Chapter 71

[|||| =LEVEL 17= ||||]

[|| =!BONUS LEVEL!= ||]

The Faustian

"I have decided that I have made a mistake," it said out of the blue. Taylor stiffened and was silent, her hands freezing. Her heart raced and she felt a panic setting in. It was in her room… It was in. Her. Room. Just yesterday she had been helpless to watch as it… slaughtered Lung with her body. She could feel it's oppressive mind, an alien thing vaster than hers could ever be, rip control of her body through the back of her head. That tether chaining her to it. "You think I am some sort of monster, don't you?"She hesitated, which apparently said enough for it to know how afraid she was of it.

"I am sending you one of my most ardent followers. I've told her not to preach to you but, well… you'll see. She is poor with her aura just as you are but she is deadly in nearly any other aspect of combat. She will be your tutor and friend if you will allow it. Hopefully this will incentivise you to find me a foothold on Earth Bet quicker."

There was a sound behind her, something between a crunch and a thump. She froze for just a moment before her mind screamed 'MOVE' and she leaped away. Ice collected in her hand to make a crappy dagger, more of an icicle really, and she crouched down like Vicky had taught her to fight the intruder.

She was tall, taller than most humans at least. Purple eyes, seemingly shining with some unearthly light, stared out of a clearly professional helmet, most of the other features shadowed by the poor light of the room and the helmet itself. Everything below that was a dark modern armour with pale metal plates attached to vital organs. It was simple but clearly effective with how much of the warrior's body it covered. But most intimidating was the axe hanging at her side, its head made of bone for some reason, paired with a wicked looking black dagger on the other side of her waist. She looked like some sort of knight, modernized and ready for war.

Her hands came up to her helmet and she pulled it off before whipping her head, freeing a long intricate golden braid of hair and exquisite features on tanned skin. Taylor was dumbstruck at her intruder's… everything.

"What is up my fellow champion of Abyss?!" Irisai grinned toothily and raised a gloved hand for a high five.

Taylor stared, her mouth a little agape. She closed it and forced herself to put the 'dagger' away, the ice hissing as she sped up its evaporation. Her heart felt like it was in her throat and her mind was a mess. Hadn't she been folding her clothes a minute ago?

"Okay… no high five then!" The warrior's hand lowered and her smile turned down a little. "So I'm Irisai! And you're Taylor, right?" She didn't answer, her mind a mess. Seconds ticked by as she gathered some composure

"… Taylor Hebert," she said to the stranger. A surge of insecurity went through her as the woman smiled, making her feel like the sun had shined for the first time in years. It was like Vicky's aura turned up to the maximum with a nice hug.

She hated it.

"There you go! He said you might be a bit antisocial but I knew you had it in you!" The intruder, Irisai, walked over to her bed next to the folded laundry and sat down gently. Still, the wood groaned under the woman and her plate armour. How much did that armour weigh? How strong was she to effortlessly walk around in it? "Sooo, I don't really have a place to stay right now besides yours. But since we serve the same god it appears accepta-sorry, it's cool, right? I'm still learning modern slang from Elsyria but uh, I'm kinda old fashioned. I still slip back sometimes when I'm nervous." That confident, sunny grin grew sheepish but Taylor had no doubts that she was anything but confident in herself. Nervous her ass.

"So, anything you wanna ask about? I mean, you must have some questions given that I was just sorta dropped on you. I can provide for myself if you want, pay rent and stuff. I have some weapons and stuff in a pocket dimension of mine so I don't need much. And have you even told your dad about Abyss yet? It might shock him a bit if I just waltzed up to him and said that I was your new roommate."

"He knows a little. I haven't shared any details," she said quietly. The idea of coming clean to her father scared her. She had said that she had a 'friend' who had helped her a little, explaining the camera she had found in her bag and the footage of Sophia shoving her into the locker. He might have thought that it was Vicky or Amy as it was.

"Now's as good a time as any to pull back the curtain, don't you think?" That sunny smile came back, screaming honest eagerness this time. "I mean, what dad wouldn't be proud? You got chosen by a god! I had to sell two priceless artifacts to a demon to get to him and then cross a whole world! Lucky you, huh?" Taylor felt that panic rising. This… this lady was going to just tell her father her biggest secret? Before she could protest the warrior stood and stepped across her room in two short strides. Taylor felt herself walking alongside her as she chatted on.

