The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 440

ARTHUR LEYWIN

“It was a loose idea at best, Arthur,” Caera said with uncharacteristic hesitance, her tone almost pleading. “A whim really. If it’s not possible…I’m not an artificer…you don’t need to take it so seriously…”

I was sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of Seris with Realmheart active, the violet runes it conjured burning beneath my eyes as I carefully watched her focus mana into and through the rotting head of Sovereign Orlaeth. “I’m taking it seriously because I think it might just work.”

Caera’s answering frown was contemplative as it turned from me to Seris. I followed her gaze.

Seris’s alabaster skin was sickly gray and covered in a sheen of perspiration. Even since our arrival, she seemed to have shrunk into herself.

I needed to understand exactly what was happening between her, the machinery, and the cadre of other mages acting as a living battery.

At first, it seemed impossible that she had been able to keep this up for two weeks without rest. Her mana signature was incredibly weak, her core nearly empty. Her feat would not have been possible at all except for the fact that, in her desperation, she had developed her own rudimentary version of mana rotation that allowed her to absorb and purify mana from the atmosphere while also channeling it into the horn.

I followed the mana as it was drawn in through her veins to her core, where there was a constant swirl of purification before black-tinged mana was released to trail down her arm and into the gory artifact. From there, it seemed to condense rapidly—some inborn trait of the Vritra’s horn that I didn’t understand—before being drawn out again by the bright blue liquid.

The mana took on a darker hue after being released by the horn. Metallic wiring then guided it to several large crystals. These were being constantly imbued by a handful of mages each. Thanks to Realmheart’s ability to see the individual mana particles, I was able to follow along as chunks of stored mana were pulled out of the mana crystals and into artifacts that reminded me of old-school Earth satellite dishes.

These dishes, which were covered in a complex diagram of runes, condensed and projected the mana in such a way that it distorted the portals, creating something like a feedback loop in which the portals still existed, but anyone coming through them wouldn’t be able to leave before being drawn back through the portal and deposited on the other side.

As Cylrit explained it, the blue liquid was an alchemy of pulverized mana crystals suspended in a biologically-originated compound crafted mostly of mana beast cores and chemicals proven particularly adept at transmitting mana. In effect, Seris had invented a mana battery. In this case, however, the artifact was specifically designed to utilize Orlaeth’s mana, and their attempts to pivot to alternative sources had proved unsuccessful.

Caera’s idea would only be possible because of my presence.

After bursting out in a pained, manic laugh, Caera had grown nervous, clearly second-guessing herself. “Go on,” I’d encouraged her, curious. My own mind was already whirling with ideas as I struggled to see how to help Seris, and her input was welcome.

After clearing her throat and waving away the frustrated healer who was tending to her wound—which looked much worse than I had originally thought—she had said simply, “I was just thinking of your…unique magic, and how you may be the only person who could possibly even do something like this, but…could we somehow power this device using the abundant aether in the relictombs?”

Her simple suggestion had firmly planted the attention of all the many mages in the plaza back on me. Since the moment I’d appeared inside the Relictombs’ second level, I’d been on the receiving end of countless stares. Some gazed at me with starry-eyed wonder, while others glowered distrustfully, but everyone turned away when I met their eyes.

I had become something of a mythical figure in Alacrya since the Victoriad, it seemed.

At least it meant that, when I took over and started giving orders to the mages operating the disruption artifact, everyone listened.

I’d already been watching Seris’s process for quite some time. She had left it to her people to answer my many questions as she instead focused on the continued transmittal of mana.

My sister was asleep on a cot straight ahead of me, Boo passed out beside her. Both had pushed themselves to the extreme in escaping the last zone. I was thankful that Ellie had continued to push herself while I’d been gone for nearly two months, as Gideon and Emily’s testing had helped her discover an additional connection between Boo and herself. Her ability to imbue mana was limited by her own light-yellow core, but by drawing on Boo’s inherent mana, she could push far beyond her own limits.

As much as he burned out quickly, Chul recuperated just as fast. His many wounds were already scabbed over despite him not allowing the Alacryan healers to treat him. Now he paced around the outer perimeter of the plaza, drawing nervous looks from the ascenders.

Sylvie and Regis stayed near me. They kept their thoughts quiet and unobtrusive, but our connection was never entirely severed. Sylvie’s mind was buzzing with the aftermath of her experience in the Relictombs, but we hadn’t had a moment to talk about it. Regis, on the other hand, was laser-focused on my task, attentive to each detail. Even though I didn’t experience his thoughts directly, I could still feel the gears of his mind turning like the shadow of my own.

“There are three main obstacles to this sort of conversion,” I said softly so that only the handful of people directly around me could hear. “The battery housing here was designed from the ground up to make use of this Vritra’s mana as a source. Because of how the basilisk’s physiology utilizes mana, the withdrawal and disbursement of that mana can’t be effective with any other source that I know of. A mana crystal just can’t be condensed enough to handle the draw.”

