Chapter 48

“Time is not the enemy. Given time, every puzzle is solved, every problem surmounted and every wound dressed. Triage is the difficult part, not the inevitable march of time. Which issues need addressed now, and which can become tomorrow’s problem. Which crisis will blossom to consume all things and which will fade without someone pouring in the fuel of attention.”

—The Passage, Tor Hecante

Sylvas didn’t even have time to consent before Mira began to do exactly that, drawing the etherium in through his skin, redirecting its growth internally, rather than externally. Just as it had during the battle in the arena, his internal channels began to fill up with the solidified mana. It was the perfect conductor for mana, making every one of his spells not only come quicker, but empowering them with more mana as they passed through. 

Many of the staves and wands that other mages used worked on a similar concept, magnifying a spell’s power. Just as he’d integrated the other aspects of a staff into his body, now he was including this final enhancement. He had never needed a boost to his power before, it had always been more than sufficient. But as he moved beyond simple eidolons and into the realm of true monsters like the blood wolf and the Crimson King, he had realized that more power to every spell was a necessity if he wanted to survive. 

And that doesn’t even include all the attempts upon my life either, Sylvas thought idly as he gazed up at the blood wolf, finding that despite all the stress that the situation incurred, it was still substantially better than being locked away and dealing with constant assassination threats.

You realize that probably isn’t a healthy worldview to have, yes? Mira asked him, pausing from her work to drive a needle in his direction before vanishing just as quickly. 

The rest of the Ardent had spread out from the tunnel entrance where he and Vaelith had chosen to watch the eidolon from, each of them inspecting the area for smaller or more mundane threats. The professor and Bael on the other hand spent their time wandering around, talking excitedly as they made observations about the place. From the snippets that Sylvas picked up, there was no question in his mind that the rest of the researchers were going to go absolutely berserk when they finally arrived down here. 

Assuming that Ardent command doesn’t pull the plug on the whole thing. Sylvas thought as he focused his attention on Bael, wishing that the elf had hung around a little closer so that he’d have someone more interesting to talk to. Vaelith might have been many things, but a stunning conversationalist was not one of them. Certainly not recently.

Technically though, Bael was still a part of the Ardent, and as such should have been with the others, but it was so obvious that his real passion lay in what he was doing now that no one suggested otherwise. As a friend it was beautiful to see him in his element, eyes alight with excitement as he made sense of elements of the universe that the rest of them hadn’t even learned existed yet. Or at least it certainly was Sylvas. 

It did make him wonder why the elf had joined the Ardent to begin with, when his passions so obviously lay elsewhere, but he supposed that they all had their reasons that they didn’t always want to discuss. Kaya and Bael both knew at least most of the story of what had happened to his home world, but it wasn’t like they had deep heart to heart conversations about their motivations.

Once the immediate exploration of the worldsoul chamber was over, people started to return through the gate, at least for long enough to come marching back in with all the equipment that they needed. Or, at least that is what Sylvas thought at first for with every shipment that arrived, it seemed to somehow justify the need to bring something else until there was a steady stream of boxes and crates being hauled down.

And then the rest of the researchers came.

Arriving along with another shipment of equipment, they were all rambling about one device or another that they’d need to assess one parameter or another, mostly to themselves so far as Sylvas could tell. In the absence of a clear notetaker or anyone fitting the role, they just appeared to be barking out their list of demands to one another simultaneously. Whatever excitement that they’d had over the possibilities of exploring the pyramid had been amplified to a fever pitch, especially when, to Vaelith’s dismay, Ardent Command enthusiastically gave them permission to continue their research, and in Sylvas’ case, stay on with the expedition. 

As they all had expected, the discovery of the blood wolf had set off yet another wave of excitement through the Empyrean Alliance with both the Ardent and the Council demanding answers as to how the natives of Strife managed to freeze it in time for as long as they had. It was so important, that the entire expedition had been promptly classified and given what was in effect, unlimited funding and resources, with one of those resources in fact being Sylvas himself. Apparently despite his nebulous status as to what the Alliance was officially going to do with him next, his power and ability with regards to eidolons had been anything but overlooked. 