"I know I would have made my parents proud if I were chosen by a god! I'm technically a sort of demigod but let's not talk about that, huh? Bad memories there. I'm just saying, you're not alone now. Abyss is always keeping an eye on all his worshippers! He tries really hard not to let anybody die. Honestly I think he's a bit too generous with it but you can't fault kindness if it doesn't hurt anybody."

"Wh-Taylor? Whose-..." her father stopped mid sentence to stare at Irisai, who grinned and walked up to him, a hand outstretched. His own hand met it seemingly without him thinking and he looked between his shaking hand and the beautiful lady with a fixed smile on his face.

"Hello, s- um, Danny right? My name's Irisai! I've been given the position as your daughter's, ah… protector would be the best word for it. Guardian gives the wrong impression. Abyss sent me and boy do we have a lot to talk about! Do you mind if I make some tea?"

It was just then that Taylor noticed that Irisai had pointed ears.

[|||| =-= ||||]

"And what do you do to make your hair so glossy?! It's so shimmery!" Glory Girl, or Vicky to anybody who knew her personally, blushed at Irisai's praise. After a brief rocky start because of Irisai's ears the two had hit it off. It was horrible. The park they were sitting in was mostly empty but it was still public, making her embarrassed to even be outside with her tagalong. Or maybe she was the tagalong and Irisai was the person dragging her around.

"Oh, SO much work! I spend like half an hour every day washing and conditioning! But I wouldn't even be able to get that if Ames didn't help me out!"

"She hogs the shower," Panacea, or Amy, muttered, her hands still on the high elf's. Her eyes alternated between a strange mix of focused and unfocused as she switched between writing on a notepad and looking at Irisai's biology. The two had finally banded together to drag Taylor out of her house after two days of silence and avoiding school. Irisai refused to let her go anywhere alone but she was too angry, and later mortified, to bring the crazy elf anywhere. She should have registered with the PRT, but with her task to kill Coil hanging over her head…

"Hey!" A brief laugh from Irisai swept the indignation off Vick's face and set a soft smile on Amy's. It was like the nicest windchimes Taylor had ever heard had decided to make a chorus when she laughed.

She had a body slim, athletic, and busty enough for any woman to murder for ten times over, a voice to make honey diabetic, and looks so beautiful and exotic that just walking down the street gathered more attention than even Vicky, who was a supermodel on her own. Maybe if she didn't dress in a tight tank top and leggings she might be a little less eye catching? All of her good traits were completely balanced out by her utterly… wacky personality, at least. Not that anybody else at the table knew how alien she could be.

"And what do you do? Do you just look like that normally?" Vicky asked curiously, her smile bright. She leaned closer to Irisai eagerly.

"Oh, no! I mean, I look pretty great normally but I have to eat really well and work out a lot."

"And?"

"Um…" Irisai managed to look embarrassed, a faint blush appearing on her nearly golden skin. "Good genes?" Taylor eyed the pointed ears hidden under Irisai's hair. She wasn't sure about the whole 'elf' thing but the pointed ears were fairly telling. It also wasn't like the world was strange enough as it was.

"I'll say," Amy muttered again, rolling her eyes good naturedly.

"Psh! Great genes, more like! Come on, spill the deets!" Vicky leaned forth eagerly, like she was going to learn a secret.

"Most of it is exercise. Lots of exercise. That and my aura, um, power."

"Power? Ooh! Right! Some sort of supermodel power?" Vicky asked again, distracted by the much more interesting topic.

"Mostly I'm a, ahh, what do you all call it here? Brute?" Vicky's eyes gleamed, smelling opportunity. "I can do some other stuff, though. A lot of tiny powers compared to you guys. I think they're stranger powers?"

"Oh? Keeping your rockin' bod hidden? How could you?!" Vicky teased. "But, like, how brutey are you? I, for one, am the brutiest of brutes! Well, not really, but in Brockton Bay I am!" She puffed out her chest with pride. Irisai smiled, perhaps a little condescendingly, though Vicky clearly couldn't see it.

"I don't like to brag," Irisai said humbly. Vicky leaned closer and Amy looked up from her inspection of the elf's biology. "But I can put a crack in a boulder. Not that I would do so without some protection for my knuckles."

"What's that, like three cars worth of force?" Vicky wondered. Amy shrugged. Vicky's eyes lit up. "Only one way to find out! What do you say, Iri? Up for a spar?" She flew up off the seat and twirled around in the air gracefully.

