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THE DARKNESS gradually abated. It got a bit brighter but not enough to see my own fingers. Then an impenetrable lilac fog enshrouded me. And with that fog came the sensation that someone else was in the room.
I hurriedly activated Sixth Sense and half closed my eyes ― the fog was shimmering and glinting with millions of bright lilac protuberances.
“Who’s there?” I asked, trying to make my voice sound flat. In reality though, I was as far from calm as I was physically from Orchus.
“It is I,” murmured the reply.
It was impossible to tell where the voice was coming from. The bristly mocking voice seemed to be coming from every direction. As if the fog itself was speaking to me.
It was like thousands of eyes were studying me. I again felt like a moth about to be pinned to a board and made part of a collection.
From quiet contemplation, the mysterious bristly speaker got straight to action.
— Attention! You have been subjected to mental magic!
― Attack repulsed!
This unity with chaos is proving quite strange. I clenched my teeth and attacked the fog with lightning.
“You’re wasting your mana,” came the mocking voice again.
— Attention! You have been subjected to mental magic!
― Attack repulsed!
Abyss! After blasting a ram in front of me and casting a few icicles in various directions, I stopped and panted. I decided to save the powerful spells until I could determine my opponent’s location. Tossing on muckwalker’s aura and invisibility, I took another look around. I thought for a second, and also activated ice golem’s breath.
My actions just amused the unknown being. I heard mocking laughter.
— Attention! You have been subjected to mental magic!
― Attack repulsed!
Suddenly the laughter stopped.
“Curious,” came my foe, clearly surprised. “How about this?”
Yet another notification popped up to say I’d repulsed a mental attack.
“Impossible!” the unknown figure exclaimed, baffled. For the first time, new emotions started slipping through in its voice.
In the following several moments, I saw dozens of new notifications flash before my eyes. They were all identical to the first. The mysterious lilac fog could not hack through my will. But for how long? I was getting the impression that the intensity of the mental attacks was gradually increasing.
“You’ve actually surprised me, mortal!” I could sense excitement and frustration in the unknown entity’s intonations. “Who are you?”
“It is I.” It was now my turn to joke.
“Acting smart?” the being asked with a colorless voice.
“Take it as you will,” I answered.
“Alright,” the entity squeezed out, somehow too softly. Its tone beckoned me to come closer. “We seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot. I am a Chaos Spirit, Keeper of this Citadel. Now who are you?”
My intuition was telling me that the spirit’s voice hadn’t just become so soft and kindly for no reason. I suddenly got the sense that the being was amassing power for a new attack. There, the fog even seemed to lose color. And why wasn’t it using any physical attacks? Was this whole thing meant to be a mental fight? There was no one to ask. Pinebogey and Dobbess didn’t know a thing about the Unity ceremony. Seemingly, this chance was only given to those that killed a powerful agent of chaos, or those bearing the blood of the ancients. That must have been what the Gatekeeper meant when he said there was no one like me here.
“A contender that came here to be tested,” I answered without missing a beat.
“You are the first to be brought before me in a long time.”
The voice grew softer. It must be killing time.
“You are not just any old contender,” came the spirit, continuing in what felt to me like an overly dramatic tone. “You are here to become one with Chaos!”
“And what does that mean?” As I asked my question, I could feel in my bones how happy it made the spirit. It thought it had my guard down.
“It means that Chaos will share its power and might with you! In return you will become Its loyal servant and constant aide!”
The last part put me on guard. The tricky Snake had neglected to mention that when filling my head with sky-high prospects and opportunities. Actually, why neglected? No, she had intentionally left this out – the most important part. This was yet another attempt to enslave me! I must give the Gatekeeper his due though. Back in the tunnel, he made a point to say it was all up to me.
“And what if I refuse the honor?” I asked, preparing to activate everything in my arsenal.
The lilac fog flickered again just like before. The protuberances seemed to be larger though. My question was clearly not to the spirit’s liking.
“That’s no longer of any importance!” the chaos spirit said vengefully and attacked yet again.
I got extremely dizzy and a system message came before my eyes saying the spirit had managed to break my will.
“Yes!” it wailed out joyfully. There was so much excitement and satisfaction in its voice.
But its triumph was short lived. The Great System informed me that one of my hunter abilities had just tripped ― Shield of Will. I now had much more mana than before, so the spirit again failed to subjugate me.
To say that the keeper of the citadel was incensed would be a massive understatement. The lilac fog grew denser, threatening to suffocate me like a little insect. But I already knew that I had nothing to fear but mental attacks. However though, during the brief instant when the spirit had been able to subdue my will, all its feelings, emotions and even clipped fragments of its memory flooded down on me.
I learned that it was not exactly free either. And that, by chaos spirit standards, this one was not all that mighty. Just a minor spirit, which was imprisoned in this citadel by a supreme Primordial a very long time ago. It nourishes this place with its magic, and the forces of chaos nourish it by bringing particles from the labyrinth. However, the once free chaos spirit, accustomed to liberty and disorder, had been transformed by its centuries of captivity into a world-weary and spiteful entity.