As such he had received a message from Wartback himself along with one of the waves of researchers, directing him to not only monitor the blood wolf eidolon, but also the worldsoul. Should something happen during the research process, Sylvas’ responsibility was to first and foremost to ensure the destruction of the Eidolon. Or, if that didn’t prove to be possible, he was then ordered to do whatever was needed to destroy Strife’s worldsoul before the creature was able to fully devour it, even if that was at the cost of everyone’s life. The last thing anyone in the Alliance wanted was to allow an already powerful planetary annihilator such as the blood wolf the opportunity to become a Starkiller class threat.

And that was because the last time a Solar class eidolon had appeared within Empyrean  borders, it had cost them two full fleets, three systems, and over thirty million lives before it was banished.

It certainly feels more useful than being an Etherium battery, Sylvas thought in the hours after he’d received the general’s orders, which despite their seriousness, had him feeling quite relieved that the Alliance was willing to use him, and his abilities, in a practical manner. That said, from the context of the other parts of Wartback’s message, it seemed that their efforts in hiding Sylvas away on the planet had borne the fruit they’d expected it to and so far had managed to plug several intelligence leaks in the process. So there was the added benefit of him not only being useful to prevent a greater disaster, but also ensuring that the attention he’d drawn to himself was being properly handled.

It most certainly does, Mira agreed in a light tone, all of the recent excitement, and work to do, having turned her into a mostly pleasant presence. Now try and stop blinking so much while looking at the creature and worldsoul or I’ll take away your ability to do so. Every time you do it interrupts my calculations.

Or perhaps not, on second thought.

Grumbling inwardly towards his other half, Sylvas did his best to do exactly that as he focused his full attention upon the blood wolf, his eyes watering at its crimson light. It wasn’t the creature itself that was his interest at the moment, although of course it fascinated him in the same way any terrifying predator in close proximity would, but rather it was the spell that was holding it in place. Long ago he had gotten a hint of gravity magic in the stasis spell of the ardent crest, and now that he was face to face with a far more potent and long lasting version of that same spell he wanted to examine the spell-forms in as much detail as possible. Not only was its unravelling the key driver of their expedition now, but the more he stared at it, did he feel that he could maybe use its fundamental underpinnings for himself.

We’re almost there, I can feel it. Mira eventually said to him as their day wore on, her voice sounding tired for the first time in memory. Once we’ve made the fifth circle and we have the freedom, we can figure the rest of it out. Slowing time. Accelerating time. This spell here seems overly complex for it to be practical in battle, but if we have time, a lot of time, and Etherium, I think we could actually replicate it. Maybe at enough of a scale that we could freeze ourselves a planetary annihilator or two.

Sylvas paused to process the knowledge that Mira filtered into his mind as she spoke, leaning even deeper into the folding chair that had been brought for him to sit on during his vigil of the eidolon. It wasn’t long before he spotted something that stood out. You’re thinking too small. This isn’t something we can use later. This is something we can use now.

Darling, the restriction on modifying spells isn’t just an Ardent thing. Mira started to reply in her typical tone, at least until Sylvas sent back what he noticed. Nobody in the Empyrean is permitted to—oh, you clever boy, you.

The predictions you make are based on the past actions of our opponents, and they contain too much junk data, too many possibilities to be useful. What if—

We could see the future? Not the distant future, things would become to divergent from the current point in time for that to be reliable, but a short distance, a few seconds… 

There was a short pause as Mira vanished from Sylvas’ mind, before returning with a noticeable amount excitement. I’m certain it’s possible! Enough that I can start composing the relevant spell forms for our new paradigm. You’ll need to continue drawing in and creating what etherium you can, but I think at this rate you can have your fifth circle ready in a matter of days.

Yes mistress.

That’s right, darling. Remember your place.