"Iri?" Irisai asked in surprise.

"Blegh! Your name's a mouthful! Come on! I won't hurt you and if I do Ames can heal you right up!"

"Shouldn't you go somewhere less public?" Taylor piped up from her silence, looking around the park.

"Uh, good point." She still sounded disappointed.

"Actually, I can drive us," Irisai offered.

"You have a car?! Really?!" Vicky gasped. Taylor sunk down onto the park bench, the lack of a backrest not hindering her. Amy noticed her action and looked between her and Irisai, who was standing up.

"Heck yeah! The first thing I did when I… well, I learned to drive pretty quickly. I wanted to get a motorcycle at first but I got a really nice gift from a friend of mine. My fiancee, though he hasn't agreed yet, brought it here for me and helped get it registered."

No he hadn't. He put some sort of master effect on the license plate and the elf's drivers license. They looked official and in date no matter how you looked at them. If you even wondered how a demon worshipping elf got a license, she just showed them her card and they suddenly thought that it was perfectly reasonable for her to drive. It wasn't legit. It was abuse of powers.

Taylor forced herself from the seat to follow, Irisai and Vicky chatting animatedly as they walked. Amy hurried after and walked alongside her.

"Where'd she come from? Vicky might be hypnotised but I noticed how she dodged the question\," she asked quietly.

"She's mastered?!" Taylor hissed in alarm.

"What? No, it was just an expression," she clarified.

"Oh. I… it's a long story. Can we talk about this later?" Amy looked between her and Irisai before nodding shortly and walking alongside her.

"Oh. My. GOD!" Vicky squealed and flew as fast as she could towards the shining convertible sports car next to her dad's old truck. The sleek maroon glaze on it had no place in the poorer parts of town she lived in. Irisai ran after Vicky, her casual stride more like Taylor's breakneck sprint. "Is this a fucking Ferrari?!" she screamed in joy.

"Mustang!" Irisai said, delighted that Vicky had such an interest in her car. Taylor had seen it before.

"YEEEESSSS! Can I take a picture?!"

"Duh! I know my girl's beautiful! Almost as good as Shadowmare but uh… nevermind." Taylor remembered how Irisai had ranted for nearly half an hour about the vicious horse and decided to not comment on the latter part of the sentence, which only she seemed to have heard.

[|||| =-= ||||]

It was decided, after a minute of arguing where to go for the spar, that they were visiting the Dallons residence. It took about twenty minutes by bus, being in the nicer part of town, and was about a fifteen minute car ride. It was a sunny Saturday so the roof of Irisai's car was down. Vicky and Irisai continued bantering while Taylor and Amy, who might be her best friend, she realized, quietly talked in the back.

She had learned that Irisai had six more organs than a human, three missing including her tonsils and liver, some of her organs were rearranged or altered, and each and every one of them were working better than they realistically should, which led to a discussion about aura, another subject Taylor promised to talk more about later. Not that she knew much about aura either.

And then they were staring at Irisai as she put on her armour.

"Ho. Ly. Shit." Amy gawked as the warrior stepped out of the bathroom.

"That's, uh, not really a heroic costume, Iri." Vicky winced. "And heroes don't use weapons that often. Except tinkers."

"I may have a forcefield but that's no excuse to be sloppy. It's not infinite and direct blows still leave bruises," she reasoned. Taylor could see the logic in that, but it didn't explain why she looked so intimidating. Couldn't she paint it white or something? It would go a long way in easing people who saw her. "Besides, I told you, I do a lot of sneaking around. I can't pick pockets if I'm all glowy or whatever."

"… Good point," Vicky ceded. Then she smiled and the world seemed a little brighter, the issue swept aside for now. "So you up to get creamed?"

"They'll write songs about your defeat." She grinned back. Vicky laughed confidently and flew outside. With Miss Dallon out running errands she could fly around without being scolded.

Taylor and Amy strolled outside after Irisai into the backyard, the woman checking a blunted metal axe for faults. Taylor wondered why the two sisters hadn't asked where she got her armour or weapon. Maybe they were too distracted?

The two fighters went to different sides of the large lawn while the others sat down on some lawn chairs next to the house. "Ready?" Vicky asked. Irisai nodded and took a stance. "Go!"

