Chapter 134: The Other Side
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Chapter 134: The Other Side
“That was unneeded,” Mharia said quietly as her destroyed arm slowly repaired itself out of the mana in the room; shoulder first, then elbow.
Her voice bounced about the long throne room, the dark red banners with her family’s crest stamped upon them were spaced evenly across the room, the subtle enchantment made the image turn the symbol of the fiery rose to a rotted one. They fluttered at the sound of her voice like a fell wind had moved through them.
The white marble floor had cracks through which Mharia’s mana flowed like veins. They pulsed in time with her voice. The solid-looking marble pillars holding the room apart from its top and bottom seemed to shift, moving to odd and even numbers between glances. They shifted at her voice.
This all led to the throne itself. A once regal set of chairs that had been crudely blurred together into a wicked chair with flowing black tubes and pipes leading out the back, the thing thrumming like a giant beast’s heart.
Mharia gave the room a sour look; she had thought she had been so smart when she first arrived. The idea to remodel her core-domain into her parent’s throne room as some sort of insult and silent attempt to cling to any shred of her family seemed both childish and sad years later.
Now, after all her efforts of building it, she could hardly destroy it and start over. It simply was not possible. Well, it had not been possible since those adventurers had collapsed them all in. Mharia had been angry at that; then after time refused to start marching on...she had been bored.
Especially since she didn’t get to play with the one left behind.
Well, there were a few left behind, but Mharia didn’t want to play with ugly clowns or Kobolds. No, she wanted the hero.
She sighed as she sat on her throne, the thing pulsing once in a deep thrum.
“You were getting hasty in your eagerness,” came a slightly chiding voice from the shadows, all shadows... or was it something under the darkness? Mharia had given the ability a decent examination, but all she could ever figure out was that the voice didn’t travel in the air.
It was more direct than that.
“Perhaps, but choking a princess? Do you have no manners anymore? When we first met, you were the picture of chivalry,” she replied, an expression of agitation on one side of her face. He appeared, casually coming towards her as if a guest of her kingdom.
When he moved, it wasn’t like ordinary people but was almost as if air, physical matter, light, and sound were all moved out of his way. Mharia supposed it was as if he simply chose to be the more potent force.
Or was it because Nephew was an existence that defied anything made of the Two?
“I do apologise, Princess Mharia. My strength has been harder to measure without acceptable targets. I was aiming for a gentle press of the hand and...” he trailed off, flexing his fingers.
Gentle? Mharia was careful not to drop her jaw.
He nearly crushed her throat. Her bones alone had been laced with several rare and resilient flakes of metal from the Demon Smith. That was not even speaking of the magic spells she had...
“You said this would happen, but I didn’t think it would happen this fast or to this degree,” Mharia finally said, neutrally. Nephew shrugged one shoulder, and Mharia could even begin to see the shape and definition of his body.
To think, so long ago when they first met... he had been a simple voice in the darkest of places of her castle.
“Delta has... changed the schedule. Certain things are up in the air now. Just like I can sense her coming for you,” Nephew said suddenly, taking in her entire domain or what was left of it. Delta had been making good progress on it since she broke into her Fortress.
“I have her allies,” Mharia said as she casually tapped the orb on the arm of her throne, containing the soul of the hero and the amazingly altered human infused with Mushrooms and Delta.
“They will not be harmed, I hope,” Nephew said as he peered at the orb, moving across the room in a blink of an eye, looming over Mharia. It wasn’t hard to loom over her, to be fair. She was barely pushing the upper half of four foot.
Nephew was pushing the upper limit of seven.
“Delta’s creation I see the wisdom of keeping. But the hero?” Mharia made a face which made Nephew chuckle with affection.
“Such wisdom you have gained and yet? Still, the same tone when talking about vegetables and things that you don’t care for,” Nephew gently patted her on the head, and Mharia braced herself, only getting slightly pressed down by his gentlest touch.
“Still needs practice,” Nephew admitted as he pulled his hand back before he hurt her.
“I am the dark vessel of Silence and death! I need no vegetables!” Mharia said haughtily. Nephew tilted his head.
“Are you sure you’re over 100 years old?” he asked, amused at her words. Mharia glared at him, which made him sigh.
“Yes, yes... the age subject is off-topic. I don’t see the shame since I am older than you by quite a few hundred years, but I shall keep... silent about the number,” Nephew said, tapping his chin. Mharia visibly grimaced at his poor joke.