One of Seris’s Imbuers shrugged uncertainly. “Yes, this has been the primary roadblock we’ve experienced. Seris’s active focus has been the only alternative to work so far, but that is obviously unsustainable.”

“That also means that this design is basically useless for the storage or transmission of aether,” I continued. “The second problem is the projection artifacts. The runes are specifically designed to work with mana, and not only that, but decay-attribute mana natively associated with the basilisk race.”

“We designed additional runework,” Cylrit replied. He was standing behind and beside Seris, looming over the tank where she held the Vritra’s horn, his arms crossed. “But without being able to channel enough pure mana, the alternative projection artifacts were useless. And it is exceedingly dangerous to switch between the designs, as taking down more than one or two of the artifacts weakens the disruption.”

I nodded, unsurprised. “But the biggest problem is that there is no way to collect ambient aether into the machine, even if we are able to correct the other two problems. I don’t even know if something like that is possible. Even the Relictombs themselves, which exist in a place entirely made of aether, degrade and collapse with time. The very nature of aether is actually counter to what we’re trying to do.”

Sylvie looked up, her gaze sharpening. “The armor draws in aether.”

I shook my head. “But to do anything with that aether, it still needs the person inside it”

‘Listen, we’re not trying to revolutionize the way we power all artifacts across the world, right? We just need to get the little rebel queen here unplugged and buy these people some time. So use me. I can draw in aether and focus it through the rest of this shit if you can make it all work.’

I hesitated. It was true that aetheric particles were naturally drawn to Regis; that fact was instrumental in my creation of the aether core to begin with.

We’d basically be replacing Seris with you. It would be a temporary bandage at best…

‘It seems worth a try.’ Sylvie rested her hand on Regis’s mane. ‘It will buy us all time at the very least.’

I examined my bond carefully. Lines of worry creased her brow and the corners of her lips, and there was a deep-set fatigue in her eyes, but her thoughts were clear-headed.

Seris shifted slightly, and the disruption of the mana wobbled. Her eyes moved beneath the closed lids.

I sighed. We had no time for a lengthy exploration of what was possible. If we were going to do anything to help Seris and prevent Agrona’s forces from piercing this level of the Relictombs, it needed to happen immediately.

“Tell me again about the fluid battery,” I said, and one of the Imbuers launched into a repeat of Cylrit’s earlier explanation.

As they spoke, I watched the particles moving within the horn and the bright liquid. I examined the housing and wiring again, as well as the relationship between the severed Vritra head and Seris’s mana. But I also paid careful attention to how the aether moved around this artifact as well. Because such a condensed amount of mana was suspended within the artifact, very little atmospheric aether existed inside of it.

With a thought from me, Regis became immaterial and drifted through the glass and into the rotting head within, casting dim purple light from the empty sockets.

‘I kind of like how this empty skull doesn't have seven different counter scenarios and plans intersecting across his thoughts at any given moment. You know, like a certain someone. I dare say it's almost peaceful,’ Regis japed.

The effect was immediate. More aether was drawn into the battery, flowing into the space not taken up by mana.

Releasing aether from my core, I encouraged it toward the device, willing it to displace the mana if necessary. The mana compressed further, allowing more room for the aether, which was then in turn drawn into the head by Regis’s presence. The horn didn’t absorb or condense the aether like it did Seris’s mana, but I hadn’t expected it to. Basilisks had no natural affinity for aether.

“Bring one of the spare projection artifacts and explain the runes to me.”

One of the Imbuers hurried to comply, soon returning with the round blue-tinted metal dish. He launched into a precise lecture about the function of the runes and how these differed from the ones currently in use. I was no expert in this matter, but I was the only one present with any insight into aether. Even as I thought this, though, I realized it might not be true.

“Does anyone here have knowledge of the bestowals?”

They exchanged looks, then Cylrit said, “There were two officiants on this level at the time it was taken. They are loyal to Agrona, so they were locked away within the High Hall with anyone else who fought against us.”

“The bestowment ceremony requires activation of aether to work. The artifacts those officiants use are what make that possible. Sylvie, go with them and interrogate those men. Use the artifacts—the staff and the bracelet, primarily—to see if you can come up with a rune sequence that will allow these projection devices to utilize aether instead of mana.”

“Of course,” Sylvie said with a nod, her wheat-blonde hair spilling down around the jet-black scales of the relic armor.

It made me feel more comfortable, somehow, to know that she was still being protected by it.

Sensing my thoughts, she raised a brow and gave me a wry smile, then hurried after the Imbuers.

I returned my focus to the battery itself. The mechanism was designed to store and release mana with no consideration to aether. The high density of mana within Orlaeth’s horn allowed the battery to create a draw that naturally pulled the mana along the connected wiring to the rest of the devices.

The real question was how—or even if—it was possible to adjust this battery so that it stored and transmitted aether instead of mana.

With Regis attracting aether, it already filled all the space between the mana particles, giving the bright blue liquid a lavender hue. Focusing on this loosely stored aether, I pushed it toward the wires and was surprised when some small number of particles, caught between mana particles, was pulled along into the rest of the machine. It dissipated upon reaching the mana crystal, but that proved the aether could be transmitted similar to mana.

