will mysteriously appear on my to-do list. Anchoring me longer.”

  He paused, squinting at something in the distance as his vision went on the fritz again. “On an unrelated note, is that a Dark Elf in that mountain over there, setting up an observation post? Since when is Brianna trying to keep an eye on me?”

  The thought of why struck him immediately after. “Ah… well. After the last meeting… Why am I not surprised? I’ll take that offer, my dear. Thank you for helping me with the burden. Let us speak of your power growth again in the future. In the meanwhile… Would be a shame if that observer went missing.”

  Zelia enthusiastically clicked. Her children were already on their way, massing in large swarms as she playfully twirled her umbrella. In the far distance of the mountains, the border wind chimes rang, covering up any fearful screams that may have occurred.

  “Indeed, my Dreamer. A true shame.”

  Chapter Three

  Henry’s voice called from the senate, accompanying a pulsing ping for a private forum request. Artorian had been seven screens deep in figuring out why a staff of coruscating fireballs always inflicted ‘maximum damage,’ as Cal was calling it. He dismissed the screens, and replied in kind as he accepted the forum request for a private conversation.