Bender of Worlds

by Isaac Hooke

  There was also Dark Hand, a level three work used to remotely manipulate and crush objects, which was similar to the White Essence Telekinesis ability. He noted that there was no level seven Mass Dark Hand version, however, unlike the White Mass Telekinesis. Either it didn’t exist, or the dwellers had never taught it to Tiberius.

  Besides the aforementioned Essenceworks, he hadn’t really seen any of the others in action, except maybe Protective Environment, which enveloped the body in a pressurized environment, and Renewal, a level seven Dark work described as a way to reinvigorate one’s body. He reread the latter.

  Renewal. A way to reinvigorate one’s body. Requires drawing the Dark Essence through a large piece of Darcanium. Cannot be used within an Essence Link. Stamina drain: high. Creation time: 5 minutes, though the age-reversing effects become apparent within the first thirty seconds.

  He was reminded of the dweller that had ambushed him on Remus. That one had brought with it a coterie of aliens to Siphon away the Arcanum of the dark artifact after Tane had unlocked it, and the alien had rejuvenated itself using the massive amount of Essence available.

  Tane wondered why the dwellers hadn’t simply touched the Darcanium hull of one of their own alien ships to achieve the same effect, but realized the dwellers likely faced the same limits as humans when it came to Siphoning such a huge amount through a hull, in that the Essence became impossible to control. He could just imagine the infinite number of flames forming around himself when he touched a dweller hull... it would probably burn him to a cinder.

  Returning to his HUD interface, he saw an ellipsis beside the last page tab. He focused on it, which caused another tab to appear, this one labeled “White and Dark Essence Specific.”

  Tane chose the tab and discovered planetary locations for dark artifacts that would teach seven more levels of Essenceworks, these focusing on Dark and White combinations: yes, not only did the Dark give him the ability to create stable White Essenceworks from large Chrysalium sources like starship hulls without the need for preprogrammed AIs, Tiberius had developed a whole new class of unique works that combined both Essences. Their creation time ranged from one minute to over an hour, due to the Dark component. The only downside, as far as he could tell, was that because of the nature of the White Essence, the combined works couldn’t be held in reserve when completed, and had to be released immediately.

  It might be worth dropping by the planet that harbored the level one Dark and White Essenceworks before leaving the Umbra. Then again, Lyra and the others had already done enough for him. Did he really want to risk their lives any further than he already had? Well, either way, he’d have to make up his mind on the matter before returning to the shuttle.

  Skimming the list, he saw that most of the levels were listed as locked, with the descriptions to be revealed once the associated dark artifacts were accessed. The two works at level seven were unlocked, however, and he read the contents:

  Essenceworks available to Dark and White Mixing, Level 7.

  Inter-dimensional Distortion Tunnel. The ability to travel back and forth between Umanitar—humanity’s universe—and the Umbra. You and a nearby circle of friends are brought back to the same place in Umanitar as you exist in the Umbra, and vice versa. Stamina requirements: extremely high. Creation time: 10 minutes.

  Essence Reservoir Creation. The ability to create an Essence reservoir and apply an Essencework of your choice to it, either White, Dark, or a combination of both. Accessible upon touch to anyone with the skill to siphon both White and Dark (i.e.: essentially only you). Stamina requirements: extremely high. Creation time: 1 hour, plus the time necessary to form the Essencework to trigger.

  Tane realized that the dark lenses Tiberius had seeded the Umbra with were in fact the results of Essence Reservoir Creation provisioned with Inter-dimensional Distortion Tunnels, though apparently Tiberius could have applied any other Essencework to those reservoirs. Tane could see himself creating reservoirs at strategic points around a planned battlefield, and provisioning them with different works that he could use in a pinch. Such triggerable reservoirs would be especially useful when he was too exhausted to otherwise access the Essence, or needed a work that had a high creation time.

  Too bad it was so many levels ahead.