Nephew picked up the orb, well able to crush those inside the sphere.
“The boy we shan’t harm. There is an excellent chance that he shares the same curse as my father. To be plucked out of the ether at their whims and expected to entertain, then before long? Cast off when things became too hard to manage,” he said, all amusement was gone from his tone.
“He is their hero. He won’t be cast off before he has done his job,” Mharia pointed out.
“Their likely actions won’t sway my current choice. I don’t want to have to repeat the discussion I had with Felcore,” Nephew said in such a calm tone that Mharia felt her spine stiffen.
The idiot of Ending Light.
Mharia wasn’t exactly proud of being the Silence’s weakest leader, but what she lacked in power, she had in bond with Nephew.
Felcore?
He had suffered quite a few years for his antics with that circus. Nephew had been... displeased? Annoyed?
Would she dare say... angry?
To be fair, Mharia loved commenting on his ‘lovely’ neck scar supposedly from some angry circus act that cut through his ‘supreme’ defences like a hot knife through butter in the occasional meeting Nephew held to check on everyone and promote unity.
“I would never do something as pitiful as kidnapping strangers off the road and igniting a big smoke signal for all adventurers saying ‘come find us where all the mysterious vanishings are happening’. Felcore is an idiot. Why did he even catch your eye?” Mharia asked, not for the first time.
To her surprise, Nephew actually answered the question.
“He is a line to that which is lost. Humans are all father’s children, but since the Sister unleashed the stars and the Brother tempted the Abyss... Their seeds are being lost to the heavens and hells. We cannot afford to simply give up on those lost souls because the Sister unleashed malevolent and manipulative gods on the people as the Brother gleefully set loose demons and monsters. The people deserve more!” Nephew spun, eyes stretched to their widest.
It would be just like what Mharia’s heart would feel like if she still had it.
---
Delta saw her hands flickering. Her fingers were more a distorted blur than the detailed shape from before. Despite her claims, the critter colossus she had made was not without a cost. She stood with a wobble as notifications fired off all around her in a chaotic manner.
‘Critter limit reached... doubling production from first and second floor... Critter Limit reached... doubling production from Secret Garden... Critter Limit reached...’
‘Critter and Boss monster fusion requires upkeep of... error. Incompatible. Creature under current rules cannot... does... exist. Scanning...’
‘Mana income... -20 an hour. -21 an hour. Continuous mana sent to ‘Symphony of Nightmares’ for supply.’
Delta wiped her mouth where she imagined she had been drooling. She felt dumb, as if her mind had turned to cotton. She had never expanded this much of a Mana sink before other than creating new floors.
Her creature not only needed Mana to keep using its abilities and remain in her control, it also needed pure mana to remain ‘stable’. Even in Dungeon space, there were some things that just didn’t work without some of her ‘reality-blurring’ mana and DP.
This was made even worse since she was making it work outside her Dungeon to wage war. Hero was easier cause the System had a nice little space for his type to function- long recharge, big payoff.
“We did have 24 hours. We could have planned more strategically to prevent you literally bleeding yourself dry,” Nu said, his boyish form back into his screen form, but he had learned to project his voice now.
“That sounds sane and reasonable, Nu,” she pointed out, managing to stand to her full height without wobbling.
“Of course. Not your style,” Nu replied dryly.
A moment later, Jack returned, throwing what stuff he could loot from behind Symphony’s trial of destruction into her Dungeon. Every little piece helped get her some Mana back. All, if not most, were things she already had, material wise.
No, what was interesting was the contents of said items. Some paintings, some banners, and then Jack started bringing her other things.
A semi-large picture of a regal man with a tamed gray beard, a woman with a poised and elegant face; demure, but with eyes of steel. Below them, lined in order like royal ducklings were three children. A boy with his father’s nose, a girl with a bored expression, and the youngest of them all...
Marrow.
Marrow’s face was pale, whole, and slightly younger than the one Delta had met. In Marrow’s eyes, the painter had captured a palpable sadness.
The painting had a simple plaque.
‘The royal family of Turtog’
“Got more where that’s concerned,” Jack announced, holding up books and paintings he held in his clawed hands. “Your big beastie knocked down a sealed wall and this was all inside,” he explained, throwing more down.
“Thank’s Jack... how are you doing?” Delta asked, hiding the fact that one of her hands now had its fingers on backwards as her Core struggled to keep this whole operation going. Jack thought about it, his bottles clinking as he crossed his arms.
