Chapter 44: Stalemate

  *No farms. No shelter. I can imagine the hostility. Reclaiming the world after what must have been like an apocalypse. Fuck, it probably was just that - goddamn apocalypse.

  The War for Survival had a double meaning all this time.*

  I leaned back onto my chair, distancing myself from Antonio who sat across the table. Pylades on my right seemed eager to keep the pace; he found his cue and spoke.

  "But two of Pandora's children rebelled against her—Medea and Prometheus."

  "Here"—Mountain's arm stretched out like a thick branch as he pointed at (MED)—"Medea created her Hive, where Pandora gave birth to her."

  "Birth? To a goddess?" I was puzzled.

  "Yeah," Pylades just said, "And here"—he pointed at (RD)—"is where Prometheus lives." His finger tapped the spot with force. For a brief moment the map lost its shape at the point of impact. Waves swept over the table, restoring the details with metallic chirping.

  "Where Prometheus lives?" I echoed.

  "Where his core is," Antonio explained patiently. "The thing that manifests his essence into the mortal world."

  "And he's the bad guy?"

  "Indeed," Antonio replied, and his finger began to quietly tap on the table. Tap. tap. tap…

  "So Medea is defeated…" I trailed off when the mark on my wrist broke its usual pattern. It began to pulse frantically with growing heat. A split second later, the seal's cold washed the heat away.

  *Seal is acting strange again, wha-*

  "Her main consciousness, yes, but..." Pylades leaned over the table and his finger landed on (MED) with a heavy tap. "Her remaining forces still occupy Medea's Hive."

  Legatus, the Embodiment of Impatience, intensified his tapping effort. Tap. tap. tap.

  "O?kay... but anyway, if we destroy Prometheus's core, he's done for?"

  Legatus and Pylades nodded in unison. The tapping stopped.

  My gaze drifted between the two, skimming over the weapon racks on the walls. Swords and axes of different shapes and sizes filled them. They seemed more like decoration than fighting weapons, judging by the intricate engravings and golden elements. Neither Pylades nor Argus seemed eager to continue, so I just asked the obvious:

  "Why don't we just do that?"

  "Excellent question. First, Medea's Hive blocks the way—"

  Patience wasn't my forte either, and I interrupted him. Antonio didn't seem pleased by that; his tapping resumed.

  "Can't we go around it on foot? Not through the port?"

  "Through the Cursed Lands?" Antonio raised his voice in surprise.

  Seeing my oblivious expression, he explained further. "It would take months of preparation, and probably another month to get there—assuming Prometheus's forces don't munch us for breakfast first."

  "Argus, sorry, but unpack 'Cursed Lands'..."

  "Cursed Lands. Dead Lands. No?man's?land." He listed them quickly. "You go there, you die. Unless you have Sacred Armor."

  "Then...?" I risked the question. *Easy, Antonio. I'm trying to keep up here.*

  "Massive distance." Pylades jumped in just as Argus inhaled, leaving him with a not?so?gracefully open mouth for a moment. "We'd be easily spotted and taken out, fighting both the environment and Prometheus's forces. His creations—golems—have high resistance to the curses and are overall very sturdy, but they need tremendous amounts of mana to operate, so they can't go far from the ports. Each port has its own mana vein, smaller than..."—he tapped (PGZ) and (PGJ) respectively—"these two, but they can use them to recharge."

  "O?kay... I'm sorry, it's a lot to take in. So golems are tough, they can survive Cursed Lands but have limited mobility. And goblins? What about them?"

  "Them?" He smirked. "Here's where it gets interesting. They are, hm, how to put it..." Pylades mused.

  Tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap.

  "They are tougher than your average human. Not in strenght necesserily, but sickness, curses, weather - they're better adapted than us. They can move through Cursed Lands more freely, but it's difficult for them nonetheless."

  Pylades went silent. I held my jaw like some kind of philosopher.

  *So Goblins could reach the Royal Palace and the Temple on foot, theoretically. Was that how they attacked? Either that, or they sneaked in through the Magichariot Ports. But the security is super tight there. Was it the same before attack? From what they say, the Magichariot is critical infrastracture. The whole kingdom depends on it. Surely they protect it well.*

  *Except, if there's a rat - then everything can go sideways - security nightmare.*

  We both turned to Antonio, who stopped tapping and grunted.

  "Where was I...?" Legatus eyed Pylades with fake anger. "Right. So first, Medea's Hive is in the way. But even if we take them out"—he tapped the red 'x' on the line between (MED) and (RD)—"Prometheus cut off his portal, preventing mortal intervention. He's fighting Pandora purely in the Spirit World."

  "Can't we fix it?" I said, glancing between the two.

  Pylades hid his mouth, as if trying to stop himself from interrupting his superior again. Argus gave me a long, tired look. Full of consternation. Finally, he said: "We can't. We don't have the knowledge to do so."

  Althea's chimed in, "Mortals have no idea how divine works function, my Leonard."

  The whole 'war' began to look more and more like a stalemate to me. Each side locked in place with their own limitations.

