A rift tore open in the bunker, and Priam smiled as he caught Sphinx in his arms.
“PRIAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!” she squealed, her voice filled with excitement.
Just as expected, the child was unharmed. A weight lifted from Priam's heart.
"Welcome home, Sphinx," he said, gently stroking her head.
"You came for me!"
"Did you ever doubt it?"
"Not for a second!"
Priam’s smile stiffened as an oddly striking woman stepped through the rift. Humanoid in form, her features were unmistakably alien, with rose gold eyes scanning the bunker, alive with curiosity.
[Identification]
[Ève ? - Tier 0 - Baroness] - Memory of the Fae.
She’s the greatest rival, and absolutely didn’t write this herself!
Behind her, a clone carried the gifts of Sumstreh, while further back, the Fallen glared at Priam with murderous intent.
“It’s not over,” the Fallen growled.
“Of course not. We’ll settle this in five months.”
Hearing the authority in Priam’s voice, Sphinx closed the rift with a flick of her hand.
“Are we really gonna wait five months to kill him?” the child asked.
“If Arnold doesn’t get to him first,” Priam joked. His quest was active again, but he couldn’t secure a second Token and another promise of bloodline purification. However, Priam wasn’t about to let the ultimate prize slip into his rival’s hands. He gave himself until the second Reunion to deliver the fatal blow to Sumstreh.
“Bastard will know about Arnold being a trap,” warned Kazuki.
“Of course. But it’s a bait too tempting to ignore,” Ève chimed in with a grin.
"That's what I'm counting on. You’re looking well, Ève."
“I can’t complain—”
“Code Total Recall—Ève!”
Priam’s heart lurched. Jasmine looked panicked, and her sub-system was desynchronized from his. Was Ève trying to tamper with his memory? It was ridiculous—they had been friends since their arrival in Elysium. Yet, the possibility was too serious to ignore.
His mist-cloak solidified into an icy shackle around Ève’s wrist as his add-on scanned for inconsistencies. The fae’s eyes gleamed and..
“ARGH!” A woman’s scream cut through the air.
Priam blinked as his memory synced back with Jasmine’s. He had lost the last five seconds in a haze. A droplet of blood hit the floor, pulling his attention to the right. Suspended a meter off the ground, impaled by Kazuki’s spear, Ève coughed up blood.
The hoplite’s pupils had transformed into miniature spears. Guided by instinct, he was impervious to the fae's manipulations. As his add-on copied the hidden memory from Jasmine’s sub-system, Priam remembered everything. Ève was far from being his friend. Ɽ
“It hurts,” Ève muttered, her golden eyes flaring. A sphere of light erupted from her, violently blasting Kazuki away. Freed from the spear, Ève fell to the ground, her ghastly wound closing as if it were nothing but a bad memory.
The bitch! Priam seethed, recognizing the mythical shield he had entrusted to the clone in case Sumstreh tried using Sphinx as leverage.
His hand clenched around Promesse, the weapon humming in sync with his anger. The frosty air that escaped his mouth, though giving him a feral appearance, was mundane. The ambient heat had been absorbed by his skill, cooling the air enough for his breath to condense naturally.
Priam stood ready to strike Ève the moment her shield faltered.
“I surrender,” she announced, her protective bubble vanishing. In an instant, the tip of Kazuki’s spear was at her throat. Ève, completely unphased, stuck her tongue out. She’s mad.
He clenched his teeth as he saw the hoplite halt his attack. Kazuki’s instincts had decided the Fae wasn’t a threat anymore. It’ll be up to me to finish this.
A small but firm paw landed on his hand, stopping him as he raised Promesse. Sphinx didn’t want him to strike.
“Why?” Priam asked, baffled.
“She’s dumb... but she’s my friend.”
Surprise was quickly overtaken by a storm of rage. Priam looked up, glaring at Ève, who smiled.
“I swear on my Potential that I didn’t alter her memories or force Sphinx to say those words,” Ève said. “I’m not stupid enough to rack up bad karma with a sphinx.”
The absence of coercion calmed Priam, but confusion flooded back.
“Why defend her?” he asked Sphinx, ignoring the Fae. “She’s the reason you were locked up!”
And that I nearly became a mindless slave. Priam kept those words to himself; they felt hollow. Without realizing it, he had purged some of his hatred for the clone after defeating her. His competitive nature struggled to maintain hatred for those he had bested; the emotion quickly lost its intensity.
“It wasn’t her fault,” Sphinx murmured. “It was the clone’s.”
Priam’s gaze shifted to the clone, who had set down Sumstreh’s gifts in a corner and now seemed uncertain about what to do next.
"...What do you mean?"
“I could explain,” Ève offered with a smirk. “But could you lower that pointy stick first?”
“No.”
Until he was sure that Sphinx wasn’t affected by Stockholm syndrome, Priam would remain on guard. The fae studied him for a few moments before turning to Sphinx, who merely shrugged.
“I told you messing with people's memories was rude.”
“I forgot...” Ève sighed, then addressed Priam like she was speaking to a child. “You seem to have a partial understanding of how my clones work. I read an unknown individual’s experiences and then synchronize our memories; I have no control over them and don’t always agree with their actions.”
“Yet you share the same goal.”
“Experiences shape a person. Their personality gets drowned and reforged by millennia of memories. My Task becomes theirs, but their nature means we can have differing opinions on how to achieve it.”