“I feel... good. Revenge and all that. I think afterwards I’ll have a crisis of purpose and identity, but until then, I’m going to have a jolly good time with some arson,” he declared firmly. Delta could understand that somewhat.
Jack had been down here for years trying to do what Delta was finally getting done.
Delta just hoped he didn’t throw himself into any more cauldrons in the meantime.
She paused as the items began to become absorbed, mostly old trinkets and dresses long turned to aged tatters... but among them was things Delta didn’t know what to make of.
She focused on something she absorbed and it came up.
“The history of Turtog: The Kingdom that was invaded by death.” Nu murmured as he read over her shoulder. All, if not most, pages had been scrawled furiously in red ink by a trembling hand, repeating the words ‘lies’ over and over.
Delta grimaced as she looked up from the book as she sensed Mharia do something.
If it was more death, Delta could just repair the damage or if it was a big enemy, she trusted Maestro to use his various ability to win-
A white light screamed down the hall impacting her Symphony hard in the chest. Delta stared in confusion as nothing happened at first, in fact, Delta even thought she got a nice little influx of mana from the attack.
Then her creature began to bubble as the Piggles in the pile began to grow in panic. The spider legs crunched as the bent to make room for more joints, Maestro’s left arm grew large, causing him to become lopsided as his neck and head followed suit.
Mharia had just cast some sort of life spell. How could she do that?! Her creature started to bloat as the spell encouraged rapid and almost uncontrollable ‘beneficial’ mana growths. Delta clenched her hands and focused.
She was already bleeding Mana, but she had no choice but to spend precious DP on turning the spell into something she could manipulate. The growths turned into acid spitter bulges, brimming with acid as the grow turned into lively acid.
Delta just managed that when Mharia began to weave complex life spells again, causing the spider legs to spasm, their armoured limbs exploding in green lush vegetation that vines into the walls, pinning her beast for a moment.
Right, if Mharia was so good at death... no reason she wouldn’t be a hand at its partner, life.
“I’m usually all for fans, but being clingy isn’t attractive,” she felt Maestro declared before mushrooms formed at the base of the vines, sucking moisture from them, decaying them as fast as they grew into brittle yellow things that snapped when her Symphony moved on.
Delta grinned, knowing her monsters were capable of beating Marrow into next Tuesday. She inhaled, trying to make sure she kept everything stable until they could rescue Alpha and Hero. To distract herself, she looked at the books as Mharia seemed to go quiet for a moment as well, letting her monsters do the fighting for now.
“Turtog... kingdom of death by J.Japes,” she read, trying to use the words as a means to center herself.
‘Introduction. I write this book in dedication to the simple art of knowledge and wisdom. This book will show why, if not outright demand that, we cannot simply have faith and tradition. Death by inaction or destruction by stagnation is a sad way to go and none show this more than the Kingdom of Turtog. A kingdom who prayed for a bright future, but was delivered ruin.
Only by the action of the last of the Royal Family was the end of the world contained.
I will explore the ruins of this doomed kingdom and see if I can piece together what happened. Why did this kingdom fall? How did Princess Mharia escape the fate of her kingdom and purge it?
The questions are many and the answers are few.
Let us begin.’
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Chapter 134: The Other Side
“That was unneeded,” Mharia said quietly as her destroyed arm slowly repaired itself out of the mana in the room; shoulder first, then elbow.
Her voice bounced about the long throne room, the dark red banners with her family’s crest stamped upon them were spaced evenly across the room, the subtle enchantment made the image turn the symbol of the fiery rose to a rotted one. They fluttered at the sound of her voice like a fell wind had moved through them.
The white marble floor had cracks through which Mharia’s mana flowed like veins. They pulsed in time with her voice. The solid-looking marble pillars holding the room apart from its top and bottom seemed to shift, moving to odd and even numbers between glances. They shifted at her voice.
This all led to the throne itself. A once regal set of chairs that had been crudely blurred together into a wicked chair with flowing black tubes and pipes leading out the back, the thing thrumming like a giant beast’s heart.
Mharia gave the room a sour look; she had thought she had been so smart when she first arrived. The idea to remodel her core-domain into her parent’s throne room as some sort of insult and silent attempt to cling to any shred of her family seemed both childish and sad years later.
Now, after all her efforts of building it, she could hardly destroy it and start over. It simply was not possible. Well, it had not been possible since those adventurers had collapsed them all in. Mharia had been angry at that; then after time refused to start marching on...she had been bored.
