Die. Respawn. Repeat.

Chapter 146: Book 3: Quantum Model

I hesitate for a moment before I agree. There's no specific reason for that hesitation; Kauku hasn't asked me to do anything I wouldn't be willing to do anyway. More than that, he seems pleased that I'm his Heir, and while I don't know specifically what that means, it does seem to imply that he has a vested interest in my success.

It just feels like there are holes in what he's said. For one thing, he's already told me that whatever secret I need to bring Gheraa back is within the heart of the Empty City; what help is he offering, exactly? Is there something specific I'll need his help for, or is he just offering to help make the process easier?

"How exactly can you help me?" I ask. "Don't get me wrong—I'm happy to help. I'd just like to understand what this deal is." I pause. "And how just bringing you something is going to let you answer questions you couldn't answer before."

Kauku laughs at that last remark, shooting me a surprisingly human grin. At the very least, he doesn't seem offended by the questions. "The rules are based on equivalent value," he says, a low rumble of amusement in his voice. "You're asking for information that carries quite a bit of value, and saving your friend has quite a lot of value as well. I cannot give you what you want unless you offer me something of equal value."

"And I can't just... give up an Inspiration?" I ask, glancing back at the columns behind me. Not that I want to give one of them up, but I want to know what my options are here. Kauku snorts in response, folding massive arms across his chest.

"Clever. But no; those things hold no value to someone like me." There's a small moment of hesitation, then Kauku's smile vanishes. To my surprise, he kneels, bringing his head level with mine. He rests one enormous hand on my shoulder. "I do not often plead with anyone, but... please, Ethan. This means a lot to me."

"I'm not saying no!" I protest, a little startled—and perhaps a little uncomfortable—by how earnest Kauku is all of a sudden. "I will help you. But I need to know what form your help is going to take, so I can at least plan for it."

"The Empty City is difficult to navigate," Kauku answers. He stands back up on his feet, dusting off his knees. He's surprisingly calm suddenly, as if he wasn't just on his knees a moment ago. "All dungeons are, but the Empty City is particularly so by intent. You may have gathered that the City was overtaken by a particular type of Firmament."

"Color Drain. I remember." A lot has happened since reading that record, so in all honesty, the memory is fuzzier than I would like—but some things still stand out to me. The desperation to save a dying city. The corruption of all Firmament within that city, causing structures to collapse and imbuements to fall apart. The discovery that there was a plague of distorted trees rooting through the sewers and spreading that corrupted Firmament...

"Indeed," Kauku says. "Some types of Firmament are more dangerous than others; Color Drain is one of them, if allowed to run amok. Even putting aside its other effects, it can be particularly disorienting on the mind."

I nod slowly. "But that's not the real problem, is it?"

"It is not," the skeletal dragonoid confirms. He takes a step back, then waves his hand, producing an image of a broken, crumbling city—

—I narrow my eyes. This isn't an image. This is...

I think this is the actual city.

It might just be floating in front of me, but I can vaguely sense the movement of Firmament within that city. The resolution of my senses isn't quite enough to reach into it and see if my items are in there, but as far as I can tell, this isn't a projection.

I'm starting to think it's more important than ever that I figure out what Kauku is. He's said he'll tell me, I know, and I trust that he will—but just because he'll tell me eventually doesn't mean I have to settle with waiting.

This display of power doesn't even seem to be a stretch for him. He's just casually altering reality on a local scale.

"Ethan?" Kauku's voice prompts me gently, and I blink. "You seem distracted."

"Sorry," I say. I affect a slight laugh, though it comes off a little insincere. "That's just... a very realistic model."

I reach out to give it a little poke, flinching as I feel Firmament rearing up around my finger. The dirt is still crushed beneath my finger, leaving an imprint. Kauku makes a sound that's halfway between a growl and a huff, and he waves me back. "Do not touch it. It is delicate. Besides, you are missing the important thing."

He gestures for me to look underneath the model and I do—but almost as soon as I do, I flinch, taking a few steps back. There are what look like miles of oily, inky tendrils, slowly shifting about beneath the surface of the Empty City; they ooze with corrupted Firmament, stray drops slipping off into the void beneath us. There's an instinctive and visceral feeling of disgust as I look at it, intrusive and foreign.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"You understand, then," Kauku says.

"There's something in there." I try to push past the disgust as I stare at whatever this is—a tangle of roots, connecting and disconnecting with one another, sometimes breaking off into formless void and other times spawning from the void. In the middle of them, though, there's something that appears to shine through. I see glimpses of a prismatic co—

Kauku waves again, and the city disappears. "I apologize—interacting with that Firmament is still dangerous for you at your stage of development. I believe you understand, though. The city's underbelly is constantly changing, and navigating through that mess will cost you, even protected as you are with the Interface and your skills."