‘Poop crystals,’ Regis thought suddenly, bringing my thought process to a grinding halt.

What?

‘The giant millipede,’ Regis said seriously. ‘The processed aether—poop crystals—some of them were about the same dimensions as these mana crystals. Maybe we can swap them out.’

I looked at Seris, still sitting silently right in front of me, her mana flowing endlessly into the Vritra horn in her grasp. “Can you hold on for a bit longer?”

Her head tilted slightly to the side, letting a lock of pearl-colored hair fall across her closed eyes. I wasn’t sure if she’d heard me, but then she nodded. “I can hear your mind whirling. Go, do what you need to do. I will be fine.”

I hesitated, certain that no reasonable person would describe her current condition as “fine,” but I knew what needed to be done, and that meant keeping her in place just a little while longer.

“Chul, come on,” I said, hopping to my feet and heading out of the plaza.

Caera started to stand, but I waved her down. “Rest,” I urged. “We won’t be gone long.”

***

“We’ll start here—the end of the chain and farthest from the source of power—and work backwards,” the head Imbuer, a mage of the Ainsworth highblood, said for what was probably the hundredth time as he instructed the other Imbuers.

Sylvie had returned from the High Hall shortly after Chul, Regis, and I got back from the giant millipede zone. Sylvie and the Imbuers, along with some less-than-eager assistance from the bestowal officiants and their artifacts, were able to mock up a combination of runes that proved capable of projecting aether with a similar effect as the current mana disruption.

I watched as the team quickly dismantled the device to replace the mana crystal and projection artifact. The moment the new equipment was in place, Regis began pushing aether out of the battery. It traveled along the wires, dissipating where it reached the other mana crystals but being absorbed into the newly placed aether crystal.

Nothing happened.

The Imbuers’ faces fell. Cylrit’s jaw clenched. Caera was wringing her hands, her face pale as she looked on nervously.

It’s about intention, I thought to Regis. Remember, the aether listens to you, responds to your intent. You can’t just push it, you have to guide it.

I felt Regis’s focus sharpen, extending to the aether he had sent into the crystal.

A few particles displaced from the crystal, running into the projection artifact. Then a few more. Slowly but surely, a steady trickle, then a stream of aether was flowing, until suddenly the device activated.

A wave of amethyst light distorted the air between the artifact and the portals.

It was working.

A collective held breath was released as the Imbuers cheered and clapped each other on the back. Cylrit gave me a firm nod, suddenly looking ten years younger.

Seris seemed oblivious, focused on the act of empowering all the other pieces of the disruption array.

“Well come on!” the Ainsworth Imbuer snapped. “No time to waste, let’s get the rest of these converted over.”

One by one, they changed out the original pieces of their design with the new, aether-aligned parts. With each addition, I helped Regis by forcing more of the mana out of the battery and infusing it with my own aether instead, allowing him to focus on just maintaining the flow.

More and more people arrived in the plaza as we worked. I recognized a couple of faces, such as Sulla of Named Blood Drusus, High Mage of the Cargidan Ascenders Hall and, surprising me, Kayden of Highblood Aphelion, the wounded professor I had taught alongside at Central Academy. Kayden gave me a jaunty wave from the outskirts of the plaza, where he lingered with feigned disinterest. Many others were clearly ranking Highbloods or ascenders as well.

It was a technically arduous process, and time ticked by slowly as the Imbuers labored. All together, it took hours before the last projection artifact was finally in place, the last crystal was changed, and all the mana was pushed out of the battery, leaving room for a significant deposit of aether.

Although I’d done little throughout, keeping Realmheart active for so long was taxing. It did not require a significant amount of aether to do so, but it was similar to keeping a muscle flexed for hours on end, and a dull headache was burning at the corners of my eyes.

It was with a feeling of relief that I released the godrune, feeling the energy burning up from under my skin in the shape of runes dissipating. At the same time, the visible motes of mana painting the zone in reds, yellows, greens, and blues faded away to nothing.

But something was different.

I rubbed at my sternum, feeling a tension there that I couldn’t immediately identify. Worried that I’d strained myself, I looked around at everyone else.

Cylrit’s fist was wrapped firmly around Seris’s forearm, and he eased her hand out of the battery tank, allowing the Imbuers to seal it back up. At first, Seris’s mana kept flowing in an uninterrupted loop, spilling out into the atmosphere with no effect. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open, and she looked up, confused, into Cylrit’s face.

“It’s all right. You’ve held long enough. Let go.”

The flow of mana abated, and Seris stared at her hand, which she seemed to be struggling to unclench.

Her mana, I realized with a start. Despite no longer channeling Realmheart, I could still sense her mana.

My insight into the godrune, which represented the relationship between aether and mana, had advanced without my even realizing it. I bit back a grin and closed my eyes, just feeling the mana signatures of everyone around me.