  Ah well, he’d just have to spend time advancing Dark and White Mixing until he attained the necessary level. Maybe spend a few months hunting kraals. Then again, he wasn’t sure if that would really be using the Dark for good, as his teacher taught.

  Tane touched the artifact and commanded it to shrink using his Dark Artifact Control skill. The large lens became the size of a small apple in his palm. The threads connecting him to the artifact instantly thinned, and redirected into the floor, toward the moon’s core. He couldn’t feel the Dark Essence beckoning to him from within the artifact anymore, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to Siphon through the Darcanium while the object was reduced like that. He’d have to command it to enlarge again, first. He could still Siphon the Dark Essence produced by the planet’s core, of course, just as he could still step into the stellar wind of the White.

  He attached the apple-sized artifact to his harness by tightening one of the free loops in the fabric around it, and then he studied the dead dweller a moment.

  “Where are you?” Tane said via his external speakers. “Come with us.”

  What sounded like a deep laugh came from the synthesizer attached to the corpse. “To where? The Umanitar? There is no place for me in your universe. My part in all of this is done. I have fulfilled my duty. I will return to my cave and whither away until I join my mate.”

  “All right,” Tane said. “Thank you, then.”

  “Good luck to you, Doomwielder,” the dweller said. “The fate of the galaxy resides firmly in your hands, whether you realize it yet or not.”

  “Care to elaborate on that?” Tane asked.

  The dweller offered no response.

  So be it.

  Tane approached Lyra, Sinive, and Jed. “Well that was... interesting.”

  “I’ll say,” Sinive transmitted. “Talking to dweller corpses. Learning memories from a man dead over a thousand years. I have to say, hanging out with you is always a trip.”

  “Glad to be your drug of choice.” Tane glanced at Jed and Lyra. “We should get back to the shuttle and decide what to do next.”

  Lyra seemed surprised. “You don’t want to fly to the nearby distortion lens?”

  “I’m not sure yet,” Tane said. “There might be another planet worth visiting. Have you been in touch with Nebb?”

  “I have,” Jed said. “My suit has been able to maintain a connection with Cub’s postal node. Nebb tells me repairs to the Red Grizzly are going well. By his estimate, he’ll be ready for take off in another half hour.”

  Tane nodded. “So I have half an hour to decide.”

  He accessed the Dark Essence as he climbed the stairs leading to the street. He intended to create a work of Fingers of Ruin to hold in reserve, but something interrupted him ten seconds in.

  A small device bounced onto the steps in front of him. It looked like a knob of some kind with a pulsing red rim at the base.

  Puzzled, he turned around. “Did anyone drop...”

  The words died on his lips.

  Jed was wrestling with Lyra on the platform at the base of the stairs.

  “Run, Engineer!” Jed transmitted.

  Jed was flung backward as multiple Essence Missiles erupted from Lyra’s torso. She sat up, turning toward Tane. Behind her faceplate, her eyes were not her own: they appeared dead, emotionless.

  Tane knew one thing for certain: she meant him deadly harm.

  10

  Tane darted up the stairs and out of Lyra’s line of sight. Sinive was at his side.

  He reached the shed, burst onto the street, and activated his shield generator. He pulled ahead of Sinive.

  “What the hell came over her?” Sinive said over the comm.

&n
bsp; “Dunno.” Tane raced toward the shuttle. “But I’m not sticking around to find out.”

  I knew I couldn’t trust that damned Volur!

  Still dousing the ethereal fires of chaos around him, Tane restarted Fingers of Ruin as he ran.

  Halfway to the shuttle, two notices appeared on his HUD in rapid succession.

  Shield strength 50%.

  Shield strength 0%.

  The directional vector on the HUD indicated the hits had come from behind.

  Tane stopped, raising his hands. He turned around, expecting to find Lyra, but instead Sinive stood there, pistol pointed directly at him.

  “You, too?” Tane asked. He lost his concentration, and the Fingers of Ruin timeline unraveled. He released the Dark Essence.