Vicky darted forwards, a haymaker ready. Her aura was at full blast and Taylor shivered at the fear that crept into her. At her distance and with Vicky not focused on her it only took a bit of concentration to ignore the emotion. The elf stepped aside and jabbed the axe into her belly, the aura seemingly having no effect at all. The heroine grunted and backed off, a spinning kick pushing Irisai back a little. She looked a little disappointed for some reason.

It didn't take long for Vicky to charge again, though she landed and sidestepped this time before jabbing at Irisai's shoulder. The warrior batted aside the blow with ease, a golden-orange glow faintly encasing her gauntlet. Her axe, meanwhile, quickly swung at the girl. She stepped back only for Irisai to press her, a wider swing nicking her shoulder, sending her into a spin as she flew into the air again.

"Ugh! You pack a punch!" she said, seemingly impressed and a little sore. "But I pack more!" She flew over and spun, trying to catch Irisai's back with another straight. Irisai knelt and grabbed Vicky's fist and threw her overhead only for her to fly upwards, pulling away. The elf swung again, her axe a blur, and Taylor heard the sound of the axe's head crunching a little as it met her arm's forcefield.

Another blow swiftly followed in the same place as Vicky tried to pull away faster, only for the axe to crunch as her arm broke. A scream followed.

"Vicky!" Amy yelled. She ran towards her sister, who Irisai immediately let go of so she could float to the ground.

"Y-y'know, I expected to last a little… okay, a lot longer than that." Vicky's voice, while chipper, was as strained as her grimace. Amy touched her arm and sighed.

"A clean break. Give me a few minutes. It's pretty easy to fix."

"I'm sorry, I thought your forcefield would protect you. I wouldn't have struck so hard if I knew you would break a bone." Irisai sounded a bit guilty but more embarrassed.

"It's cool. It happens in spars between brutes," Vicky replied, the pain leaving her voice.

"Why didn't it defend you? It did the first time."

"… Don't spread this around, okay? My forcefield can block almost anything but it needs time to charge up after a strong attack. About five or thirty seconds. I think yours would take sevenish."

"Oh." Irisai seemed disappointed.

The party didn't last long after that. Vicky wasn't up to spar anymore after breaking an arm so quickly and the mood was awkward. Taylor ended up being driven home silently alongside Irisai.

"… I'm sorry I hurt your friend," she said suddenly, breaking the silence that had taken over the car for the past ten minutes.

"She was fine with it," Taylor said dismissively. Vicky wasn't one to hold a grudge for an accident.

"I know. I just wanted to leave a good impression. I shouldn't have sparred in the first place, though. There was no point to it anyways. That girl had no idea how to fight."

"She's a professional hero!" Taylor said, a bit scandalized and defensive of her friend.

"Taylor, I've been fighting for years. I know a fighter when I see one. That was a girl with power. She had terrible reflexes, letting her shield take a hit she could have evaded, and she didn't even probe my defenses," she said in exasperation.

"Well how would you have done it?"

"Firstly, I wouldn't fight a superior opponent on fair ground," she pointed out. "But if I were Glory Girl I'd have brought a gun and stayed in the air until my aura was exhausted. When I'd have found out about my ranged attacks I'd have gotten close and then immediately ran away once I saw that I was clearly the inferior fighter."

"You'd have just… run away?"

"Of course," she nodded, as though it was obvious. "I ran away from plenty of fights before I met Abyss only to return stronger later or with a friend. Sometimes multiple friends."

"That seems…"

"Dishonorable?" She was amused. "I'm an assassin, Taylor."

"What?!" she exclaimed.

"Did you think I was a warrior?"

"Yes!"

"I am, but only so far as I have to be. People don't expect a valiant knight to stab somebody in the back, and the armour I have on is silent when I want it to be. I'm conditioned to it, I suppose." Taylor was silent, the logic her guardian had shown sound. Nobody expected the valiant knight to be dishonorable. It was like expecting an honest politician. The images just didn't fit.

"… Why would you become an assassin?" she wondered.

"Well, I wasn't able to fight fairly. Would you like to know why?" Taylor hesitated but nodded, her curiosity fueling her to finally talk to the elf. "Well it all started when I was sent to the executioner's block. This was in a place called Skyrim, by the way. I had one hell of an adventure for a few years. Then I met Abyss. But let's stick to the beginning, shall we? So there I was, the executioner's axe raised…"

Taylor ended up talking with her newfound friend for an hour and a half, the wall she had built between them simply for being associated with the demon broken down by familiarity.

Just as Irisai's god had expected.

