Book 5: The Seed of Chaos

After finishing the visit with Eury, I spread out on the bed and close my eyes, losing myself in the moment, clearing out my thoughts.

That I spoke with three people from back home is surreal. And not only did I speak with them, but I saw them–even had the ability to see the world. The transmission artifact doesn’t just transmit my thoughts or voice, as I assumed it would, but does far more–it transmits me.

It is so beyond anything I could have hoped for, I don’t even know what to think. With the artifact I can visit those back home whenever I want, almost like I never left. I can coordinate with Euryphel on a strategy to counter the Infinity Loop technology.

Before, I second-guessed my decision to trade my loyalty to Karanos for a way to contact home. In hindsight, it was the best thing I could have done.

“He would not have gone so far to offer you such an artifact without reason,” Crystal interjects. “Be appreciative, Ian, but do not sell yourself short. Karanos did not give the artifact to you to be nice. You earned it from him by proving your worth.”

Yeah, right.

“He remains impressed by you.”

Impressed? Really?

She brushes past my skepticism. “I thought it was obvious.”

He’s certainly been acting nicer to me, but I’m not naive enough to think I’m special amongst ascendants, all of whom are pinnacle masters of their old worlds. My practice has always come easy to me, but talent only takes you so far. My experience is lacking.

“Karanos wants to see you and Maria,” Crystal says, changing the subject. “It is time to go. Suncloud has prepared a farewell send-off.”

A hear a knock on the door and recognize Seraph Windflower’s vital signature on the other side. “Ascendant Dunai, I’m here to escort you.”

I look down at the casual sweater and pants I changed into after losing my clothes to Suncloud. “What’s the dress code?”

“Formal, but my god has asked me to provide you with these vestments.”

I open the door to find Windflower bearing a small ring on a red cushion. She bows her head. “The clothing is within–you should wear the set at the center. I’ll wait outside while you dress yourself.”

I pluck the ring and give her a nod, then close the door and hold it up. It looks suspiciously like that ring of Messeras’ that chewed my finger off, but Cayeun wouldn’t do that to me...right?

Whenever I activate Messeras’ storage ring, I see a list of items in an indecipherable language. When I activate the ring from Suncloud, I see circular thumbnail images floating around in a loose network–no text. A major improvement. Each of the images features clothing. At the center of the network is a black suit jacket and pants.

I quickly change into the new suit and check myself out in the room’s floor-length mirror. Mother’s lessons come in handy as I assess the fit–interestingly enough, it doesn’t fit me at all. It feels like a suit made for someone at least one size smaller.

Well that’s awkward.

Just as I’m about to take the jacket off, the suit begins to shift on my skin, tightening and loosening in different areas. The fit feels significantly better, and looking at myself in the mirror, the cut is excellent. The suit is different from the ones back home–it has a cape that extends down the back and clips in the front with a small, black teardrop broach, replacing the need for a tie. But it doesn’t look tacky or like something from the annals of history–the suit looks sharp, modern.

I smile at the mirror one last time before finding Windflower. “I’m ready if you are.”

She points to the broach. “If you put some of your energy in the broach, it’ll change color.”

If it’s black now, odds are it’ll turn violet from Death energy or blue from ascendant energy. “I think I prefer it how it is now, actually.”

“Black does become you,” Crystal remarks.

Do you understand human standards of style? I ask, genuinely curious. Sure, Crystal can read minds, but that isn’t everything.

“In all honesty, it is easiest to parse the thoughts of others, rather than forming an opinion myself. I doubt you have a solid understanding of fish standards of beauty.”

I suppress a grin. That, I do not.

“Have fun tonight, Ian. Be seeing you soon.”

—

“Maria Elde Sezakuin,” a voice purred from behind. Maria jumped in place, stunned by the sudden appearance of Cayeun Suncloud in her bedroom. Maria was under no illusions that there was any privacy from Suncloud in the Perennial Palace, but appearing like this was simply rude.

“The esteemed Cayeun Suncloud–to what do I owe the pleasure?”

Cayeun’s laughter was sonorous, bell-like. Her black wings draped onto the floor around her, contrasting with her pale dress to accentuate her figure. “You know, I actually see a good bit of myself in you. I used to spend my days exploring Eternity, trying to find interesting individuals and sapient specimens. You belong among the numbers of the most unique on the basis of being a non-ascendant practitioner in Eternity.”

Maria raised an eyebrow. “Thank you,” she replied. I guess.