  “It’s not me,” Sinive said. It sounded like she was crying inside her helmet. “I can’t...” Her voice abruptly cut off. When she spoke again, her tone had changed. It had become brusque, with each word sounding almost like a hiss. “Move and I’ll kill you.”

  Behind her, he saw troops in power armor rapidly approaching. They were escorted by humanoid mechs, four meters tall. They were just as insubstantial as Tane, the buildings, and everything else. A large ship hovered overhead, above the skyscrapers. It was a TSN battle cruiser of some kind.

  Lyra appeared at the entrance to the shed. She had a silver staff in hand, a work of Chrysalium undoubtedly retrieved from her storage pouch.

  Before she could do anything, Jed flashed into existence behind her. His gloved fist glowed a bight white as he smashed it into the back of her suit, and she was sent flying across the asphalt, the staff knocked from her grasp.

  The white halo around his glove faded instantly, and his hand moved downward in a blur, drawing the glowing pistol from his holster. He aimed it at Sinive.

  “No!” Tane said.

  Jed fired. But he hadn’t been aiming for Sinive’s center of mass, apparently. His marksmanship was high enough to strike her pistol alone, and she dropped it as the weapon glowed red hot.

  “Run!” Jed said over the comm, becoming invisible once more.

  Tane dashed toward the shuttle, but before he reached it the craft exploded. The shockwave knocked him over and he landed on his side. He quickly scrambled to his feet: as far as he could tell, shrapnel hadn’t struck him, and his suit integrity remained steady at 100%. His shield strength was back to zero, however.

  He grabbed his beam hilt and stepped into the White Essence. The dual-bladed Essence ax erupted.

  He touched the Dark Essence as well as he raced away from the incoming TSN troops. The shadow of the battle cruiser fell upon him. He wondered if it would unleash a dragon or plasma weapon against him.

  No, they want me alive.

  He started Fingers of Ruin once again. He turned onto a side avenue and kept close to the wall of skyscrapers that bordered the road. He wanted to remain out of the line of sight of that cruiser for as long as possible.

  “Nebb, do you read?” Tane tried. The words ruined his concentration, and he lost the Dark Essencework.

  With the shuttle’s postal node destroyed, it was doubtful Tane would be able to reach the smuggler.

  Sure enough there was no response.

  Tane began the Dark work yet again.

  His shield strength slowly crept back up as he continued down the street. He glanced at his overhead map and realized Jed was with him, shadowing his movements close by, remaining invisible. Sinive also pursued, according to the blue dot that trailed behind him.

  He looked over his shoulder at her and saw she had retrieved another pistol from her inventory. But before she could strike, Jed’s blue Chrysalium sword appeared from nowhere and cut the weapon in two. Then he slammed his arm outward, sending her spacesuit flying backward across the asphalt.

  Tane paused. “Sinive!”

  “She’s all right, Engineer,” Jed said, vanishing. “Keep running. The TSN have her and Lyra now.”

  Sure enough, Sinive sat up a moment later. She delved into her storage pouch, no doubt searching for another weapon.

  Without waiting, Tane broke into a run once again. The latest disruption had ruined his Essencework, and he had to restart the Dark creation all over again.

  He turned into a side street, and then another. By the time he reached the next intersection, Tane finally completed Fingers of Ruin, and then held it in reserve so that a fiery globe of darkness appeared above and ahead of him. He darted diagonally across the latest intersection, heading toward a cross street.

  As he neared the edge of one of the buildings ahead, he glanced behind him in time to see troops rounding the bend on the far side of the street. He didn’t spot Sinive or Lyra among them, but it was possible they were there. Neither of them showed up on his overhead map anymore—they’d disabled chip sharing.

  A dark swarm appeared above the troops as he watched.

  “Uh, that can’t be good,” Tane said.

  “Drone swarm,” Jed said over the comm. “They’ll be on us shortly. They’ll try to capture you with energy nets, which will quickly deplete your shield and ensnare you. I’d suggest using Essence Sight, maximum distance, so you are aware in advance, and can dodge or slice the nets with your ax. Plus take down any drones that get too close.”

