Chapter 329 - Evening Breeze

At the proclamation from the head cultist, the four Exalted felt a wrenching force in their bodies. The two oji collapsed to their knees instantly, their heads smashed against the floor with such force that they were nearly knocked unconscious.

Two two guru-chi had shocked looks on their faces as they felt like their control over their bodies was being savagely ripped away from them.

I’m an immortal Emissary of the Body domain, how can this happen to me? The thought passed through both Zashii and Ylia’s minds as they uncontrollably fell to their knees. They trembled furiously, rebelling against the force futily as their bodies leaned forward and their hands touched the bloodied stone.

Exalted from the Body Domain had the greatest affinity to the physical plane and their physical bodies of all the twelve domains, yet this Knowledge cultist was able to command their bodies like puppets!

The mannequin-like cultists were around them now, their fingers shaped into pointed metallic claws. They loomed around the four kneeling Exalted, jerking forward in stiff, unnatural motions, their shadows long and dark against the light of the raging brass coloured flames.

The eight armed head cultist floated in the air in front of the ritual machine, proclaiming,

“Lord Nephel!

God of Machinery and Bestowment!

Your devoted servant offers you this sacrifice of blood!

Drink upon these vessels’ souls to Your satisfaction!”

The swordsman guru-chi could only let out a scream of rage as the cultists descended upon him.

At that moment, though, a bubble of force exploded outward from the center of the Exalted, blasting the cultists away.

“The Clockwork God,” A croaking voice spoke as a figure emerged from the flames at the edge of the room, “Specializes in absorbing and bestowing the powers of other domains.”

The blackened figure of Cecil, his flesh charred and broken, limped into his force bubble. His clothes were in tatters, the edges of his half cloak were aflame and smoking. His face was unrecognizable, looking more ghoul-like than human.

His body was already dead, a lifeless corpse stirred to motion by his Exalted powers. He had already used up his bone rings to heal the most debilitating damage. The power in the quartz amulet embedded in his sternum was fading quickly. He didn’t have much time.

“The amulet.” Smoke trailed out of Cecil’s mouth as he addressed the two guru-chi who were still fighting for control of their bodies, “Pass it to me, and I will save you.”

“Free us, friend.” Zashii choked through gritted teeth, “And we will assist you.”

Beside him, Ylia wasn’t able to reply. Her eyes quivered with horror and fear as her head slowly lowered until it touched the floor.

“I can’t. Nephel has suborned the Domain of Body in this space.” Cecil replied, remarking casually, “He must have found an incredibly powerful sacrifice above your level to control you as he does.”

As they spoke, the mannequins threw themselves at the force bubble, breaking their limbs and shattering their stiffened flesh against the invisible shield with mindless abandon.

“The only way you can be saved is to stop the ritual.” Cecil said, “Spacetime has already been neutralized and my time is short. Hand me the amulet now or I cannot save you.”

“Save us, and you will get it.” Zashii lied through his teeth as his head slowly started lowering to the ground, trembling all the way.

“W-We don’t have it!” Ylia spoke in a strained whimper.

“Ylia!” Zashii growled.

Cecil felt his strength weakening rapidly. His left arm separated from his body and dropped to the floor with a heavy thud.

“A pity.” He frowned, stepping past the guru-chi.

He raised his eyes to the head cultist, who remained calmly hovering in the air, observing their conversation while her minions continued their assault. Her mask-like face was unreadable.

“Priest of Nephel, I have no quarrel with you or your god.” He proclaimed in a croaking voice, “My order seeks an emerald amulet hidden in this place. We will pay handsomely for its return.”

The side of his skull schlopped off, blackened, steaming brain matter plopping against the floor at his feet.

Beside him, the veins on the guru-chi’s face and necks bulged as they realized he was dealing with the enemy to claim their sacred artifact. However they had already lost too much control to even utter a sound.

The head cultist considered Cecil’s words for a moment, speaking in a low voice, “How strange. You appear to be of Fate. Have your kind not already taken it?”

My kind? But I am the only one from my order here. Cecil’s eyes sharpened in surprise. There was no possibility of another Fate Exalted being nearby, except—

The White Maiden?

The head cultist read the confusion on the charred man’s face. Her glowing eyes flickered as she waved a hand in disdain.

The force bubble shattered, along with the last marble ring on Cecil’s finger, which blew off his hand with it.