The revelation took Priam’s breath away. If Ève was telling the truth, he was in mortal danger—[He Who Eludes Death] wouldn’t help him restore his ego if it was shattered. His add-on could manipulate his memory, but against an expert like Ève, that didn’t mean much.
Facing a fate worse than death, his hearts raced, and he considered drastic measures. Should he trigger a nuke to eliminate the enemy? That would condemn Kazuki and Sphinx, but he could resurrect them later.
“You fear for your ego, not your life,” Ève observed, narrowing her eyes. “I sense you’re about to do something stupid if I don’t calm you down.” She raised her hands. “I swear on my Potential I won’t touch your memory or your friends’ memories for the rest of the day—unless you invite me to.”
Her clone echoed the oath, and Priam exhaled, finally breathing again.
“Better?” Ève grinned.
Priam found himself wanting to wipe the smile off her face. The clone’s pragmatism grated on him less than the madness of the original. He made an effort to control himself.
Lvl Up: [Emotional discipline] lvl 12
WILL +3
“Memory manipulation’s a sickening crime,” Kazuki stated, regaining control of his instincts. “If you mess with my memory again, you’ll die.”
“You’re all so violent... I’m not your enemy.”
“You attacked us,” Priam growled.
“I just tweaked your memories so we could be friends. You attacked me!” Ève huffed, chewing on her nails in mock outrage.
Priam’s fists clenched. Her ridiculous antics grated on his nerves. “Are you kidding me?”
“Not at all! That’s how fae make friends.”
Priam groaned. The cultural divide was so vast, he didn’t even try to bridge it.
“No.”
“Too bad.”
Ève dissolved like a dream at dawn, her eyes vanishing last, taking her madness with them. All that remained was a golden fingernail.
“This is amazing! More!”
Blueberry refilled Sphinx’s bowl, and she immediately started scarfing down the food. Her head practically disappeared into the sauce, forcing her to hold her breath.
Not to be outdone, a baby wyrm chirped and leapt into the stew pot.
Sphinx was winning the race—she had already eaten the equivalent of two deer—but Moonie wasn’t far behind. Priam had no idea how their bodies stored all that food.
“Lost in thought, son?”
Priam glanced up to see his father holding a plate of vegetarian food.
“I was wondering when my father changed his diet,” he joked.
“Ymir says it’s good for digestion, so I’m giving it a shot. But don’t change the subject. What’s bothering you?”
“Not much,” Priam shrugged. “Sphinx is back, and I kept my promise—Ève’s clone is gone. I’d be perfectly happy if I hadn’t let a fae loose.”
“A fae?”
“A weird creature.”
“Malicious?”
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Priam sighed, staring at his hand.
[Identification]
[Memory of a Fae - Tier 0 - Rare] - Allows the user to glimpse into a fae's past. This memory contains a lesson on how to protect one's memory. Smells faintly of feet.
The nail was magical and would save Priam a lot of Potential points. Eve was a calamity for those she manipulated, but she had been careful not to antagonize him.
“You’re overthinking this,” Kazuki said, sitting beside him. “Ève would have found another way out with or without you. In some ways, she’s scarier than Arnold.”
“Still, I wish I had...” Priam paused.
“Killed her?” Kazuki finished.
“I don't know. Maybe. She deserves it, right?”
“She chall diih!” Jasmine grumbled through a mouthful of food.
“The clone’s family would say yes, and Sphinx would say no,” Kazuki replied. “I think we have better things to do than deal with her.”
Priam’s eyes widened. “Shit, I’m sorry! I’ve been wasting time thinking about Ève while you’re about to face your Tribulations. How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good. The intel you shared through the mental bridge was... enlightening.”
Kazuki’s gaze became distant, and Priam realized his friend had more pressing concerns than a far-off rival. He needed support.
Priam downed his bowl in seconds and got up. “How about some sparring before your Tribulations?” he asked, extending a hand to his rival. “If you really try, you might even scratch me.”
The taunt made Kazuki smile. The hoplite accepted Priam’s hand and grabbed his new spear. “I hope you’ve improved in the last twenty-four hours.”
“I held my own against a Tier 4,” Priam boasted.
“By cheating.”
“Still counts.”
The two rivals grinned. Their enemies were far away, and for now, they had time to grow.
Status:
PHYSICAL:
Strength 782
Constitution 1 179
Agility 930
Vitality 1 130
Perception 823
MENTAL:
Vivacity (D) 599
Dexterity 684
Memory 859
Willpower 1 172 (+4)
Charisma 767
META:
Meta-affinity 923
Meta-focus 444
Meta-endurance 804
Meta-perception 443
Meta-chance 379
Meta-authority 258
Potential: 12 297 (+2)
Tier 0
Sun point: 393 (+115)
[He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRIMED
Concepts:
Breath (T0): 100% / DormantFire (T0): 100% / UnityPyro (T1): 95% / SymphonyMist (T1): 100% / Symphony
Bloodlines:
Phoenix: 1%Dragon: <>
Rewards standing:
Fusion Token - Epic skillEvolution Token - Legendary skillAffinity Token - Tier 1 (30%)Alien Concept fragment (7th Terror)Bloodline Purification (+1%)Talent Token - Seraph Rarity (Upgrade)
[Tribulation]: Five Tribulations pending.
Future Tribulations delayed until:
Time: 152 days 2 hours 37 minutes 24 seconds.
Next thresholds: 12 attributes > 600 / 6 attributes > 900 / 1 attribute > 1 200