[|||| =NEXT STAGE= ||||]

The Scientist

So maybe everyone warned him he'd create a Frankenstein but it really wasn't his fault. Honestly! He created life in his wonderful daughter Penny, getting all his desire to scream 'It's aliiiivvee' out. That turned out great! Penny really was an angel, helping him around the lab and simulating complex quantum computations on how magic interfaces with reality, which he was still cracking at. He couldn't ask for a better daughter.

Then he'd made the kataigida, wherever they were now if they were even alive, the glorious magical dinosaur bears, but that had been on Abyss' orders. It wasn't his fault but that hardly mattered. They were like bears, not hurting anyone unless they poked at them with a stick. Sure, whichever government found them first would do just that but if they were smart for once they wouldn't have a new problem, would they? So again, no harm no foul.

But now? He miiiiight have messed up. A teeny bit. A tiny bit, leading to the current situation. Or at least, it wasn't entirely his fault. He just didn't know what he was dealing with. He felt confident with his backer supporting him. And then said backer had disappeared off into the sunset.

"Sir, it's grown four percent since yesterday," his junior reported worriedly. He nodded in affirmative.

"So it's confirmed? It's exponential?"

"Very, very slowly exponential, sir," he affirmed. "Within a month it will have consumed half the lab floor or three quarters depending on how long the safety doors hold for. In two months to two and a half the lab as a whole will be consumed and the growths will reach the surface. In six months a third of Vale will be consumed, though this-"

"Yes, I know it may be carnivorous or photoynthetic, Oak," Poledina snapped. The young man's flinch instantly made him feel bad. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just… a little stressed out."

"We all are, sir. I understand. Mister Mahogany has allocated a grant to seal the lab if need be. He's demanding a solution before the growth reaches the surface."

"Of effing course he is," Poledina groused, already expecting that idiot to shove the problem onto him. "A temporary solution and pray it all works out, huh? What a-"

"Miss Branwen has declined to return to help once more. She supports his decision. This time she blocked our number"

"Damnit, woman!" he shouted angrily, slapping his hand on his desk. A few papers flew off but he had bigger problems. It wasn't like his office wasn't a mess anyways. That maiden, she always disliked the lab. The kataigida weren't useful, she'd say, minor enhancements to runes were just that, minor, and the few things worthwhile to her weren't actually helpful to her personally so, once again, she didn't care! She showed up once to throw some magic at the growth and then she just gave up! Four measly hours of effort only trying what she knew she could do, never looking for a new solution… the meatheaded brute.

He had considered reaching out to Miss Rose, such a bright young girl, but he didn't want her to worry over something that the adults couldn't fix. She was clearly dealing with depression as well and piling the stress of an unstoppable cancer to that was a horrible idea. He hadn't realized quite what a rock Abyss had been for her until he was gone and she was without a leg to stand on.

And oh Abyss! When he was around things had been golden. Magic! Funding! And he was even a good boss, providing material for study at every turn! Truly he had created a perfect storm for scientific advancement. The boy, or man rather with all he had done, was a true patron of the sciences with a passion for magic of all types. For him to suddenly disappear… it was horrible not just to him but the world as a whole. He was, as a man of science, not much for prayer, but he prayed to whatever was listening that the young man wasn't dead. He had one of his precious few friends in him.

"… How is project reel?" he asked.

"No progress made. Again," the assistant said depressingly. Poledina nodded, already expecting it. Using runes to try to simulate dimensional travel with Abyss' aura as a catalyst wasn't hopeless, but they didn't have much of his aura stored, it just seemed like he'd be around forever to supply it as needed, but they had to at least try to reach out to him in the hope that he was whisked away from Remnant. No such luck, he supposed.

"… Look, Oak, I'm open to suggestions. I sure as hell could use some."

"I have no idea what to do, sir," Oak admitted. He lowered his scroll, showing the shadows under his eyes more clearly. "The lab is fucked, the growth seems unstoppable and immovable, we don't even understand why it's out of control, and we're missing the powerhouse behind our funding. We're lucky that Mahogany was generous enough to give us a grant. Vacuo is always sunny and Atlas wouldn't mind you back. People are going to connect miracle plants and a lab quickly and it won't look good for the company when Vale is destroyed. We've had a good run but it's looking like this is a sinking ship. Maybe it's time to run for the lifeboats?"

"Just give up? I've put years of my life into this venture, completely changed my field of study even, and now I just walk away?"