  "Who could repair it, Legatus?"

  "Prometheus."

  *Huh. He's the one who broke them, so I doubt he'd find the idea of repairing them appealing.*

  "Leonard, you have to move," Althea whispered.

  I rose, pushing the table to help myself. I went around it, behind Legatus and Pylades.

  "Althea, do you know how to fix it?"

  *Sorry, I'm more, hmmmm, flesh-craft and spirit... management oriented, but most of my knowledge is limited now.*

  Chills shivered my body. I shook my head.

  *Creepy. My guide is plain creepy.*

  *Tomorrow, I'll worry about her tomorrow.*

  Pacing near the windows, I tried to organize what I'd learned today. Beyond the glass, farmlands stretched outside the Temple. Scaffolding above the plants glowed with bright, warm light the sun in the grim sky wasn't eager to give.

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  "Let me repeat this so I know if I've got this right," I said, counting on my fingers.

  Legatus and Pylades sat angled in their chairs, tracing my movement. Their heads tilted from left to right.

  "We can travel only through ports because the lands are deadly."

  "Medea's remaining forces block the way to Prometheus, our enemy."

  "We still have to worry about Goblins, because they can attack from Cursed Lands."

  "Even if we reclaim (MED), the port to Prometheus is broken."

  "Prometheus's forces are resistant to the Cursed Lands, but they need mana to operate and can't reach us?"

  Legatus's cloak was drawn tight across one shoulder, partially hiding his muscular, bare arm. The material glimmered when I moved.

  "In short, correct," Antonio confirmed. "But like I said, we can't repair the port to Prometheus."

  *There has to be some way around this stalemate. Finding it seems to be the key to the victory.*

  "All right, so what's the plan?" I asked, focusing on Legatus. His torso was covered with steel armor, like a vest.

  "You're the chosen one here. You tell me."

  *He's serious. He didn't bat an eye saying this.*

  Pylades chuckled.

  Unlike at the Royal Palace, standing in the light bleeding through the windows didn't make any difference — the light was too weak, and Antonio's office was simply warm anyway. My shoes—more like slippers, really—tapped softly on the floor as I paced near the windows. I craned my neck, eyes locked on the map.

  *What a mess. And they expect me to figure it out?*

  "You're restless." Argus smirked.

  "Have to move or my joints may calcify. Hyper-compatibility." I shrugged it off like I was explaining a flu.

  "I heard something, didn't know it's that bad." He said it almost apologetically. "Crucible... it's not a walk in the park, but it shouldn't be that intense either. They say you go through," he grunted, "much more than previous participants."

  Pylades nodded grimly.

  "What I'd like to say is that if you need something, anything, make sure to come to me. We all want you to survive this and to succeed."

  *Keeping your investment safe or having some conscience, Antonio?*

  "Thanks," I said flatly.

  *Anyway, back to the map.*

  ╔═════════════════════════════════════╗

  ║. . . . . . .ABBREVIATIONS . . . . . ║

  ║. (DB). = Temple. . . . . . . . . . .║

  ║. (RP). = Royal Palace. . . . . . . .║

  ║. (MED) =.Medea's Hive. . . . . . . .║

  ║. (RD). = Prometheus Hub. . . . . . .║

  ║. (S) . = Seed-Store. . . . . . . . .║

  ║. (PGZ) = Mana Vein Zeus. . . . . . .║

  ║. (PGJ) = Mana Vein Jupiter . . . . .║

  ║. (M) . = Deep Mines. . . . . . . . .║

  ║. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .║

  ║═════════════════════════════════════║

  ║. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .║

  ║. . . . . ._--------------(RP). . . .║

  ║. . . . . /. . . . . . . ./. .\ . . .║

  ║. . . . (DB)---x---. . ._/. . .|. . .║

  ║. . . ./. . . . . . \. /. . . .|. . .║

  ║. (PGZ)---------x---.(S).---.(M). . .║

  ║. . . . . . . . . . . .\. . ./. . . .║

  ║. . . . . . . . . . . . |. ./ . . . .║

  ║. . . . . . . . . . . . |. /. . . . .║

  ║. . . . . . . . . . . (MED) . . . . .║

  ║. . . . . . . . . . ./. | . . . . . .║

  ║. . . . . . . . . . /. .x . . . . . .║

  ║. . . . . . . . . . x. .| . . . . . .║

  ║. . . . . . . . . . .\.(RD) . . . . .║

  ║. . . . . . . . . . . \.| . . . . . .║

  ║. . . . . . . . . . . (PGJ) . . . . .║

  ║. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .║

  ╚═════════════════════════════════════╝

  Legatus began brushed the polished edge of the table, his eyes locked on me like on a puzzle to solve. Pylades stood up with vigor and leaned over the map as if he could find an answer there, but he kept glancing at me with growing curiosity.

  *Huh. No pressure.*

  My hands swung at my sides, trying to shake off the stiffness growing in my joints.

  *Normally, we'd go from the Temple (DB) to Prometheus Hub (RD) on foot and kill that fucker by destroying his core. But the lands are cursed.*

  I popped my fingers.