Cayeun sighed and smiled. “Look, meddling is my primary pastime–I can’t resist inserting myself where I don’t belong. I’ve seen your past as well as Ian’s and I’ve decided to do you both a favor.”

Maria grew suspicious. Sure, Cayeun Suncloud had given Ian the transmission artifact, but calling her eccentric was putting it lightly. Was she actually trying to do them a favor, or just trying to sow chaos?

“What did you have in mind?” Maria finally asked.

Suncloud pointed to the black diadem hovering over her head. “I’m going to give you a special one of these.” She snapped her fingers and a new diadem appeared and hovered over her hand, this one a pale blue color. “I think it goes rather well with your eyes, don’t you?”

“What does it do?” The diadems worn by the seraphs facilitated inter-communication, but that was useless to Maria.

“It’ll change how others perceive you, and even how you see yourself,” Cayeun explained. “It’ll make you look more like you did before you died. But it’ll also help.”

“With what?”

Cayeun grinned deviously. “Help with feeling how you used to feel. The mind is complex, but also simple, governed by physical forces like hormones. You’ve told Ian that it’s been getting easier to hold in your emotions, but that’s a half-truth.”

Maria fidgeted uncomfortably.

“They’re becoming muted. You’re feeling less, caring less. Feeling disconnected. Am I wrong?”

Maria snorted to hide her mortification. She didn’t like how easily Suncloud illuminated the issue at hand–Crystal had the good sense to leave things alone while Maria’s resurrection was still so raw. “No, you’re not wrong,” Maria replied. “And this diadem, it’s going to serve as an emotional surrogate? If so, I don’t need it–I don’t need fake emotions. I’ll work with Crystal to get mine back.”

Cayeun just continued to smile. She suddenly flicked her wrist and the diadem flew towards Maria. She caught the diadem on reflex, the blue tiara hovering between her hands.

“You don’t have to use it if you don’t want to, but at least put it in your storage, for seraph’s sake.” She winked. “Our minds are fickle things, Maria. But that’s the beauty of them. Ascendant bodies often stay the same, and many consider the mind equally static, changing very little the longer we live. But the uncomfortable truth is that the mind is ever evolving, shedding old memories for new. You and Dunai are both young, your minds more mutable than most. Good luck.”

Cayeun let herself out through the balcony.

Maria inspected the diadem, eyes narrowed in contemplation. Crystal, how has Ian been doing? Suncloud’s presence interfered with Crystal’s ability to communicate, so the question was partly a test to see if Crystal was once more available.

“He cried a lot.”

Maria blanched. What? Why? What happened back home? Her heart leapt to her throat.

“From relief and happiness,” Crystal added. “From the conversations he has been having, it is as though he has come back from the dead. I do not understand–it has only been two months.”

Maria blinked. Who did he reach out to? I assume Euryphel.

“His sister, his teacher, and the prince. He is wrapping up with Euryphel now, in fact. You should ask him about it later rather than hearing second-hand from me.”

Fair point. What do you think about this diadem?

“I think it will help you.”

Really?

“Really. Karanos added it as a second favor.”

Maria’s eyes widened. Excuse me?

“I was not going to tell you unless you asked. I think Karanos intends for me to tell you–so he can pretend not to tell you–to seem like he is helping you without seeking recognition.”

Maria’s head swam. I think I understood that. Is he trying to assuage his guilt over being the prick who murdered me?

“Something like that.”

Maria shunted the diadem into her void storage without compunctions. Thanks for letting me know, Crystal. What would I do without you?

“Go insane?”

Maria chuckled. Perhaps.

—

The farewell send-off differs from expectations. Rather than being a large ballroom with a bar and waiters running around with hors d'oeuvres, the room of Suncloud’s choosing is rather small, around the size of my guest bedroom but with a taller ceiling. A long table stretches across one side of the room and at the chamber’s center is a circular table.

Karanos places a freshly-shuffled deck of cards–the variant Messeras showed me, 50 cards split between ten suits–at the table’s center.

“For some reason, I thought you’d be worse at this,” Maria remarks, sighing my way. We’ve been playing for over an hour and I’ve distinguished myself as an adept, keeping up with Suncloud and Karanos. In contrast, Maria lags behind, while Crystal hangs on for dear life, her talons unable to dexterously manipulate the cards. “You’re making me look bad.”

A swell of subdued emotion rises in my chest. I don’t respond, but Suncloud has a devious glint in her eye.

“Your father did love cards, didn't he, Ian?”

