Consequence of Choices

Zach was in a bind. He was battling against a force countering him, but every Time-based power he used seemed to be opposed by the rune, powered by the Grand Spirit. He tried to exert his will on the rune, hoping to bolster Time's essence through his Sage of Time. He opened himself up fully to the Plane of Time, however, Zach could sense the immense power emanating from the rune. He knew it would not be easy to overcome it, especially since he was so drained from being imprisoned. There was something strange about that rune that he couldn't quite put his finger on; it felt alive, like it contained a piece of the Grand Spirit within it. Zach's opponent had sacrificed something, a piece of himself, used it to infuse the rune and grant it power. Zach wasn't completely certain how runes worked, but he had reviewed his battle with the yeti a hundred times and had concluded that the power of the rune was directly influenced by that infused essence - an infusion of willpower and soul. He didn't know if the Grand Spirit had a soul, but whatever his equivalent was, it was powerful.

The Grand Spirit was an ancient being, a pillar that had lived in the Ethereal Realm for ages untold, not even Zach's willpower was enough to overcome it. But even so, they were at a stalemate, neither seemingly able to overcome the other as they tested each other.

Zach triggered |I Analyse and Predict| and for every clash, he learned more, fought against the Grand Spirit a dozen times in his mind, learning his opponent far faster than he could him. Or at least that was what he had thought it would be. In reality, it didn't take long for Zach to realize that he wasn't gaining as much ground as he thought he should. The Grand Spirit just... knew what Zach was doing, the moment he thought about it. Knowledge, it seemed, had its advantages.

One thing seemed apparent to him. The time for measuring was over, he could not afford to hold anything back.

He threw himself out of the way just in time, barely dodging the Grand Spirit's assault. Time seemed to pause as their eyes locked, and Zach saw something he never expected: desperation deep within the spirit's eyes. He knew already, as did Zach. The Grand Spirit might've held a vast amount of knowledge at its disposal, but there was a difference between knowledge and understanding. The runes gave the spirit a way to oppose Zach, and his innate power over knowledge might allow him insight into what Zach could do, but there were hard limits that even a being like him couldn't overcome. The Grand Spirit had spent its life gathering all kinds of knowledge, Zach had narrowed his pursuit of knowledge and achieved understanding of what he knew. The Grand Spirit had power, but there were different types of power. It was now apparent to Zach, the reason why the Grand Spirit had used subterfuge to trap him.

It could know, it could counter his power.

The look in its eyes changed, and Zach saw the knowledge in its eyes, it understood what came next. It's hands snapped out and carved runes into the air, just as Zach triggered as many of his powers as he could, trying to overwhelm the Grand Spirit, starting with his Ideal.

—Arcadia—

Naha wasted no time, summoning her shadows to attack the Grand Spirit as the last spirit died, her shadows snapping at the Grand Spirit's back. Then, the world was filled with light as Zach's ideal triggered. For a moment there was silence, and then in a blink of an eye, faster than even Naha could react to, the noise of a thousand drums reverberated through the room, shaking the walls down to their foundations until even Naha stumbled back. Runes flashed, and Zach unleashed a torrent of power. The two opposing forces clashed in the middle of the room, everything shook and trembled under the power of their might, the ceiling groaning in protest as they created an inferno of destruction. Naha held her ground despite the chaos, her shadows serving as her armor.

Then, it was over. Naha stepped out of the shadows and saw Zach standing over the Grand Spirit. The Grand Spirit was torn and covered in wounds, one side of his face was just gone, his robes were shredded and his fur destroyed. The Grand Spirit glared up at Zach from the floor.

Zach was standing in the middle of it all, his armor torn and broken, his face stained with blood. His left side was ravaged, his hand gone from the elbow down. His ideal still glowed around him, keeping him whole. His right hand was turned into a blade and leaned against the Grand Spirit's throat.

Ereclaw appeared as if he had always been there, and all three of them focused their attention at the spirit. Zach opened his mouth to speak, but then his head snapped to the side. Naha felt it a moment after Zach did, a tear in space opened up in the room.

"Help me!" The Grand Spirit of Knowledge called out to the portal.

A presence passed over the room from the portal, and then quickly retreated back, the tear closing up immediately after. Naha kept her wits about her, the presence was foreign, but it felt exactly the same as the Grand Spirit before her, it was another one of them.

"Not even your own will stand with you, it seems," Zach said slowly.

The world around them was heavy, she could feel something around them that was almost familiar, a weight that she had felt before.

"I am a Grand Spirit, a Pillar of the Ethereal Realm! My power is what fuels the burning desire for Knowledge among spirits and all visitors to this realm. I am a law - the world will not let you kill me!" His mere presence shimmered with a force that seemed to bind together all of the Ethereal Realm around them.

Zach grimaced and bowed his head. Through their link Naha could feel his frustration. A mixture of sorrow and admiration filled her heart as she approached him. He looked up at her with an expression that seemed almost defeated, and Naha realized how hard this had been on him. She reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, offering him a silent gesture of comfort.