Especially since she didn’t get to play with the one left behind.
Well, there were a few left behind, but Mharia didn’t want to play with ugly clowns or Kobolds. No, she wanted the hero.
She sighed as she sat on her throne, the thing pulsing once in a deep thrum.
“You were getting hasty in your eagerness,” came a slightly chiding voice from the shadows, all shadows... or was it something under the darkness? Mharia had given the ability a decent examination, but all she could ever figure out was that the voice didn’t travel in the air.
It was more direct than that.
“Perhaps, but choking a princess? Do you have no manners anymore? When we first met, you were the picture of chivalry,” she replied, an expression of agitation on one side of her face. He appeared, casually coming towards her as if a guest of her kingdom.
When he moved, it wasn’t like ordinary people but was almost as if air, physical matter, light, and sound were all moved out of his way. Mharia supposed it was as if he simply chose to be the more potent force.
Or was it because Nephew was an existence that defied anything made of the Two?
“I do apologise, Princess Mharia. My strength has been harder to measure without acceptable targets. I was aiming for a gentle press of the hand and...” he trailed off, flexing his fingers.
Gentle? Mharia was careful not to drop her jaw.
He nearly crushed her throat. Her bones alone had been laced with several rare and resilient flakes of metal from the Demon Smith. That was not even speaking of the magic spells she had...
“You said this would happen, but I didn’t think it would happen this fast or to this degree,” Mharia finally said, neutrally. Nephew shrugged one shoulder, and Mharia could even begin to see the shape and definition of his body.
To think, so long ago when they first met... he had been a simple voice in the darkest of places of her castle.
“Delta has... changed the schedule. Certain things are up in the air now. Just like I can sense her coming for you,” Nephew said suddenly, taking in her entire domain or what was left of it. Delta had been making good progress on it since she broke into her Fortress.
“I have her allies,” Mharia said as she casually tapped the orb on the arm of her throne, containing the soul of the hero and the amazingly altered human infused with Mushrooms and Delta.
“They will not be harmed, I hope,” Nephew said as he peered at the orb, moving across the room in a blink of an eye, looming over Mharia. It wasn’t hard to loom over her, to be fair. She was barely pushing the upper half of four foot.
Nephew was pushing the upper limit of seven.
“Delta’s creation I see the wisdom of keeping. But the hero?” Mharia made a face which made Nephew chuckle with affection.
“Such wisdom you have gained and yet? Still, the same tone when talking about vegetables and things that you don’t care for,” Nephew gently patted her on the head, and Mharia braced herself, only getting slightly pressed down by his gentlest touch.
“Still needs practice,” Nephew admitted as he pulled his hand back before he hurt her.
“I am the dark vessel of Silence and death! I need no vegetables!” Mharia said haughtily. Nephew tilted his head.
“Are you sure you’re over 100 years old?” he asked, amused at her words. Mharia glared at him, which made him sigh.
“Yes, yes... the age subject is off-topic. I don’t see the shame since I am older than you by quite a few hundred years, but I shall keep... silent about the number,” Nephew said, tapping his chin. Mharia visibly grimaced at his poor joke.
Nephew picked up the orb, well able to crush those inside the sphere.
“The boy we shan’t harm. There is an excellent chance that he shares the same curse as my father. To be plucked out of the ether at their whims and expected to entertain, then before long? Cast off when things became too hard to manage,” he said, all amusement was gone from his tone.
“He is their hero. He won’t be cast off before he has done his job,” Mharia pointed out.
“Their likely actions won’t sway my current choice. I don’t want to have to repeat the discussion I had with Felcore,” Nephew said in such a calm tone that Mharia felt her spine stiffen.
The idiot of Ending Light.
Mharia wasn’t exactly proud of being the Silence’s weakest leader, but what she lacked in power, she had in bond with Nephew.
Felcore?
He had suffered quite a few years for his antics with that circus. Nephew had been... displeased? Annoyed?
Would she dare say... angry?
To be fair, Mharia loved commenting on his ‘lovely’ neck scar supposedly from some angry circus act that cut through his ‘supreme’ defences like a hot knife through butter in the occasional meeting Nephew held to check on everyone and promote unity.
“I would never do something as pitiful as kidnapping strangers off the road and igniting a big smoke signal for all adventurers saying ‘come find us where all the mysterious vanishings are happening’. Felcore is an idiot. Why did he even catch your eye?” Mharia asked, not for the first time.