You would know, I retort inwardly. This game relies on luck and quick, immediate thinking to play cards until there are none left in your hand. “If he did, it doesn’t matter, ‘cause Beginning affinity can’t be taught.”

“Your mother, though,” Suncloud continues. “She hated cards.”

I nod slowly.

“But she made you learn them. What an enigma.”

Mother was crazy, especially when I was younger. She did everything she could to try and make me and Germaine into the posh kids she thought the Dunai family expected. Her only reference points were her husband, Demetrius, and sister-in-law, Julia–both Beginning practitioners who liked to play games.

What is Suncloud trying to do by bringing up my past now? I thought that this send-off was a way to brush Suncloud’s antics under the metaphorical rug before we headed out.

“She cannot help herself,” Crystal remarks.

“I mostly taught myself,” I state, rebuffing her. “There wasn’t much else to do when I was young. My sister had her sketchpads, but I never took pleasure in drawing for hours.”

“What about a glossY?” Maria asks. “I couldn’t keep Zilverna away from the projections of his.”

Karanos raises an eyebrow.

“It’s a handheld entertainment and communication device,” I explain. “Common on our old world. Believe me, as soon as I had a glossY you couldn’t peel me away from it. Glossy programmatics major, remember?”

Karanos snorts. “I can’t believe how little of this conversation I understand.” He gives Cayeun a pointed look. “You brought this up just to confuse me, didn’t you?”

Suncloud chuckles and fiddles with her bangs. “I do things for many reasons, love.”

We play a few more rounds before we all call it a night. We sleep over in the palace, then depart the next morning after eating a lavish breakfast.

Karanos skips breakfast and is even late getting to our meeting point outside the palace.

“You look mildly disheveled,” Maria observes.

He smooths his robes and flashes a cheeky smile before assuming his typical stoic facade. “Such is the price of dealing with Cayeun Suncloud. Come along–we have a dragon to collect, and then we’re off.”

“Why won’t you tell us where we’re going?” Maria probes.

“Because I don’t know where we’re going, either,” he states. “Eternity is vast, its interesting places uncountable. There are many places we could go.”

“So we’re not going back to the lightless plane?” I ask.

“Not anytime soon, no,” Karanos replies. “I know you have your large Death construct there, but you were never going to be able to lug that thing around.”

I was supposed to help Floria...

“What about the dilated time there?” Maria asks.

Karanos raises an eyebrow. “What about it?”

Maria frowns. “Is it that easy to find other planes with dilated time?”

Karanos snorts. “I found the so-called lightless plane in an hour. You’re lucky you have me.”

Windflower approaches our group just before we depart. “Long travels, sound mind.”

I smile politely. “Thanks, Seraph Windflower. It was a pleasure.”

She smiles back and waves as we kick off the ground, rocketing into the sky toward Sah’s location near the edge of the cloud layer. When we find the frost dragon, he’s snuggling in a layer of cloudy white, fast asleep.

Has he just been sleeping the whole time?

“Sah has had an eventful few days, and frost dragons are very good at sleeping,” Crystal remarks.

Sah sniffs at the air, then stirs as we touch down on the clouds. His eyes snap open and he tears at the clouds with his talons as though surprised to find himself covered in them. Crystal walks over to his side and the dragon calms down, eyeing the rest of us with unearned arrogance, his black throat glowing subtly yellow with fire.

“Like before, try your best to follow what I’m doing,” Karanos says, addressing me and Maria. “You’re not going to learn all my tricks through observation alone, but paying attention won’t hurt.” He pulls his arm back. “If you look closely, you can see the way my energy affects the world.”

I struggle to see what he’s talking about–his control is good enough that his hand shows no signs of being coated in ascendant energy. I can’t tell that anything is different from normal.

“It’s almost like the world is bending around your index finger,” Maria remarks.

Now that she’s pointed it out, I see it. There’s slight distortion around the single finger. It reminds me of the video footage of myself back home, when elementalist attacks fell apart as they passed through my Death energy defenses. I hadn’t known anything about using ascendant energy back then–proto-ascendant energy simply seeped into my practice. It was the main reason why I had to be so careful at the Fassari Summit and source all my energy from soul gems.

Karanos nods sternly, then slashes out with his hand. The sky begins to peel away like old wallpaper. He pinches the sundered sky between two fingers and tugs it back, revealing a dark plane. Moonlight illuminates ferns and vines and petrichor wafts forth.

Karanos steps through, and we’re off.