  Tane threw out his Essence Sight lifeline and his viewpoint switched to above and behind him. He positioned the viewpoint at the maximum thirty-five meter distance Essence Sight level two allowed.

  A few moments later the drones arrived. As Jed predicted, they launched nets at him, forcing Tane to dodge, or slice them away. Jed blasted away with his pistol, downing drones as he went. Each shot caused him to momentarily blink into view.

  Tane attempted to launch a few Essence bolts with his energy ax, but it was tricky lining up the tip of the ax with the moving targets, and he didn’t hit any of the drones.

  Several large holes formed in the fabric of reality up ahead: from them mechs emerged in the middle of the street and cut him off. The big machines were stepping through local distortion tunnels created by Essenceworkers somewhere among the troops.

  Roughly three mechs emerged from each hole before the distortion tunnels winked closed. The towering machines looked like faceless combat robots, except their polycarbonate exteriors were colored white and blue, and they were about four times the size. He knew from his chip that they contained human pilots in the cockpits, but otherwise he wasn’t able to perform any actual ID on the machines.

  Probably a good thing, considering he had no time to read such an ID: some of those mechs immediately fired nets at him. He dodged some, and cut through the remainder before they could ensnare him.

  Tane veered far to the right in an attempt to dash past the entire group, but a mech easily maneuvered in front of him and forced Tane to confront it.

  The big robot attempted to grab Tane in a large metallic hand. If it touched him, that hand would easily deplete his half-charged shield and penetrate to the spacesuit below.

  Tane leaped to the side, swinging his Essence Ax, and cut the metal hand right off.

  The other big hand swiveled toward him; Tane had no time to reverse his ax swing, so he launched an Essence Missile instead. It impacted the robotic arm, severing it just below the elbow joint.

  Another mech fired a net at him from the side, and Tane narrowly sliced it away. Then that big machine rushed him in turn.

  Tane threw his Fingers of Ruin reserve at the mech, and it impacted the cockpit area. A dark crack formed down the middle and the robot tripped, crashing into the asphalt just beside Tane, scraping a short runnel across the surface.

  More drones swooped in, forcing Tane to deal with their nets as well. The remaining mechs came at him while he was occupied. Scepter combat robots held on to the shoulder regions of some of the mechs, and they were also equipped with rifles that fired energy nets. Some of them leaped down to the asphalt for a better shot.

  Tane constantly swung his ax about, turning to meet
every net that was launched. Without Essence Sight, he would have been captured by now.

  Jed was at his side momentarily. He flashed into existence as his sword helped hew through the incoming nets. Together they fought their way forward, cutting a path through the remaining robots and mechs. By the time they reached the far side of the street, they’d left a trail of ten combat robots and nine mechs. Tane wondered if it would have been so easy if those machines had been actually trying to kill him.

  Most of the drones had exhausted their energy nets by that point, which is why it caught Tane by surprise when a net came in seemingly from nowhere and pinned his leg. He tripped.

  Jed emerged from invisibility. He freed Tane with his Chrysalium sword.

  “Let’s go!” Jed said. He fired the pistol in his other hand three times, disabling a trio of drones that swooped in, and the remainder turned back, their energy nets evidently spent. A few of the drones lingered high above: they probably weren’t equipped with nets, and instead functioned as airborne surveillance devices. Or maybe they were simply waiting for a better moment to strike.

  Tane and the invisible Jed continued onward. More mechs rounded the corner of the intersection behind the pair: he counted about thirty.

  A missile slammed into the ground in front of Tane, digging a huge blast crater.

  “They want to play rough, do they?” Jed said.

  The Volur sparked into existence, firing his pistol—it had become a huge rifle, like the minigun one might expect to find attached to a gunship. He unleashed several large shots, downing three mechs in rapid succession. Then he vanished from view as missiles impacted his previous location.