I also knew that it hated this place and was secretly waiting for a chance to escape. And now today its chance had come. With my help.
The momentary wave of its thoughts and emotions that flickered through my head was extensive and vivid. It felt like thousands of red-hot needles being poked into my brain all at once. The gods alone could say how I was able to keep my wits about me.
I somehow got a handle on the weakness that had overtaken my entire body and hurriedly glanced at my magic supply. Just a quarter left. Now I knew: if I didn’t stop the spirit soon, it would break through my defenses. The only thing standing between me and the fate of becoming a submissive little puppet was the mana in my supply, which was gushing out like water from a leaky bucket.
The spirit understood that, so its attacks were growing more frequent. Based on how the fog was turning pale and the once lilac protuberances were losing color, it was also about to tire itself out.
I was not going to give up just like that, so I dashed toward the exit. Or rather to where I thought the exit should have been. The spirit didn’t react to my moves whatsoever. It was too concentrated on my defenses.
I took a few long jumps and hoped I was next to the arch. But alas, there was fog everywhere. Another couple jumps. Nothing. No walls, no arch. Solid fog.
But there was a floor beneath me! I crouched down and lowered a hand. I felt cold scratchy rock. There we go! I’ll break out through the floor.
Feverishly thinking through what spells to cast underfoot, I suddenly sensed something else. Or rather, someone else. When I realized what was happening, my mouth spread into a rapacious smile.
The Seeds of the Great Forest had awakened! Sensing hostile magic too close by, they had kept quiet at first. And it was not fear or fright. No. They were experiencing insatiable hunger and demanding I feed them immediately. There was no time to think over why they hadn’t made a peep for so long. My supply was down to its last crumbs of mana. The chaos spirit, not expecting any more surprises, was going full bore.
Quickly plunging a hand into my backpack, I grabbed all three seeds. When I opened my hand and glanced at them, I had to overcome an immediate desire not to shove them back into my pack. They looked like burning sparks. As soon as the magic waves of emerald light emanating from them touched the lilac fog, then in the blink of an eye absorbed several dozen of the protuberances, I felt my supply stop losing mana. In fact, a moment later, my mana started filling up faster than ever.
Then I heard the spirit give a frightened cry, which transformed into a shriek in just a few seconds:
“No! What have you done?!”
Despite the fact that chaos was theoretically strong against forest magic, in this case it didn’t matter. The minor spirit couldn’t cope with a newly awakened and famished Heart of the Forest. And I meanwhile, had a whole three of them seated on my palm. Beyond that, the spirit was already quite drained.
The seeds swallowed up chunks of the lilac fog, growing before my very eyes until they were the size of chicken eggs. I had to move one of them to my other hand.
“Stop!” the spirit squealed.
“Why should I do that?” I chuckled. “My children are hungry.”
Though I had already realized that, if I let this keep going, I would soon lose control of the situation.
“I beg you, stop this!” the spirit shouted. “If you kill me, the only citadel of chaos in this world will be left defenseless!”
“Is that so?” I asked in surprise. “Then why didn’t that seem to bother you when you were thinking of flying the coop?”
Based on the bitter sigh, my awareness level caught it by surprise.
“What do you want?!” it cried out.
“Now that’s more like it,” I stated. “First of all, stop attacking me.”
“Done,” the spirit called back at once.
“Okay,” I said, stashing the seeds. I had to strain to hold in the sigh of relief. To be frank, based on the speed they were growing, I was already starting to doubt that I would be able to get them back in my pack. But strange as it may have been, everything was fine. Honestly though, I could sense how displeased they were. It was like I’d pulled them away from a sweet piece of candy.
“Don’t worry,” I decided to reach out to them mentally. “You’ll have plenty of tasty treats soon enough.”
Suddenly, all three of them asked a question at the same time that just about made me stutter.
“When?!”
“Soon enough,” I answered, squirming. A-hem... Pinebogey is gonna have a lot to do.
“We’ll be waiting...”
I choked. Little predators. Gorgie now had competition.
“What do you want?” came the spirit again, now in a calmer voice. The lilac fog now looked like an old moth-eaten blanket. Hm... I think I really dealt a blow to the Citadel today. The forces of chaos will have to work overtime running through the labyrinth for particles.
“I came here to get stronger. Can you help me with that?”
“Well, you must have realized already that I am essentially the Citadel’s supply, right?” the spirit muttered back.
“Come now, don’t go feeling sorry for yourself,” I chuckled. “Is there anything you can do? Or should I just feed you to my hungry babies?”
The three simultaneous voices squealing “Ye-e-es!!!” made me shudder.
Abyss! I need to hand them off to Pinebogey right away. Let them be his headache. I was not hired to play nanny to a trio of little gluttons.