To her surprise, Nephew actually answered the question.
“He is a line to that which is lost. Humans are all father’s children, but since the Sister unleashed the stars and the Brother tempted the Abyss... Their seeds are being lost to the heavens and hells. We cannot afford to simply give up on those lost souls because the Sister unleashed malevolent and manipulative gods on the people as the Brother gleefully set loose demons and monsters. The people deserve more!” Nephew spun, eyes stretched to their widest.
It would be just like what Mharia’s heart would feel like if she still had it.
---
Delta saw her hands flickering. Her fingers were more a distorted blur than the detailed shape from before. Despite her claims, the critter colossus she had made was not without a cost. She stood with a wobble as notifications fired off all around her in a chaotic manner.
‘Critter limit reached... doubling production from first and second floor... Critter Limit reached... doubling production from Secret Garden... Critter Limit reached...’
‘Critter and Boss monster fusion requires upkeep of... error. Incompatible. Creature under current rules cannot... does... exist. Scanning...’
‘Mana income... -20 an hour. -21 an hour. Continuous mana sent to ‘Symphony of Nightmares’ for supply.’
Delta wiped her mouth where she imagined she had been drooling. She felt dumb, as if her mind had turned to cotton. She had never expanded this much of a Mana sink before other than creating new floors.
Her creature not only needed Mana to keep using its abilities and remain in her control, it also needed pure mana to remain ‘stable’. Even in Dungeon space, there were some things that just didn’t work without some of her ‘reality-blurring’ mana and DP.
This was made even worse since she was making it work outside her Dungeon to wage war. Hero was easier cause the System had a nice little space for his type to function- long recharge, big payoff.
“We did have 24 hours. We could have planned more strategically to prevent you literally bleeding yourself dry,” Nu said, his boyish form back into his screen form, but he had learned to project his voice now.
“That sounds sane and reasonable, Nu,” she pointed out, managing to stand to her full height without wobbling.
“Of course. Not your style,” Nu replied dryly.
A moment later, Jack returned, throwing what stuff he could loot from behind Symphony’s trial of destruction into her Dungeon. Every little piece helped get her some Mana back. All, if not most, were things she already had, material wise.
No, what was interesting was the contents of said items. Some paintings, some banners, and then Jack started bringing her other things.
A semi-large picture of a regal man with a tamed gray beard, a woman with a poised and elegant face; demure, but with eyes of steel. Below them, lined in order like royal ducklings were three children. A boy with his father’s nose, a girl with a bored expression, and the youngest of them all...
Marrow.
Marrow’s face was pale, whole, and slightly younger than the one Delta had met. In Marrow’s eyes, the painter had captured a palpable sadness.
The painting had a simple plaque.
‘The royal family of Turtog’
“Got more where that’s concerned,” Jack announced, holding up books and paintings he held in his clawed hands. “Your big beastie knocked down a sealed wall and this was all inside,” he explained, throwing more down.
“Thank’s Jack... how are you doing?” Delta asked, hiding the fact that one of her hands now had its fingers on backwards as her Core struggled to keep this whole operation going. Jack thought about it, his bottles clinking as he crossed his arms.
“I feel... good. Revenge and all that. I think afterwards I’ll have a crisis of purpose and identity, but until then, I’m going to have a jolly good time with some arson,” he declared firmly. Delta could understand that somewhat.
Jack had been down here for years trying to do what Delta was finally getting done.
Delta just hoped he didn’t throw himself into any more cauldrons in the meantime.
She paused as the items began to become absorbed, mostly old trinkets and dresses long turned to aged tatters... but among them was things Delta didn’t know what to make of.
She focused on something she absorbed and it came up.
“The history of Turtog: The Kingdom that was invaded by death.” Nu murmured as he read over her shoulder. All, if not most, pages had been scrawled furiously in red ink by a trembling hand, repeating the words ‘lies’ over and over.
Delta grimaced as she looked up from the book as she sensed Mharia do something.
If it was more death, Delta could just repair the damage or if it was a big enemy, she trusted Maestro to use his various ability to win-
A white light screamed down the hall impacting her Symphony hard in the chest. Delta stared in confusion as nothing happened at first, in fact, Delta even thought she got a nice little influx of mana from the attack.
Then her creature began to bubble as the Piggles in the pile began to grow in panic. The spider legs crunched as the bent to make room for more joints, Maestro’s left arm grew large, causing him to become lopsided as his neck and head followed suit.
