Will of chaos

Pov Mavor:

Aahhh… aahhh… aahhhh…

Sigh

Ahhh… aahhhh…

I regained consciousness and found myself on a destroyed planet, its laws in tatters, the space around the planet chaotic, with pieces of the Universal Golem scattered about, causing spatial disturbances as well as strong fluctuations in the power of reality.

I was floating on a piece of rock, my body in excruciating pain. Even my Soul must have been injured. Unfortunately, the sensation of those things crawling inside my body persists even though they’re no longer there, similar to phantom pain, meaning I’ve suffered mental trauma from this experience.

I couldn’t even use my Aura, but my senses, even faintly, still sensed the presence of someone beside me, someone so familiar it was impossible not to recognize even with such a slight scrutiny.

“We failed…” (me)

Sigh

“Is she still… alive…?” (me)

“Yes…” (Urak)

“How many…? How many… died…?” (me)

“None…” (Urak)

“…” (me)

“…” (Urak)

I raised my head, but it felt more like I was trying to lift a mountain using a normal human body; it was hard work, straining muscles I wasn’t sure I still had.

Looking around, I first saw Urak sitting beside me. She was limp as she sat with her back against a piece of broken glass. One of her arms was almost devoid of flesh, and I could see her bones inside her body, as well as the metal of the Anomalous Armor we’d absorbed, slowly spreading.

“(The Anomalous Armor…!?)” (me)

I close my eyes for a moment and try to feel the Anomalous Armor on my body. It was spreading too. Much of the anxious emotions I was feeling were because the Anomalous Armor was trying to integrate itself more with me. It wasn’t because of my current state; I was being influenced in my moment of weakness.

“Urak… the Armor…!” (me)

“I know… I can hear its… voice in my… head…” (Urak)

“He… that damned insect…!” (Urak)

“He broke… the seals…” (Urak)

“!!!” (me)

“Urak, we have to go… to that place…” (me)

“…” (Urak)

“…” (me)

I didn’t need to say anything else to her, she already knew where I was talking about. My eyes wandered around and saw unconscious Ascended floating in space or lying on pieces of World Golems, Universal Golems, and Universal ships.

The Ascended were all seriously injured, some with only broken bones, but the vast majority were incomplete. Surprisingly, no one I saw was dead, yet they were all unconscious.

“Can you… move…?” (me)

“No… just my head…” (Urak)

“Then leave everything… to me…” (me)

“< Law of Creation: Golem Creation >” (me)

I couldn’t use much energy, nor could I use my Aura. My mind was exhausted and my body was mutilated. Yet, my Law was still intact. Using this Law to forge simple Golems wasn’t that difficult, and it didn’t require anything refined or detailed.

The Golems quickly begin to form, following the simplest diagrams I could find in my memory. They used whatever was around them as material, and the pain of using a power that was already nearly depleted runs through me.

Even so, I continue to slow down a bit. I don’t like feeling pain, but this isn’t the first time, and it probably won’t be the last time I’ve felt it. Whereas I was once capable of creating millions of such simple Golems almost instantly, it now takes me several minutes to create less than a thousand of them, many still deformed or missing parts of their structure.

I consider such works shameful failures, but they will serve my current purpose. I also won’t deny my temporary inability to do better.

Once created, it was easy to control them. Unlike other Ascendants who need to use their Auras to control the Golems, I, as their creator, can use only my Will to control them, since my Law there circulates their bodies.

Doing so was easier than creating their bodies, so I had them rescue Urak and me first, taking us to the most complete and least damaged ship nearby. I then had half the golems repair the ship while the rest gathered the still-unconscious Ascended.

After two hours, I was able to move at some level. Urak, who had focused solely on healing himself, could now walk normally despite his weakness.

The ship was now complete enough for us to move. I had also gathered all the Ascended into the ship.