"Sunk cost fallacy."

"Cold, Oak. Cold." The man shrugged, too tired and serious to argue. Kids should really be more jovial. He'd been full of fire and hot air as a young buck. Why couldn't kids be passionate and starry-eyed anymore?

"We could try to keep the company going. We have a sizable amount of goodwill in Menagerie and it's going to take years, maybe even a decade, before the growth crosses the ocean. Assuming it doesn't eat material sustenance, of course."

"You know, I should have realized that dragons and a seemingly infinite energy source wouldn't go well together," Poledina brooded. "But we have at least one more option. Maybe two. If the maiden won't help us, that is. And we aren't dragging Ruby into this."

"We're all in agreement that Ruby shouldn't be sucked into our problems. But what do you mean? We're the only magical researchers around."

"Well… we aren't the only magical practitioners around." Oak looked alarmed.

"We're under orders not to make contact with the wizard under-"

"What?! No! Look, I think Abyss is being a bit of a shit to the wizard but I get where he's coming from! No, no. There's another practitioner."

"… Atlas?"

"Get out of here, Oak. I need to make a call." The young man was confused and a little insulted but he could deal with it. Poledina squirmed in his office chair as he readied himself to call one of Abyss' least trustworthy allies. They were just that desperate.

Because deep within the lab a dragon egg was sucking in nature affinity, slowly growing it's roots, tunneling through solid concrete ever so slowly and getting bigger. It could be predicted that it would get larger and larger, eventually draining the planet dry of nature affinity, but nobody even wanted to entertain the thought of what might come out of the egg if it were to hatch.

[|||| =NEXT STAGE= ||||]

The Devotee

"And praise the gospel of the apostle! For through him we touch upon the beginning and end of all things!"

"Praise!" The masses cried fervently. Their words were just the tiniest bit warped from the lack of affinity in the air, which always caused odd effects. It wasn't very noticeable but the thousand voices were just a bit more discordant than they should be. Elsyria put down her arms from where they were raised in the air and paused to take a breath, her throat familiarly sore from her honeyed words.

"Thank you for attending this sacred gathering. As you all know, today marks the anniversary of the day the apostle found himself in the embrace of the void. If you recall the Book of Black, know of the trials he endured to divinity; the rebirth, the journey, the mother, the citadel, and the emptiness. Today we celebrate the emptiness, whereupon he ascended to divinity and would eventually travel across the gap to grace our world with his presence. Please, spend the day in meditation on the void, the fates you once held, and your connection to our lord. Tomorrow look with fresh eyes at what you have come to possess and the trials you yourself have endured to come to the heights you stand on today. Praise be."

"Praise be," they repeated. The high priestess of the apostle turned then and disappeared when dark purple curtains closed behind her. A murmur struck up as conversations began and the attendants of her sermon began to leave. Some of them, the more devout or patient, stayed behind and bowed their heads in reflection, waiting for the others to leave.

"Water," Elsyria rasped, letting the power fade from her voice. A figure appeared from somewhere dressed in the black cloths and a mask of the Silent, the assassin and information sect of the cult, with a few strips of fabric on their left breast signifying their rank. It was all very edgy but equally as useful for stealth. More importantly, they were holding out a large cup of water. "Thank you, James," she said, making sure to remember the man's name. James nodded and disappeared in an instant.

In the early days of the cult Abyss had been able to grant the ability to manipulate space, including teleportation. Gaining some gifts with ice had been worth it but the style many had been developing it in had caused a lot of problems. She had nagged her god into getting the ability back somewhat since it was just too useful.

He had told her to give him a uniform and, after being provided one, he runed the shit out of it, somehow granting teleportation, some kind of magical mental concealment, and a pocket dimension, and he asked if she wanted more! She had sent him three hundred uniforms a few days later, which became the traditional uniform for the shadows, not that tradition was very stable at the moment. Hell, she had actually added a passage to the Book of Black based off of that deal, giving people more literature to base their faith on. When your sacred book was still being written you knew that you were still a fledgeling religion.

It was so nice to have a god that acted directly. Saying a god loved you was well and good but when they directly gave you magical abilities powerful enough to be a sacred gear and gave you an empathetic link to them? It made divinity so much more tangible, and that brought in the practical sort of people she needed in the cult.