Mharia had just cast some sort of life spell. How could she do that?! Her creature started to bloat as the spell encouraged rapid and almost uncontrollable ‘beneficial’ mana growths. Delta clenched her hands and focused.
She was already bleeding Mana, but she had no choice but to spend precious DP on turning the spell into something she could manipulate. The growths turned into acid spitter bulges, brimming with acid as the grow turned into lively acid.
Delta just managed that when Mharia began to weave complex life spells again, causing the spider legs to spasm, their armoured limbs exploding in green lush vegetation that vines into the walls, pinning her beast for a moment.
Right, if Mharia was so good at death... no reason she wouldn’t be a hand at its partner, life.
“I’m usually all for fans, but being clingy isn’t attractive,” she felt Maestro declared before mushrooms formed at the base of the vines, sucking moisture from them, decaying them as fast as they grew into brittle yellow things that snapped when her Symphony moved on.
Delta grinned, knowing her monsters were capable of beating Marrow into next Tuesday. She inhaled, trying to make sure she kept everything stable until they could rescue Alpha and Hero. To distract herself, she looked at the books as Mharia seemed to go quiet for a moment as well, letting her monsters do the fighting for now.
“Turtog... kingdom of death by J.Japes,” she read, trying to use the words as a means to center herself.
‘Introduction. I write this book in dedication to the simple art of knowledge and wisdom. This book will show why, if not outright demand that, we cannot simply have faith and tradition. Death by inaction or destruction by stagnation is a sad way to go and none show this more than the Kingdom of Turtog. A kingdom who prayed for a bright future, but was delivered ruin.
Only by the action of the last of the Royal Family was the end of the world contained.
I will explore the ruins of this doomed kingdom and see if I can piece together what happened. Why did this kingdom fall? How did Princess Mharia escape the fate of her kingdom and purge it?
The questions are many and the answers are few.
Let us begin.’
Chapter 134: The Other SideThat was unneeded, Mharia said quietly as her destroyed arm slowly repaired itself out of the mana in the room; shoulder first, then elbow.Her voice bounced about the long throne room, the dark red banners with her family's crest stamped upon them were spaced evenly across the room, the subtle enchantment made the image turn the symbol of the fiery rose to a rotted one. They fluttered at the sound of her voice like a fell wind had moved through them.The white marble floor had cracks through which Mharia's mana flowed like veins. They pulsed in time with her voice. The solid-looking marble pillars holding the room apart from its top and bottom seemed to shift, moving to odd and even numbers between glances. They shifted at her voice.This all led to the throne itself. A once regal set of chairs that had been crudely blurred together into a wicked chair with flowing black tubes and pipes leading out the back, the thing thrumming like a giant beast's heart.Mharia gave the room a sour look; she had thought she had been so smart when she first arrived. The idea to remodel her core-domain into her parent's throne room as some sort of insult and silent attempt to cling to any shred of her family seemed both childish and sad years later.Now, after all her efforts of building it, she could hardly destroy it and start over. It simply was not possible. Well, it had not been possible since those adventurers had collapsed them all in. Mharia had been angry at that; then after time refused to start marching on...she had been bored.Especially since she didn't get to play with the one left behind.Well, there were a few left behind, but Mharia didn't want to play with ugly clowns or Kobolds. No, she wanted the hero.She sighed as she sat on her throne, the thing pulsing once in a deep thrum.You were getting hasty in your eagerness, came a slightly chiding voice from the shadows, all shadows... or was it something under the darkness? Mharia had given the ability a decent examination, but all she could ever figure out was that the voice didn't travel in the air.It was more direct than that.Perhaps, but choking a princess? Do you have no manners anymore? When we first met, you were the picture of chivalry, she replied, an expression of agitation on one side of her face. He appeared, casually coming towards her as if a guest of her kingdom.When he moved, it wasn't like ordinary people but was almost as if air, physical matter, light, and sound were all moved out of his way. Mharia supposed it was as if he simply chose to be the more potent force.Or was it because Nephew was an existence that defied anything made of the Two?I do apologise, Princess Mharia. My strength has been harder to measure without acceptable targets. I was aiming for a gentle press of the hand and... he trailed off, flexing his fingers.Gentle? Mharia was careful not to drop her jaw.He nearly crushed her throat. Her bones alone had been laced with several rare and resilient flakes of metal from the Demon Smith. That was not even speaking of the magic spells she had...You said this would happen, but I didn't think it