“Why all this care for them?” (Urak)

“Building goodwill with her is our best option.” (Me)

“What we’re about to do is a desperate act. I don’t like it, and I don’t know if we’ll ever return, but it’s better than the alternative.” (me)

“I don’t want to die…” (Urak)

“Neither of us…” (me)

———————

Pov Zenos:

I was sitting across from Ronan. His body looked new, without any visible wounds or marks of combat.

I myself had fully recovered, at least physically from the injuries I’d suffered, but the black veins were still scattered throughout my body. It was also difficult to move my body. My energy was a resounding no, it felt like I was trying to move liquid metal through my veins.

“When will I receive my reward?” (me)

“After the current dispute is over, the rules state that those involved cannot send anything or anyone to this universe, so I can’t deliver it immediately.” (Ronan)

“I hope you won’t break your promise.” (me)

“My pride wouldn’t allow it. You will have your reward, I guarantee that, but I also expect you to fulfill the conditions we discussed.” (Ronan)

“The alliance… I still don’t know what you’re looking for with this.” (Me)

“Just the pride of being the first to make an Alliance with the Bringer of Chaos.” (Ronan)

“…” (Me)

“Don’t look at me like that. I don’t know much, and Pride has his own interests. It’s not my place to question her. I serve my mistress and I take pride in my position.” (Ronan)

“I’ll keep the possibility open. At the end of all this, I’ll give you an answer the same time I receive the reward.” (Me)

“I’m happy about that and hope to receive a positive response.” (Ronan)

“We’ll see…” (me)

I’m still not sure what the Entity of Pride is thinking. Just as Curse planned millions of years ahead about these two new races, about something that just happened. I can’t deny the certainty that Pride is planning something ahead as well. I’m not even sure if this isn’t already a plan unfolding as I wanted it to from the beginning. I can’t underestimate any possibility when an Entity is involved.

“I’m already done.” (Lolth)

Lolth quickly approached. She didn’t seem tired, even smiling as she sat down next to us, with Sarazar quickly settling down across from her.

“It will still take a few hours for everything on this planet to be drained to nourish these races.” (Sarazar)

“How is Yaffe?” (me)

“Radiant, she loves the power she now possesses and wants to keep a close eye on these two races. She didn’t want to leave the tree.” (Sarazar)

“Did the Twins say anything?” (me)

“Yes, they said you were reckless. What you did was equivalent to using a weapon of mass destruction, throwing it as if it were a normal spear.” (Lolth)

“Your body can’t handle the power of the Concept, and your Soul can’t handle it either. She said your power after healing will be closer to that of the Avatars, your body will adapt more to your Concept after this experience. Even so, the risk was too great.” (Lolth)

“I know, I can feel it…” (me)

“No, it’s not, the damage was great. I can see your Soul and feel your Existential Spark. The damage was close to critical. This will probably be the second-largest scar on your Soul.” (Sarazar)

“…” (me)

The Twins don’t seem to like what I did, but it’s not like I had a choice. I was facing an Entity. Even if it was only controlling the body and power of its Avatar, it was still far ahead of me, as if it could prepare in advance for anything I was about to do. Its control over that power was also monstrous.

If it hadn’t been for my boldness in doing this, I could have lost this fight. Losing this fight would have been the same as dying, perhaps even worse than dying, since I have no idea what Curse could do to me if it got its hands on me.

From what Curse said, it seems he wanted to use me to forge a tool, but I’m not sure if there would be any of my Soul or even my Existential Spark left; I don’t know the Entities’ ways.

Perhaps Curse hoped to defeat me and obtain my Concept. If he failed, he would still have these two races for future Avatars. If he succeeded, he would have me and then go to these two races. It would be a win-win situation regardless of the outcome.

“(That’s why Curse was so calm when he lost…)” (me)

“How long will I be like this?” (me)

“A few years, maybe centuries if it were another Concept, but the power of Chaos you possess is based on transformation. Your body and Soul are already adapting as we speak. I can’t predict how long it will take.” (Lolth)

“Our best guess is less than a month.” (Sarazar)