The spirit quickly realized its error and hurriedly started:
“I have one little thing. Its ancient. I got it from a long-departed Gatekeeper. I’m sure you’ll like it. Here. Take it. As you folk say it comes ‘from the heart.’“
Sure, but the thing is you don’t have a heart. I wonder what happened to that Gatekeeper. Strange as it may have been, without suspecting it, the spirit had led me to an idea.
― Congratulations! For meritorious service to the Forces of Chaos, the Keeper of the Citadel grants you:
― Iridescent Tablet “Avatar of Chaos” (1).
I quickly read the message and held my breath unwittingly. My state did not go unnoticed by the spirit.
“Like it?” it asked softly.
“I do,” I answered honestly. “But it isn’t enough.”
“Well it’s all I have,” the spirit responded, dumbfounded.
Based on its emotions, I don’t think this is a lie. But it’s still a shame...
“Then here’s what,” I continued. To be frank, I was starting to enjoy calling the shots. I felt no pity for the spirit. Whatsoever. Just a few minutes earlier, it was trying to transform me into a subservient little puppet. So it could have a little patience now. As a matter of fact, it got off easy.
“I’m listening,” the spirit answered docilely.
“The troll Gatekeeper,” I said. “I need him. Would it be in your power to set him free? Or is that for the magister to decide?”
Despite the troll’s melodramatic speeches about the majesty of chaos, I saw a look in his eyes when I told him about his brethren and the Stone Forest. I was sure he would give up a lot to return to his homeland.
If the spirit had teeth, I’d probably be hearing them grinding.
“It is in my power,” it responded with a colorless voice. “You may take him. He’s yours.”
“Uh, no,” I said, sensing a nasty trick. “I want all his oaths gone. He needs to be completely free. Alive and well, too.”
“If you say so,” the spirit answered coldly and added: “From this minute, he is entirely free. He is also in no danger.”
I chuckled, picturing the troll’s face when he got the message. Hopefully, he wouldn’t give me a slap for taking such matters into my own hands.
“And now, the nice part,” I snorted, sensing the fog around me go tense. “I have a couple chaos particles here. What do you say we exchange them at a fair rate? What do you exchange them for, by the way?”
The fog lit up, its lilac shade growing more saturated.
“Chaos tokens,” the spirit responded a bit too quickly. “How many particles do you have?”
“Almost thirty thousand chaos and a couple thousand fire and water. Do you want those as well, by the way?”
“Of course!” the spirit squealed. Seemingly, this was a feast beyond its wildest dreams.
“So, without induction or reputation, can I visit your armory?”
“You will be given full access!” it answered chipperly with a bit of impatience.
― Congratulations! For meritorious service to the Forces of Chaos, the Keeper of the Citadel grants you:
― Amulet “Friend of Chaos” (1).
We spent the next few minutes trading. In the end, I got just shy of twenty thousand chaos tokens. For the record, the spirit gave the most tokens for the fire particles. While it would trade Chaos one to two, Fire was at a one-to-one rate.
“And one last thing,” I said right before leaving. “What do you know about the dynasty of the Steel Kings?”
His forces noticeably replenished after the huge serving of particles, the lilac fog started rippling. The spirit didn’t like that question.
“They are ancient enemies of chaos!”
“Where does their power lie?”
“I don’t know,” the spirit answered thoughtfully. “Nobody knows. There is only one man who can answer that question, but he took that secret with him to the grave. I am speaking of Gunnar the Destroyer.”
I just nodded in silence and turned to the newly opened arch. Apparently, Egbert did have good reason for seeking the Tomb of the Founder after all.
The magister was waiting for me at the exit. If looks could freeze, I’d have been turned into an ice sculpture on the spot.
“You’ve let me down me!” she hissed.
“And you me,” I shrugged. “You sold me a pack of lies, then tried to feed me to batty old spirit. What did you think would happen when you sent me there? Did you think I’d just throw up my hands and give up?”
“You... You...” the primordial was seemingly not accustomed to such a tone.
“You should be thanking me,” I squeezed out when I saw her boiling over.
“Thanking you for what exactly?!” her eyes squinted menacingly. Her hissing made a chill run down my spine. “You practically destroyed everything that took us so long to build! You deprived the Citadel of its powerful Gatekeeper. You...”
I could see she was on edge. Another little push and the ancient nightmare creature Nure-onna would take her true form. The snakefolk accompanying her had already jumped aside in horror.
“I saved your citadel,” I said, trying not to let my voice quaver. “That minor spirit wanted to flee after so much time chained up. It tried to subdue me. And I don’t think I have to tell you what happened next.”
My words had the desired effect. Nure-onna’s cold composure slowly returned.
“And the fact that I demanded compensation for the trouble is my right as victor.”
I saw rage in the magister’s snake eyes, but seemingly the storm had passed. Running an apathetic gaze over the Friend of Chaos amulet around my neck, she loudly announced:
“You have one day! After that, I will no longer tolerate your presence inside the citadel. If you’re still here, it’s your funeral.”
