Unbound-Chapter Nine Hundred And Sixty Three – 963

Gabby stumbled out of the door, darkness clinging to her like tar for several long steps. It slid from her, recoiling back into the wall that closed behind her. The door vanished.

Gross. She straightened. Back in the inbetween space again.

Like the chamber they’d exited into after the First Door, this one opened into a pillar-flanked alcove. It was a bit bigger than before, though it felt cramped due to wide shoulders and wider pauldrons. Gabby tested her limbs, clenching her fists and wriggling her toes in her boots as she stepped free of the alcove and found Kevin already in the center of the small chamber. No one else had returned.

“Look,” he said, jerking his chin upward.

Gabby turned back to their alcove. The door was gone so the nook was empty and smooth…but above the archway was a triangular expanse set with tiles. Similar sections were set above every alcove, but all of them were blank except for one. Theirs was a colorful splash of greens and browns, a mural of a small town nearly swallowed up by jungle…while above, a falling moon was nearly atop of it.

A snapshot of their Door’s last moments. Gabby swallowed.

Kevin sighed. "This fucking place sucks.”

“Hm.”

“Leaving those people…I–I know they weren't real, I know they're not hurt or dying but—”

Gabby put a hand on his shoulder, just about enveloping him all down to the elbow. Instead of flinching like she expected though, he leaned into it. "They were real to us."

Kevin deflated. “Yeah.”

"You did what you could, you saved them with that…whatever you did. Summoning a forest?”

“Viridescent Labyrinth.” Kevin smiled, his mixture of lizard and dog features twisting into obvious, if muted delight. "It lets me tap into the Green Wilds and fuel an AOE that creates defense and support.”

“So the movement I saw—?”

“It's the Skill, it lets me slip through any greenery I grow in there. The longer me and my allies are in it, instances of Health and Stamina regeneration stack up, so long as I can keep it fueled."

Gabby rubbed her chin. "That's very useful."

“Oh!” Kevin held out his hands and a metal card appeared. “Check it out.”

A weight dropped into her hand, a gleaming metal card showing a beautiful woman in veils and an elaborate gown buckled with gleaming armor. She wore a tall crown of Crescian Bronze and sat upon a throne of the same material, while around her was a forest of vines and blossoming flowers.

You Have Walked The Chosen Path.

Congratulations!

You Have Received An Omen Upgrade!

You Have Earned The Omen Of The Empress!

+5 To All Omen-Based Stat Increases Per Level!

Kevin whistled appreciatively. "That's a lot more than last time."

"It cost us more too," Gabby said. As tortured as Kevin was by their leaving, Gabby hadn’t emerged from the Second Door unscarred. After her long struggle, she could still feel the presence of Imara. She hovered just out of sight, silhouetted against the gold in her core space, poised to seize her at any moment.

She shuddered. Gabby could still feel the grip of her darker half. It hadn’t hurt. In fact, it had felt good. Too good. The power of self righteous surety was…intoxicating.

Gabby knew now, for certain, that her bargain still bound her soul.

I'm close to Grandmaster. If I can reach it, will that do anything? To accomplish that, however, she needed a Core Manifestation. When she had been a Vessel for the Pathless she'd been able to manifest Light directly, and frankly, Imara had never put any thought toward the progression of her power. There was only blind faith and righteous anger. Now while her core was hopelessly attuned to the element, she hadn't a clue as to what her manifestation should be.

Something like Brightblade, but…bigger? Gabby frowned. That was too simple to be right. She needed advice, which meant she had to get out of the Omen Path alive and speak with Felix. If she could figure out the right Core Manifestation, then maybe she could save herself in the process. There was only one way to find out.

Over her shoulder, another door shimmered and sang out. Chiming bells and soft cymbals rolled as the dark spat out Evie, Archie, and Kevin's brother Shadow. All three of them stepped from the portal at once, and froze as they met Gabby's gaze.

"You made it," Kevin rushed to his brother, grabbing him by the shoulders and looking him over. "You're not hurt, right? Like, nothing,” the green gold kobold swallowed, “Nothing got you, right?"

"No, I'm fine," Shadow said. He glanced hesitantly at Gabby. "I stayed out of range, of course.”

“Archery.” Kevin slapped his brother on the shoulder. “That makes sense.”

Gabby folded her arms. “Evie, Archie, are you—”

“We're fine,” Evie shrugged and stepped out from her alcove.

“Glad to hear it.”

Evie grunted.

Kevin grinned at everyone. “Well, whatever happened, you made it through. That’s what matters.”

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Archie chuckled. “More than made it. We kicked ass—ow!” He rubbed his head where Evie’s gauntlet cracked against his skull. “What was that for?”

“For being you. Hmm?” She reached out, plucking a metal card from thin air. “Look at that, the Emperor.”

“Nice.” Kevin waggled his thumb toward himself and Gabby. “We just got the Empress.”

“Interesting.” Evie’s eyes widened. “Plus five? Now that’s worth our while.”

With a single, sharp breath all three of them dissolved their Omens, the vapor yanked right into their core spaces. Their bodies were limned, briefly, by a colorless light.

They’re in high spirits. Apparently their Door wasn’t too tough. Gabby glanced up and her mild smile flattened. “You said you had an easy time of it?”

“Not easy,” Evie admitted. “But the fight was uneven.”

“Uneven? We slaughtered her—er,” Archie coughed. “We did our best.”

Gabby bared her teeth; she wasn’t sure if it was a smile or something worse. “I imagine so. Your best would be necessary against a Vessel.”

“Wha—” Archie twisted, following Gabby’s gaze and paled when he saw the mosaic set above their alcove.