would happen this fast or to this degree, Mharia finally said, neutrally. Nephew shrugged one shoulder, and Mharia could even begin to see the shape and definition of his body.To think, so long ago when they first met... he had been a simple voice in the darkest of places of her castle.Delta has... changed the schedule. Certain things are up in the air now. Just like I can sense her coming for you, Nephew said suddenly, taking in her entire domain or what was left of it. Delta had been making good progress on it since she broke into her Fortress.I have her allies, Mharia said as she casually tapped the orb on the arm of her throne, containing the soul of the hero and the amazingly altered human infused with Mushrooms and Delta.They will not be harmed, I hope, Nephew said as he peered at the orb, moving across the room in a blink of an eye, looming over Mharia. It wasn't hard to loom over her, to be fair. She was barely pushing the upper half of four foot.Nephew was pushing the upper limit of seven.Delta's creation I see the wisdom of keeping. But the hero? Mharia made a face which made Nephew chuckle with affection.Such wisdom you have gained and yet? Still, the same tone when talking about vegetables and things that you don't care for, Nephew gently patted her on the head, and Mharia braced herself, only getting slightly pressed down by his gentlest touch.Still needs practice, Nephew admitted as he pulled his hand back before he hurt her.I am the dark vessel of Silence and death! I need no vegetables! Mharia said haughtily. Nephew tilted his head.Are you sure you're over 100 years old? he asked, amused at her words. Mharia glared at him, which made him sigh.Yes, yes... the age subject is off-topic. I don't see the shame since I am older than you by quite a few hundred years, but I shall keep... silent about the number, Nephew said, tapping his chin. Mharia visibly grimaced at his poor joke.Nephew picked up the orb, well able to crush those inside the sphere.The boy we shan't harm. There is an excellent chance that he shares the same curse as my father. To be plucked out of the ether at their whims and expected to entertain, then before long? Cast off when things became too hard to manage, he said, all amusement was gone from his tone.He is their hero. He won't be cast off before he has done his job, Mharia pointed out.Their likely actions won't sway my current choice. I don't want to have to repeat the discussion I had with Felcore, Nephew said in such a calm tone that Mharia felt her spine stiffen.The idiot of Ending Light.Mharia wasn't exactly proud of being the Silence's weakest leader, but what she lacked in power, she had in bond with Nephew.Felcore?He had suffered quite a few years for his antics with that circus. Nephew had been... displeased? Annoyed?Would she dare say... angry?To be fair, Mharia loved commenting on his lovely' neck scar supposedly from some angry circus act that cut through his supreme' defences like a hot knife through butter in the occasional meeting Nephew held to check on everyone and promote unity.I would never do something as pitiful as kidnapping strangers off the road and igniting a big smoke signal for all adventurers saying come find us where all the mysterious vanishings are happening'. Felcore is an idiot. Why did he even catch your eye? Mharia asked, not for the first time.To her surprise, Nephew actually answered the question.He is a line to that which is lost. Humans are all father's children, but since the Sister unleashed the stars and the Brother tempted the Abyss... Their seeds are being lost to the heavens and hells. We cannot afford to simply give up on those lost souls because the Sister unleashed malevolent and manipulative gods on the people as the Brother gleefully set loose demons and monsters. The people deserve more! Nephew spun, eyes stretched to their widest.It would be just like what Mharia's heart would feel like if she still had it.---Delta saw her hands flickering. Her fingers were more a distorted blur than the detailed shape from before. Despite her claims, the critter colossus she had made was not without a cost. She stood with a wobble as notifications fired off all around her in a chaotic manner.Critter limit reached... doubling production from first and second floor... Critter Limit reached... doubling production from Secret Garden... Critter Limit reached...'Critter and Boss monster fusion requires upkeep of... error. Incompatible. Creature under current rules cannot... does... exist. Scanning...'Mana income... -20 an hour. -21 an hour. Continuous mana sent to Symphony of Nightmares' for supply.'Delta wiped her mouth where she imagined she had been drooling. She felt dumb, as if her mind had turned to cotton. She had never expanded this much of a Mana sink before other than creating new floors.Her creature not only needed Mana to keep using its abilities and remain in her control, it also needed pure mana to remain stable'. Even in Dungeon space, there were some things that just didn't work without some of her reality-blurring' mana and DP.This was made even worse since she was making it work outside her Dungeon to wage war. Hero was easier cause the System had a nice little space for his type to function- long recharge, big payoff.We did have 24 hours. We could have planned more