  *The best I can think of is clearing Medea's Hive (MED) and then... hm... going on foot anyway? If there's other way, I don't see it.*

  "Argus, Pylades, thank you for briefing me."

  "Yes?" Argus lifted his brows.

  "But you can't expect me to solve this after one meeting, right?"

  Antonio sighed, his broad shoulders finally dropping. Pylades sat back; the chair complained like it was about to fall to pieces.

  "How long have you been in this stalemate?"

  "Nine hundred something years. Hermes?" Argus blurted out, as if offended. "Nine hundred eighty-six years next month."

  *Many generations later, and they're still stuck. And they need resources to keep status quo.*

  "Leonard, your training — wrap this up," Althea whispered.

  Pylades chimed in, "We need to finish this. I'm going to shape our saint into a proper man." He jabbed a thumb at me with a smirk. "He can save the world afterwards."

  Legatus snorted. He aimed his thick finger at Pylades, ready to counter the banter, but I interrupted him.

  "Wait, before that." I stopped abruptly and pointed my palm at Antonio, closing the triangle between us. "Argus. Tell me about the first Williams. Full transparency, remember?"

  Antonio measured me. He stood like a massive bear, his rough palms wrapping around my shoulders — surprisingly gentle. The skin on his palms was rough, full of callouses.

  "Leonard, please," he said, bowing his head with an apologetic look, "give me this one benefit of the doubt and talk to Ariadne, not me."

  "Why?" I barked, stepping away. My back hit the window behind me. I looked up at him from under my eyebrows, like a betrayed animal.

  *Is he playing games just afte—*

  "She's like a daughter to me, Leonard."

  *Daughter?* I swallowed audibly, but the lump remained in my throat despite the effort.

  "She will tell you everything, I'm sure of it. She would want to do it herself."

  "Antonio, this is not what we agreed to," I growled, my eyebrows merging into one. His second name slipped, but neither of us noticed.

  "Leonard, if she won't, I'll tell you what she omitted. I promise. Deal?"

  "What's in it for me?" My voice rose. "I just agreed to—"

  "What do you want in exchange for your patience?"

  He stepped back and claimed the table's edge with a half?sit. The table absorbed his weight without a sound. Only his metal boots clicked on the floor, and his cape rustled softly across the stone. He placed his hands on his lap, close together, palms facing up, as if to show he had nothing to hide.

  *Hm, he's tying me to the Princess, this is no mystery. But this doesn't matter — she may be pretty, but she's easy to resist. She clearly has political goals. So I won't grow attached to her. Not like...*

  *Not like I maybe would with Evadne if I didn't react.*

  *I could push him harder, force him to choose — truth now or go fuck yourself. But...*

  Pylades waited with his arms crossed, watching me and Legatus in turns. Curious. Calm. His chest moved slowly.

  *A daughter. He got me here. If he really cares about her and we are going to work together... then I guess... if I gain something of value that will help me achieve my goal... And if I'll find out anyway...*

  "Althea, do you know about Princess bloodline?" I asked in my mother tongue.

  "Yes, she is descendant of previous Otherworlder, but I know only official records. Came. Became King. Had children."

  My left hand started trembling. I held it tight with my right. The seal pulsed slowly. Steadily.

  *Yeah, that I figured on my own. Divine knowledge my ass. Limited.*

  "Died from assassination. That said, maybe Ariadne knows what's not written down." Althea tempted.

  I began pacing again. Nervous. Breath shallow. The edges of my vision consumed by shadows.

  *Maybe he didn't die. Maybe he staged his death but in reality came back. Maybe he got back and they covered this up—maybe he found out how to get back and they killed him to silence him. Maybe-he-served-his-purpose-and... and-Pandora-sent-him-back. M-maybe—*

  "Leonard?" Pylades' gentle voice slapped me back to reality. Both watched me with concern.

  I slowed down. Steadied my breath. Inhale. Exhale. My hands kept trembling regardless, so I hid them behind my back.

  "Was listening to my guide, sorry." I grunted to clear my throat and strengthen my voice. "Crucible doesn't help either. About your question, Argus, hm..." They both studied me, the more they did, the more relaxed their expressions became. Anticipating.

  Inhale. Exhale.

  *Tomorrow. I'll think about it tomorrow. Focus on now, Leonard.*

  *One week until I meet Ariadne and can ask her personally about what happened. I have to finish Crucible first before I do anything serious anyway.*

  *What can I get from him... There's one thing I really want. That huge armor that makes you tower over everyone, like a living fortress.*

  I dropped "Sacred Armor" like a flashbang.

  The result was the same.

  Legatus blinked as if blinded. He scoffed, clenching his fists. He marched viciously to the opposite end of the table and back, eyeing Pylades, then me—like I'd insulted his mother.

  Facade: The Girl Who Will Destroy the System

  by kurowinter88

  The world is governed by a hidden System.

  Llyne is not chosen. She gains no powers.

  She is simply aware—and the System was not built for that.

  Comedy first. Psychological collapse later.

  Read before the System notices her. ????