Power was attractive; addictive too. It was how she had grown the cult so quickly, numbering several hundred a few months ago and now more like a thousand five hundred and then some. About a third of those were ready and willing to fight for their god. Each and every one of them seriously worshipped Abyss. The cult could have been a lot bigger if she was more loose with recruitment, but she wanted a strong groundwork to build off of. Twenty thousand people might as well be none if they were all unreliable.

And the people out there, leaving the main church in the cult's headquarters? Each and every one of them were going to go home and do exactly as she said, meditating and reflecting on her words earlier. Some of them might ask Abyss something or other and if they were really, really lucky he might even answer! She had specifically asked him to be extra receptive to prayers during the cult's single holiday. He had agreed to respond to most of the prayers and she had to frantically dissuade him to only answer about a hundred. A god had to be somewhat distant, after all; too much of a good thing and so on.

"… Kika, how much longer do I have until I need to go to the meeting with the Yokai?"

"Two hours," a somewhat lascivious voice said from right behind her. Elsyria didn't bother to turn around and instead took a deep drink from her cup.

"Great," she sighed, licking her lips. Water could taste so good after talking for almost thirty minutes straight. If only she could bring a bottle up onto the podium. That wasn't very professional, though.

"Do you need to take a nap or get some dinner before you meet with them?" Kika asked, walking into her vision. She was a young woman and one of the earliest members of the cult. They had been friends before and when Elsyria needed somebody adept at intelligence work she was the first person she knew of with even a hint of experience. Being second in line to an old mage with a knack for mind magic's family, Kika was experienced enough to lead in the newly founded cult and free enough to do so. Her older sister would have been better were she available for recruitment, but heiresses couldn't just go off and join cults.

Kika was slim and under her uniform, that of the Shade, the leader of the silent sect of the cult, she had muscle building. Not that anything was revealed besides her grey eyes. Akame had unofficially taken her under her wing and was teaching her anything and everything about being an assassin. Leading was all her, though, and she and Akame were working out how to gather information subtly based off of how the assassin's previous employer operated with Kika's mind magic mixed in to make things easier.

"There will be refreshments at the meeting. I need to check on Burmy, see how he's doing without Irisai." Burmy was the manly equivalent of Kika, though he was the third son of a different old mage family and was really into swordplay. That was why he was leading the Scourge, the infantry side of the cult's military.

"Cool. I'll find-nevermind, found him." Kika seemed almost disappointed.

"He's in the yard again, isn't he?"

"Uh huh." Elsyria groaned. That meant that Burmy was praying.

"Okay, lets go." She stood up and finished off the water and set the cup aside on a windowsill. Something flickered in her vision as she turned away and she glanced back at the windowsill where there wasn't a cup anymore.

"James I ought to drill you three times for that. The priestess is clearly tired and at rest and she still saw you with all the fancy enchanted gear we have on us. You're a second shadow, man," Kika reprimanded him. There was a moment of silence as the Shade perceived something most people couldn't. "He's sulking," she said. You could hear the eye-roll in her voice.

"You guys are weird," Elsyria snorted, leaving the room. "Is Nadia doing alright?" Nadia was the last leader of a military branch, specifically Downfall, the artillery of the cult. She was also one of only two fallen angels in the whole cult despite their size. The fallen, after being abandoned by the biblical god, weren't all that interested in religion.

"Yeah, they're the most well trained out of all of us right now," Kika said, suddenly next to her somehow. The priestess didn't bother to look at her. She knew she wouldn't see anything.

"Neither Irisai nor Akame know much about magic."

"Well, not real magic. Irisai's powerful but primitive. I still can't believe her people manage to cast magic all the time and not use a spell circle."

"Aren't they just making portals to that Aetherius place?" Elsyria wondered.

"The denizens of Tamriel send mana through some sort of innate connection to this Aetherius plane and out comes an effect. It reminds me a little of blood binding magic except everyone has a binding to a whole plane instead of one or two people to a family treasure. It's weird that her magic works at all, actually."

"But it's not useful to us."

"Oh, not in the slightest." Kika chuckled. The two stopped their conversation when they heard chanting and the sound of a whetstone against steel as they neared the yard.

"-for I shall cut down a thousand enemies in his name *Shing* and a thousand more in the honor of his consorts. *shing* May the edge prove my faith, *shing* the spine my resolution, *shing* the hilt my commitment, *shing* and the blood my accomplishments in these deeds I commit unto you. I-"

"Burmy," Elsyria interrupted him. It wasn't very polite to interrupt somebody praying but Burmy could go on for over ten minutes just talking about his swords or making comparisons between swords and something else.