It showed a very familiar corpse in silver armor, helmet off, surrounded by melting treasures and the final, explosive rays of golden Light.

Archie swallowed and Shadow sidled away, putting Kevin between him and the Titan. Evie just laughed.

Another door chimed.

Gabby pursed her lips and turned from the trio. So what if she was the villain in their Path? This was all fake. They couldn’t beat her Strength…could they?

Crush them before they can try—

She throttled the voice and flared the golden light within her core. It blazed—the shadow retreated.

Beef and Elowen shouldered out of the dark, each too big for the door they stepped out of and already in mid-conversation. “...the chitin cage was off the cuff, yeah.”

“Impressive. I noticed there was an Intentional structure to it, as well. How’d you manage that?”

“I’ve been reading a lot of books on architecture in the Librarium. It’s been,” Beef laughed, “really boring.”

“The knowledge is paying off, clearly.”

“Thanks! Hey everyone!” Beef stopped just outside their alcove. “Everyone’s Path go well?”

“...Yes.” Archie sidled away from Gabby.

“Hm.”

Beef kept talking, clearly not catching even a whiff of subtext. “I was just talking about using Skills in the Paths. Has anyone like, used everything they had in a fight?”

Kevin waggled his hand. “Not everything, but I got pretty low this time.”

“Okay, perfect. Did you notice how not exhausted you are?”

Gabby had, but she also hadn’t given it much thought. She was rarely tired. “What are you talking about?”

“He’s right.” Kevin pressed his hands to his chest and looked around. “Usually when I get close to my limits I start feeling woozy and achy, like I got a headache and a cold. But I feel fine, and—Oh. My Mana is topped off.”

Beef folded his arms, a smug grin on his face accompanied by Hallow’s descending hum.

Gabby checked hers as well. All of her resource pools—Health, Mana, and Stamina—were full. Her regeneration was very good, but Brightblade alone used a solid fifteen percent of her Mana everytime she had to recast it. Aurum Armory was another large chunk and spent fast so long as it was getting damaged. For all to regenerate in a handful of minutes…

“Unless we’ve all turned into Felix, there’s something else going on,” Elowen said.

Evie raised an eyebrow. “Such as?”

“The Doors are fake,” Beef said. He flinched as everyone turned to look at him. “What? It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

"I think," Elowen said, gathering everyone else in her gaze, "that the System is fabricating…everything. From the events to the effects of the Skills we use."

Gabby glanced at Kevin. If anything, he looked relieved.

"But what about all the gains I made?” Beef asked. "How could we gain anything if the Skills aren’t really working?”

Elowen lifted a hand. "I'll stop you there. I don't know how any of this works, only that it does. This is as close to real magic as anything I’ve seen on the Continent."

The last alcove filled with darkness and before the bells could cease ringing, Vess and Ondine rushed out. Fear was etched across their faces, and their Spirits bloomed with the sheer cacophony of it. Gabby reached for a weapon she didn't have at her hip, half expecting something to chase them from their door.

The light faded, and all nine of them were alone.

Vess looked at her hand, empty, but clutched around the air like she'd been holding on to something. She fumbled over her shoulder, where she found the haft of her Dragon-headed glaive. “Yin? Yin are you here?”

“I am here, little Dragoon.” The Drake uncoiled from the short hall leading to the next area. Gabby started. She hadn’t sensed the creature at all, and he was big enough to fill the corridor. His eye burned bright gold in the dark.

Vess rushed forward, a blur that only stopped when she’d flung herself onto the Drake. She hugged his head to her chest, and both of their eyes closed as her Spirit wove a fluting, melancholic song. "I couldn't feel you.”

"I was gone.” The Drake’s voice shook. “I simply walked in the Door and back out into this chamber. But you survived, just as I expected. You are a wonder, little Dragoon."

"Yin, I—”

“Whatever the Path showed you, it showed you for a reason.”

“But you must understand, I held a spear, and it was made of your blood and bone and scale—”

“So I died, and you made use of me. This is good.”

“Yin, I would never—”

“No. Do not promise such things. Were I to fall, my final wish would be to continue fighting at your side, whatever the form.” Yin shook his pale mane. “Bear no guilt for these memories that are not yours. I can feel their false song inside of your Mind, and I am sure that all of you," his gaze swept among them all, "have similar thoughts. Choices make us, and it is by choices that we mold the world. You survived. All of you should be proud."

A tremor shook the tiles beneath their feet and Gabby shifted, stance settling deeper as she looked for an enemy. There was none, but the trembling extended from the floors to the walls as the alcoves flexed in deeply unsettling ways. As she watched, pieces of the wall began to shred in strips, peeling away and revealing a thick darkness beyond.

“This again?” Evie complained. "Everyone, back up into the next chamber!"

"Instability," Ondine spat. "It chases us through these Doors. You all saw it?"

Nods and grunts met her words. As a group they backed down the short hallway out of the small entrance chamber. Yin went last, his coiled bulk almost a shield against the crumbling room.

"We must move quickly then. The Third Door. That is where... Ah!" Vess shouted, falling forward. Yin caught her in one large paw but she seized, muscles contracting wildly and her eyes rolling into the back of her head. Light and Mana poured from her Gates, swirling around her in a breeze that intensified to the heralding winds of an oncoming storm.

"She's Tempering!" Yin warned. "Quickly, get her an Essence Draught!"

Evie grabbed at the pack on Vess' back, no matter the Mana that scalded at her wrists. Behind them, the alcoves shattered, tiles flinging off into the shadowy void.

"Get back!" Gabby warned, summoning a massive shield of light. “Keep moving!”

The world bucked. Split.

Broke.