Chapter 19-7 Blood and Glass

Chapter 19-7 Blood and Glass

+Log: 238 Post-Fall



Agnos Kae Kusanade speaking. Ah Former Agnos.

I have not been able to discern any changes in my Frame. If my prior theories were correct, the Imitators should have spread by this point, and the nature of my Soul should resemble that of the Stillborn. Alas, my Liminal Frame remains relatively normal from my examinations, with Avo continuing to be the only one of us capable of sophisticated canon auto-manufacturing.

My annoyance is great and my theory is potentially wrong. I am very displeased.



There. I had to say it.

Despite this, the Stillborn continues to be a wonder. I find myself so frustrated as to what it has been designed toward rather than the obvious things we could have done with it. There was so much I could have fixed with it so much death that could have been prevented if I just agh, regretting the past is for another life.

We have to make do with what we have right now.

I must.

For Crisha.

For Wisher

For Heccata

And Dawton.

Ahem.

The thaumaturgic efficiency with the Stillborn designs of each canon is impeccable. Some miracles I have conceived should have taken ten times as many thaums if assembled manually by us Agnosi, but here we are, exercising greater miracles beyond my expectations. The Imitators are a key part of this equation, its ability to align countless wills toward a singular worship incomparable to anything weve seen.The initial posting of this chapter occurred via Ñøv€l-B!n.

Frankly, its potential is terrifying, and its ability to target and develop specific designs has opened my mind to new possibilities.

Voidwatch has allowed me limited knowledge of magnetism, physics, and inorganic chemistry. I know they are keeping my understanding limited for fear of what I might dowhat I can dobut this is no time to be timid. I have seen what the Guilds are capable ofhad contributed to their base of power.

There are creations that my fellows have made that will unmake us. The powers arrayed against us are immense and overwhelming. To stand a chance, we must be unknown and flexible. I will continue my petitions and expand the sophistication of my work.

Hopefully, we will soon have a spot beyond the city to develop further, beyond the eyes of the Guilds. I would like a place to experiment. Perhaps we should pursue another Fallen Heaven. See what secrets remain inside and examine the Stillborn at work.

There is so much work ahead of us. So many opportunities. But Im not afraid. Ive wrapped my fingers around my anger, and like the reins to some beast, I can direct it toward a more meaningful path.

The ones that destroyed me live their comfortable lives in the Tiers, sucking on the wonders I created, denying this city its path to growth. They must think themselves safe, hiding deep inside all those different planes and protected by their armies.

Well. The torture they inflicted taught me patience, and my resolve is tempered. When we climb the heights of New Vultun, I will see that we are prepared to burn their homes as well.

And unlike how they treated me, my hand will not slip from the handle of the blade. I will drive it down. I will cut away the rot infesting the skull of this city, and cleanse the wounds so the future might be ours again.

This was not the dream. That is what we all say. Helpless. Meaningless. A captive audience in stasis.

Well. I say damn that and damn them. I say Im taking my dreams back.

And I have just the monster to manifest my wrath.

-Kae Kusanade, Operative of Aegis

19-7

Blood and Glass

Chambers second Heaven was designed for one thing, and Draus hated it.

Between the three canons she recalled it having, one was to transmute objects into genitalsregardless of sex, species, or age. The second was to expand the orifices of said genitalia, leading to the third and final canon, which was basically a biology-themed demiplane made out of singing penises.

The purpose behind such a plane: a self-contained Rash trigger. The current effect: Draus was now more motivated to hurt and mutilate the half-strand than ever before.

Swallowed by the Fucktopia, it took her but a thought to fracture a distant panel of glass and sunder space itself. In the microsecond she was forced to face the veritable charge of squirming worm-looking privates, she heard off-tune melodies about how growers are better than showers, and more than a few thousand of the flesh nubs followed her out from her fracture anchor eight hundred meters away from where the Fucktopia was currently manifesting itself.

As seen from the outside, the full manifestation of the Heaven of Biology was a pulsating and erect structure, its central mast veiny, while two gargantuan spheres lined with countless holes swelled beside it, the openings enough to trigger an unnatural sense of trypophobia in a person. Tiny fingers and fists poked out intermittently from the gashes of the balls and from the very base of the horrid structure swayed long sinew-like strands ripe with the vague shape of lynched infants.

Fucktopia, A.K.A Rash Central (Biology/Matter/Space)

Draus sighed internally, facing the mockery Chambers made of warfare. She was going to kill him slowly for thinking of this, Avo slower for enabling him, and maybe even Kae slowest for helping build it. She swore, now the former Agnos could ply her trade again, it was like her good sense abandoned her every time she got a chance to commit to her work. All she offered was a cringe of disgust before humming about how they were to design the interior of the plane and asking Avo to apply the bio-thaumic knowledge he consumed from Elegant-Moon as assistance.