strategically to prevent you literally bleeding yourself dry, Nu said, his boyish form back into his screen form, but he had learned to project his voice now.That sounds sane and reasonable, Nu, she pointed out, managing to stand to her full height without wobbling.Of course. Not your style, Nu replied dryly.A moment later, Jack returned, throwing what stuff he could loot from behind Symphony's trial of destruction into her Dungeon. Every little piece helped get her some Mana back. All, if not most, were things she already had, material wise.No, what was interesting was the contents of said items. Some paintings, some banners, and then Jack started bringing her other things.A semi-large picture of a regal man with a tamed gray beard, a woman with a poised and elegant face; demure, but with eyes of steel. Below them, lined in order like royal ducklings were three children. A boy with his father's nose, a girl with a bored expression, and the youngest of them all...Marrow.Marrow's face was pale, whole, and slightly younger than the one Delta had met. In Marrow's eyes, the painter had captured a palpable sadness.The painting had a simple plaque.The royal family of Turtog'Got more where that's concerned, Jack announced, holding up books and paintings he held in his clawed hands. Your big beastie knocked down a sealed wall and this was all inside, he explained, throwing more down.Thank's Jack... how are you doing? Delta asked, hiding the fact that one of her hands now had its fingers on backwards as her Core struggled to keep this whole operation going. Jack thought about it, his bottles clinking as he crossed his arms.I feel... good. Revenge and all that. I think afterwards I'll have a crisis of purpose and identity, but until then, I'm going to have a jolly good time with some arson, he declared firmly. Delta could understand that somewhat.Jack had been down here for years trying to do what Delta was finally getting done.Delta just hoped he didn't throw himself into any more cauldrons in the meantime.She paused as the items began to become absorbed, mostly old trinkets and dresses long turned to aged tatters... but among them was things Delta didn't know what to make of.She focused on something she absorbed and it came up.The history of Turtog: The Kingdom that was invaded by death. Nu murmured as he read over her shoulder. All, if not most, pages had been scrawled furiously in red ink by a trembling hand, repeating the words lies' over and over.Delta grimaced as she looked up from the book as she sensed Mharia do something.If it was more death, Delta could just repair the damage or if it was a big enemy, she trusted Maestro to use his various ability to win-A white light screamed down the hall impacting her Symphony hard in the chest. Delta stared in confusion as nothing happened at first, in fact, Delta even thought she got a nice little influx of mana from the attack.Then her creature began to bubble as the Piggles in the pile began to grow in panic. The spider legs crunched as the bent to make room for more joints, Maestro's left arm grew large, causing him to become lopsided as his neck and head followed suit.Mharia had just cast some sort of life spell. How could she do that?! Her creature started to bloat as the spell encouraged rapid and almost uncontrollable beneficial' mana growths. Delta clenched her hands and focused.She was already bleeding Mana, but she had no choice but to spend precious DP on turning the spell into something she could manipulate. The growths turned into acid spitter bulges, brimming with acid as the grow turned into lively acid.Delta just managed that when Mharia began to weave complex life spells again, causing the spider legs to spasm, their armoured limbs exploding in green lush vegetation that vines into the walls, pinning her beast for a moment.Right, if Mharia was so good at death... no reason she wouldn't be a hand at its partner, life.I'm usually all for fans, but being clingy isn't attractive, she felt Maestro declared before mushrooms formed at the base of the vines, sucking moisture from them, decaying them as fast as they grew into brittle yellow things that snapped when her Symphony moved on.Delta grinned, knowing her monsters were capable of beating Marrow into next Tuesday. She inhaled, trying to make sure she kept everything stable until they could rescue Alpha and Hero. To distract herself, she looked at the books as Mharia seemed to go quiet for a moment as well, letting her monsters do the fighting for now.Turtog... kingdom of death by J.Japes, she read, trying to use the words as a means to center herself.Introduction. I write this book in dedication to the simple art of knowledge and wisdom. This book will show why, if not outright demand that, we cannot simply have faith and tradition. Death by inaction or destruction by stagnation is a sad way to go and none show this more than the Kingdom of Turtog. A kingdom who prayed for a bright future, but was delivered ruin.Only by the action of the last of the Royal Family was the end of the world contained.I will explore the ruins of this doomed kingdom and see if I can piece together what happened. Why did this kingdom fall? How did Princess Mharia escape the fate of her kingdom and purge it?The questions are many and the answers are few.Let us begin.'