"And you can do something to help me with that?" I ask. There's definitely some strain left behind—a slight ache in my head, and an uncomfortable, coiling sensation in my gut—but I do my best to ignore it.

"I can cut through it for you," Kauku says. "It will lessen the time that your journey takes. I cannot eliminate the danger entirely, of course, but I can guarantee that you will reach your destination within three branches rather than the infinitely many you would otherwise take."

"I... see." I take a step back, trying to clear my head. There's no reason not to accept his help—that thing looks like a nightmare to navigate on my own. "Alright. I guess we're working together, then."

I reach out with a hand. Kauku stares at it curiously. "What is this?"

"You know what I'm going to do next, my motivations, and apparently half the secrets of the universe, but you don't know what a handshake is?" I grin at him. Kauku bristles for a moment before he realizes I'm teasing him; he lets out a breath and chuckles.

"You would do well not to cross me," he says, reaching out to grasp my hand. He sounds like he's teasing me right back, but... I can't help but think it's probably true. His grip is firm as we shake, and he tilts his head toward the Inspirations. "You will make your selection now, yes?"

"Yes," I say. I know what I'm going to pick, and I start toward it. The rightmost column for the Knight—

"Ethan." Something about Kauku's voice makes me freeze in my tracks. There's a note of... it's difficult to read. Pride? Warning? A mix of both, I think, although there's something else in there, too. "I told you the rules are based on equivalent value. If you give me something I value, then I must return an equal favor."

"I... remember that, yes." Because he just told me about it. Where is this going?

"You're pretty interesting." Kauku smirks at me. "And you've given me something I haven't had for quite some time: hope. I will not answer your questions, but I will give you something you need more. Two things, in fact."

I have no idea how to respond. "Thank you?"

Kauku snorts. "Do not thank me yet."

He takes a few steps forward, stopping just in front of me; for a moment, he stares straight into my eyes in a way that sends a chill through my spine. All seven empty eye sockets seem to focus on me.

I feel the slightest touch of pressure.

"I have altered the parameters of your Interface," Kauku says. "Inspirations will no longer automatically trigger when you bank enough points for them. You will instead be able to trigger them manually. I suggest you do not trigger a second Inspiration until you have mastered the Knight."

"There's a reason for that, I suppose?" My heart is hammering, though for no particular reason that I can fathom. He seems to be impressing upon me the danger of this.

"An evolved Inspiration like the one you're about to take on will be difficult enough to deal with on its own," Kauku confirms. "Use it for a loop or two until you're sure you have it under control. If you take on two of these Inspirations at once without mastering the first, your body will be destroyed. Inside out. It will be unpleasant."

...What was going to happen to me if I hadn't been interesting to him? Kauku must guess what I'm thinking, because I see the faintest flicker of amusement, but he doesn't elaborate further.

"Use the Knight once you emerge and you'll understand what I mean," he says instead. "And a second thing. You're being hunted. Don't let that distract you from what you need to do, and don't let him fool you."

I'm what? I open my mouth to ask a question, but Kauku holds a finger in front of his mouth; apparently, he can't tell me any more. I try not to scowl—he's given me good information as it is—but my mind is spinning.

What does he mean, I'm being hunted? Why would I be hunted? I suppose Whisper or Teluwat might try to hunt me down, but I haven't even met the latter besides a halfhearted attempt to manipulate me. Whisper's down for the count and shouldn't be able to recover for years yet.

This feels like something else. But before I can think on it further, Kauku nudges me forward. I almost stumble into the Scholar by accident with the way he pushes me, but I manage to twist at the last moment and jam a hand into the Knight Inspiration. "Kauku, you can't just—"

The shape coalesces around me and turns into a blinding light. Pressure erupts all over my body. There's a distinct moment where it feels like every single layer of my Firmament is simultaneously trying to peel itself apart. I grit my teeth against the onslaught of pain—this is far from the first time receiving an Inspiration has been painful, but this is the first time it's been this real. I gasp for air, squeezing my eyes shut to try to block out the light, and then—

"...Ethan? Ethan!" Ahkelios tugs on my hand. I blink a few times, trying to figure out what's going on. He's tugging on my hand kind of heavily.

Oh. Because I'm dangling off the ledge and Ahkelios is barely managing to hold me up.

"Don't trigger Inspirations on dangerous ledges," he grumbles at me, but there's a distinct note of relief in his voice when I swing myself back up onto the ledge. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I say. I can feel the Knight within me. Kauku's right—this Inspiration is going to take a lot to use. It's more alive than any other Inspiration I have, and unlike the others, it doesn't stay asleep when I'm not using it. It wants to act, and it wants to act now.

Might as well give it a test drive. The words come to my head without any conscious deliberation behind them.

Inspired Evolution: Knight.