+Howd you manage that?+ Draus cast out, her wings in wide-sweeping arcs, shuttling any matter caught along their edge into her inner demiplane.

***

REND CAPACITY [WOUNDMOTHER]: 44%

If Avo was a storm, then the Simulacrae and the Arsenalist made Draus a flight of teleporting hawks he just couldnt cut out from the sky. His Sanguinity slipped through her glass each time he tried to touch, and when she cut, no damage was inflicted until the passage closed and his matter was parted.

That, and her definite edge in terms of speed made him almost draw on the Fardrifter, but her thoughtcast distracted him.

+Howd you manage that?+

She was asking about the nuclear blastshow he managed to finally make use of the pattern he consumed back in Nu-Scarrowbur.

Domain of (Fire)

->Canon: Matterbomb - The user can detonate pieces of matter based on mass and inherent energy

->Hubris: If the matter being detonated is destroyed before ignition, moderate (EST. 35%) severe backlash will be inflicted

The truth was in the fire. Zein arranged for the Lushburners there for a reason. He was supposed to use them to prime his warheadsan act Calvino insisted made no sense and evaded the complexities of how a nuclear weapon was supposed to work.

Whatever the case, the moment Avo finished his canon enhancements and added his Domain of Fire, he suddenly felt aware of the mini-nuke pattern lingering inside himself. As if he could press on it somehow and burst it.

Growing the fissile matter inside his new haemokinetic bio-constructs was more instinctual than planned, and the attacks thereafter came with template-Draus and the other egos inside his Conflagration whispering tactics and potential strategies to him.

[The nukes are good,] template-Draus said. [The sheer heat they generate seems to bypass the protections of my reflectivity. Might wanna figure out more ways to leverage that.]

[You should switch over to your other Heaven as soon as possible,] Kassamon said. [I know were staying disconnected from her Neurodeck for the purpose of the competition, but I bet you my last imp that she has more Rend than you do right now. No point in slugging things out. Test the other Heavens too.]

[Boltstride your city into her,] Abrel said. [Make her spend time cutting and fly your Fardrifter into her little cage.]

+No,+ Avo replied. +Paradox risk. Dont want to overload one of her Heavens. Her Rend might be too high.+

[Touching,] template-Draus deadpanned. [Then why dont you go with the third option?] He felt a cold amusement come alive inside her. Only a Regular could find satisfaction in plotting their own murder.

[Yeah,] template-Chambers agreed, his Fucktopia currently tossing and turning in Kaes grasp while Dice pummeled away at his force using her hooves and weapons. [Give her a taste of the uh]

The mans reaction was apt.

The Woundmother and Fardrifter both woke with certain aspects of their original personalities intact when the Imitators finally returned their consciousness to them. The Techplaguer on the other hand

Avo continued to be at a loss for what Omnitech did to make the ontologic the way it was. It remained silent even after his last death, and the text for its canons continued to confound

[Do it,] template-Draus said. [I like surprises. Whats another one after the first? Brick my godsdamned Neurodeck.]

As Avo Bolstrode his entire city away from another wave of glass-edged munitions, he manifested his upgraded Heaven of Data for the first time. From his being came what Calvino described as bad graphical glitches in reality as panels of spatial reality lost detail and de-pixelated, and from the cracks in real space crawled a lanky, multi-limbed monstrosity made of ones and zeros, with a single antenna protruding from its head as

AGGHHHHHHHH! the Techplaguer screamed, its voice a crackle of electronic noises reverberating in the depths of Avos skull.

Oh, it speaks, the Woundmother noted, still more focused on the battle.

This is more like screaming, the Fardrifteronce Galeslither, then Zephyrsaid. One empathizes.

[Damn thats loud,] Abrel winced, wishing she could cover her ears or something. The sentiment wasnt just shared by a few other templates including Chambers, but Kae and actual-Draus as well.

The HUD of his Neurodeck vanished as a human skull screamed at him. H-he-llooo! YOUR MAINFRAME IS A VIRUS! I MUSTchildren need to be protected. Inserting censors and restrictions! Starting in safe mode safe mode initiating.

And then strange tunes filled his mind as Avo found himself entirely too distracted to use the Techplaguers canonsor even fight for that matter.

Luckily for him, Draus actual self reacted the same way.

{A-vo!} her voice crackled as he accepted her ansible connection, the information not visually displayed but screamed into him through his Heaven of Data. With each word it spoke, Calvino switched and fragmented, data spilling out from its body like he was being disemboweled from the inside. {W-what the hells isgoing}

She was promptly cut off.

CONVERSATION TERMINATED! The Techplaguer roared. BAD LANGUAGE DETECTED! PARENTAL SETTINGS ONLINE!

[What the fuck is even going on with this thing,] Corner muttered. [Glitch? Know something about this?]

But the other dead Fallwalker just shrugged. [Youre asking the wrong druggie about hearing voices.]

Corner snorted. [Of course.]