"High priestess," he greeted with a polite smile, not seeming angry at all that he had been interrupted. He was in the more casual robes the cultists usually wore around headquarters or the few sanctuaries they had. They weren't very different from normal magician's robes, having a few purple accents and a spot for the cloth patterns used to determine rank if the cultist was formally military. He was a very average looking man, brown eyes and hair with a slightly large nose. Everything else was under the robes. "What can I do for you?"

"I'd like to know if you need any help with Irisai occupied." Elsyria cut to the chase.

"No thanks. Her being gone is going to slow down my own training but I could use some time to practice alone, reinforcing what she's taught me, though I do miss the sound of her steel hissing through the air." He smiled a little dreamily. It didn't fool anyone. Burmy didn't care all that much for Irisai. He probably missed her swords more than the elf herself.

"And the men?"

"Oh, they'll be alright. We're still drilling the basics for the most part and I can do that myself. It's a good time to work on our touki, though." Both the women noticed how his fingers were rubbing at the spine of the broadsword he was sharpening, eager to get back to work.

"If you say so."

"I do. Goodbye, high priestess, and thank you for your concern." Burmy looked back down at the sword and started sharpening again, completely focused on his task. Elsyria walked away from the yard a little faster than she came, a little sick of prayers about swords.

"I still think you could find a better fit for the Scourge." Kika reappeared.

"He's the best swordsman we have by far, Irisai excluded. He's also one of the best with touki and we both know that he can actually lead a disciplined group," she replied.

"That doesn't mean there won't be better fits."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it… now come on. I need a nap." Elsyria yawned to emphasize her point.

"Uh huh. I'm going to go check on my people. See if security's still airtight. I always want to stab something after seeing Burmy and I don't know why. Maybe his love for swords is infectious because I don't really dislike the guy. Anyways, see ya El."

"Bye, Kika." Elsyria arrived back at the room behind the main podium and sat down in a comfortable armchair after locking the door. It wouldn't stop one of the silent but people wouldn't walk in on their high priestess taking a snooze.

'Heading into the conference soon. Wish me luck,' she prayed to her god.

Luckily for her he was paying attention and wasn't busy. 'I think I made a lot of people very happy tonight,' the voice of her god spoke to her. The sheer power he possessed sometimes made her feel like a child looking up to a parent. She could feel the kaleidoscope of elements that composed him and the void felt sharper than it ever felt for her. 'Thank you again for dealing with the yokai. I hope the support they give is worth the more public face.'

There was no need to thank her. The gratefulness he felt for her was like a boulder pressing onto her. She felt more loved than she had ever felt even with her blood family. And she knew that this was just a passing appreciation for her. His soul's vastness, his aura he called it, served to display just how much more he was than any mere mortal, devil, angel, or spirit. He simply felt more than any lesser beings because he was more.

'It's my pleasure! It's always a pleasure!' And it truly was. She wasn't a true believer at first, she was ashamed to admit, though she had noble intentions. Now she was a true devotee. She would die for her god if he only asked. She knew, somewhere deep in her soul, that she would join him in depth, contribute to the greatness of his soul.

'Good to know. Oh, wait, are you tired? Here.' Her god suddenly blessed her. A small shard of his power, more than all of hers cumulatively, descended unto her and worked its miracles through her soul. She gasped as she felt instant clarity. Her mind, dulled with fatigue, was sharpened to the point that the world appeared in a completely different light. She felt awake for the first time in her life. 'I've tried using mind affinity as a stimulant to stave off tiredness for myself recently. Fatigue is entirely mental for me, after all. I don't need to sleep in mind or body, though I still do most nights, but for you it must be nice to think so clearly. Remember to sleep a lot soon. I don't think the long term effects of this are pleasant. Goodbye, Elsyria. Have a nice night.'

She nodded with a grin on her face, her thoughts clearer than crystal, more like polished diamonds. A blessing for her to outwit the yokai and contend with Yasaka's centuries of experience as a leader. Even now her god's generosity astounded her. She felt jealous of Esdeath and Kuroka, being so close to her god, closer than she could ever be. But they were above her head and shoulders, warriors almost without peer and heroes in their own right. She was no hero, no prodigy or saint or outstanding in any real way, but she would serve her god with all she could.

Praise be!