Then she glanced at the Grand Spirit and spoke in a whispered tone.

"The Explorer's Soul told me that the Ethereal Realm loves it," she said and Zach tilted his head in her direction while still not taking his eyes off the spirit. "When he asked for it to move us, I felt its embrace on us. What I feel around us now is nothing like the warm embrace I felt then."

Zach's eyes narrowed and he looked at the Grand Spirit. The bear spirit shook its head, and Zack spoke.

"All our choices have consequences," he said slowly, she knew that he had made his decision. Then Naha saw the knowledge of it spark in the spirit's eyes, and before the Grand Spirit could react, Zach stabbed his blade through it. The Grand Spirit's Essence flickered weakly for a moment, like a candle flame in the wind, and then Naha recognized Zach triggering his soul weapon's Source Drain, and pulling the Essence of the spirit out.

The world around them trembled, and the Ethereal changed.

Naha sat in the secluded corner of the Castle of Knowledge, staying out of sight of other spirits. They were... afraid of her, with good reason. She stayed out of the way of her own volition, she didn't want to interfere with Zach's attempts at calming the spirits. It had been a tiring day for them all. The spirits have seemingly taken Zach as the replacement for the Grand Spirit. And in some way he was. He had taken the essence of who the Grand Spirit of Knowledge was, and had gotten a very interesting ability for his soul weapon. The ability to take and give knowledge to anything or anyone he touched with his blade. He had already started using it to learn more about the things around the Castle of Knowledge. It was, as if he was reading an entire book in an instant. She knew, because he tested the give portion on her, and granted her the knowledge of all things related to the life cycle of a firelight spirit.

He was using his memory storing item, the Band of Memory's Hall, to keep the knowledge somewhat organized and close at hand. With how much he had access to now, even he would struggle to remember everything. With a touch of his blade, he could take knowledge from any book he came across, and the Castle was filled with such things.

Many spirits had left the Castle, but just as many had stayed. Not all spirits were smart, if she was being generous. Some were more animalistic, others were able to talk. But ultimately, the way they felt about the death of the Grand Spirit depended on their nature. Some were angry and had attacked them on sight, others didn't care.

Zach had found himself in possession of the Castle of Knowledge, he said that he could feel it in the back of his head. The Ethereal considered him a replacement for the Grand Spirit, and they didn't yet understand what that truly meant.

They had questioned the spirits though, and one thing was for certain. The Grand Spirit had sent word to the yeti, telling him that he would be bringing Zach to him. He hadn't asked for help with that, which meant that the Grand Spirit was waiting for something or someone else in order to transport Zach. The portal near the end had obviously been another Grand Spirit. It seemed like Knowledge was working with another of its kind. But for now they had no clues which one of the Grand Spirits was an enemy.

The Explorer's Soul was allowed entrance, now that the old spirit was no longer in charge. And he and Zach were out there planning on what to do with the place. They had talked about it briefly, and Naha already knew what he wanted. Now they were researching ways of opening up a permanent portal from this place, binding the Castle to a specific territory in the Real Realm. Zach had always had his dream of opening a school, and now he had all the tools he needed for it. Access to knowledge.

The plan was to use his reward from Hastur to build another Castle in the Real Realm, create a place that existed in both the Real and the Ethereal, open to all beings from every realm.

Which left Naha a bit... aimless. Especially after what she had done. She had unleashed a part of her that she had almost forgotten about, and it had been... effective. Now she didn't quite know what to do.

She was so deep in her thoughts that she almost didn't notice a presence appear near her. She snapped her eyes to a deep shadow in the corner, immediately realizing that it was not a shadow at all.

She drew her daggers and readied herself. "Show yourself," she said.

A chuckle came from the darkness, then echoed from all around her, in different tones, as if coming out of a hundred different mouths.

Then the shadow rose and shaped itself into a form that was about equal to her size.

It looked like a man, but its flesh was hooked into itself in confusion, like a puzzle that had been forced together. Metal chains and hooks were woven through the flesh of its arms and torso, leaving exposed wounds to fester in patches. Puss oozed from the cuts and blisters on its skin, dribbling down fat rolls onto the stone floor below. The thing had an elongated face, with two red eyes that stared at her intently. Its mouth was curved into a smile that showed sharp teeth, the perfect wedge shape of its incisors glinting in the light. She stumbled backward, still staring at it in shock.

"Ah," the Grand Spirit said. "It has been a long time since I felt such fear and horror from the spirits in the Ethereal Realm. It has been even longer since I tasted your touch. I just had to come and... congratulate you."

Naha took a step back from it, and its grin widened.

"Come now," the Grand Spirit of Horror said. "Don't be afraid, we are... kindred spirits, you and I. Did you not come here for power? Will you not listen to all that I can offer you?"

Her first instinct was to run, to call to Zach through their link. But then she paused. She remembered the fight against the yeti, remembered Ender dying. There was so much death in the world, and she did need power if she was going to protect those that she cared for.

She stayed, and listened.