She dispelled the bubble so fast! It was destroyed with minimal force, meaning he had targeted the exact weakness of the spell. Cecil thought, more impressed than shocked. To have analyzed my spell in such short time… The Clockwork God truly lives up to His reputation.

The head cultist snuffed impatiently, “My lord has no interest in your affairs. Begone!”

“How regretful.” Cecil smiled ruefully, bending his remaining arm in front of his stomach as he bent into a polite bow. “Very well, I shall take my leave.”

His body fell apart as the last light from his quartz crystal dimmed to nothing.

The mannequin cultists pounced on Cecil’s body, pulling it apart. The charred flesh crumbled into dust, not even leaving behind a droplet of blood.

The head cultist turned in the air, her hands pressing together in prayer, “A pity, my lord. He has left nothing behind for us to analyze.”

In the smoke above, the illusory giant made of machine parts spoke into her mind in a metallic, distorted voice, “It is not a large loss. The ritual has gathered a bountiful wealth of knowledge. Once you sacrifice these final immortals, your task shall be complete.”

“Yes, my Lord!”

The head cultist bowed her head, closing her eyes in a silent prayer as she prepared to enact the final sacrifices.

The mannequin cultists’ motions calmed as they stopped picking apart the fallen mage’s body and shuffled into a circle around the four Body domain Exalted, whose bodies had stopped trembling.

The head cultist turned to face the room, her eight pairs of hands unfolding into a divine pose once more. She looked down at the group of cultists, their bodies broken and battered. They were once her friends and family, her fellow servants that worked in the estate for generations.

Now their bodies were under her full control, puppets of flesh granted to her by her God. The eyes of the mannequins were blank and empty, their souls had long gone, to join Nephel in His Clockwork Kingdom. And soon, she too, would join them. Their sacrifices and efforts would elevate them to become Emissaries, so he had promised.

She felt a tremble of power as her control over the guru-chi solidified. Their bodies were now under her full control, their souls trapped in a prison of their own flesh.

“Rise.” She said.

The swordsman and elegant woman rose, as did the young pair behind them.

“Let your blood flow!”

Panic flashed in the eyes of the Exalted, the only part of their bodies not completely taken over. Their pupils quivered as they raised their own weapons up, blades of sword and ice pressing against their hearts.

Just as they were about to plunge the blades in, a chilling aura washed over the room. The brass colours desaturated completely as the cold emptiness of the void filled the shadows of the room.

The illusory figure in the smoke disappeared as he was forcibly cut off from the space. In its place, the twinkling light of countless stars filled the darkness.

“The Astral plane…?” The head cultist murmured, “But how? It’s already been sealed?”

“Not from me.” A soft, scholarly voice rang out in space.

A skeletal figure in thin black robes materialized behind the guru-chi. His fleshless skull shone in the darkness, illuminated by the stark light of the stars.

He gazed upon the other figures in the room, sweeping his hand in a gentle gesture.

“Be at peace.”

The light in the guru-chi and oji’s eyes disappeared as the four Exalted crumpled instantly to the floor. Every mannequin cultist also dropped, like puppets with their strings cut.

“Who are you?” The cultist demanded. Her two middle pairs of hands gestured in sequence to activate the runic machine behind her.

“A man no longer a man.” The skeleton replied in verse, “A soul in seek of balance.”

The machine whirred to life, emitting a bright light as it changed configurations. Three clock hands shot out of the central axis like spears toward the figure.

Even at its full strength, the light of the machine felt dim against the cold radiance of the void.

“The end comes like an evening breeze.” The figure recited, “Soft and unseen…”

Under his words the machine’s light flickered and died, the clock hands grew sluggish. The light behind the head cultist’s eyes faded to darkness as she collapsed to the floor, dead.

“…carrying dreams off into the night.”

Li Ru, Angel of Death felt the dissonance in the area disperse as the souls of the cultists and Exalted flowed back into the aether.

The oppressive aura of the Clockwork God dissipated with the destruction of the ritual.

The raging flames fizzled and died.

Li Ru’s eye sockets were filled with a deep darkness as he looked solemnly across the dark chamber filled with corpses. His fleshless skull and roughly woven robes shone in the light of distant stars.

In that blackened chamber soaked with blood and ashes, all was still and silent.