Chapter 32: Sparks

Chapter 32: Sparks

The worst part about fighting a golem is that it doesn't really have any emotions I can exploit. It's not like fighting Naru, who I can goad into anger pretty easily or the harpies, who seemed focused on causing as much pain and misery in Cliffside as possible. As far as I can tell, these are either the natural defense mechanisms in the Fracture or an entirely new type of monster that I haven't fought before.

I'll find out soon enough. Color Drain.

This time, I pull on the color yellow. I don't know what it'll do, exactly, but the golem is colored like sand; yellow is the most dominant color. It oozes out of the construct into a puddle on the ground, leaving behind a stone-gray golem glowering down at me, raising a hand to smash me into the ground.

Slowly. So slowly that I can step out of the way, even without Triplestep. Mental Acceleration is helping, but it certainly looks for all the world like it's attacking me in slow motion. Part of me is almost tempted to see how hard the blow will be to block, with nearly all the velocity drained out of it, but considering I don't know exactly how long Color Drain lasts...

Yeah, no.

Now that I have the time to look at it you know, without having to worry about getting my skull smashed in I realize that it's a lot more intricate than I'd initially thought.

The golem is comprised of six individual carved blocks, attached to each other with nothing but Firmament. The central block looks almost like a processor of some kind the design carved into it is intricate, starting from a gem held in the center of the chest and curling out towards each limb, with a particularly dense structure of curling lines leading towards the golem's head. Each limb is a single carved piece of stone, with not two but three joints that let it bend at unnatural angles.

I'm going to have to watch out for that.

Fortunately for me, it seems that this golem is the sole guardian I have to fight before entering the structures built into the side of the Fracture. I have no doubt there will be others, but I'm not sure I can handle a group of these, even with all the skills I've gained.

Since I have time now, though, I'm going to figure out its weaknesses. The most obvious target to exploit is the gem in the center of its chest.

Barrier. Crystallized Strength.

A shaped Barrier, formed into the shape of a spike; Crystallized Strength to fuel the raw power behind the blow. I Triplestep forward, aiming directly for the gem in the center

but instead of shattering it, my blow slips to the side, catching the corner of the seam where it's embedded instead. My blow is still powerful enough to chip away the stone, but it's not enough.

It's not surprising that a stone golem is durable, I suppose. I grit my teeth, hopping back, and spare a glance for the pool of yellow on the floor.

The color is oozing back, slowly but surely not climbing back up the golem's leg like I'd expected, but sort of fading away from existence while the golem slowly regains its hue.

There goes my plans for bottling or barricading the color after I use Color Drain. There's a danger here, too. I can't let myself get used to any speed the golem fights at, because it's slowly going to get faster.

That's fine. Next target.

I could chip away at the stone around the gem-core and eventually pull it out, but it's going to take several blows for me to be able to do that, considering how little I was able to damage it. I go for the next most obvious target instead the carved lines that carry Firmament to the head and limbs.

The cluster of lines heading towards the head, first and foremost. I rocket forward, this time powering myself with both Triplestep and Firestep; the secondary effect of Firestep isn't going to be useful here, considering it's made of stone and I doubt it has any guilt the Firmament flames can take advantage of, but the extra speed helps. The Barrier forms around my fist, and I slam my hand into the cluster of golden lines above the gem.N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.

Once again, a small piece of stone breaks off. A golden light falters, flickering out.

I realize as half the lines of gold turn abruptly red, and the gemstone snaps from blue to that same shade of angry crimson that there was a second possibility.

I leap backwards, Mental Acceleration speeding me up just enough to react in time. The yellow on the floor fades out almost entirely I can almost feel the golem's Firmament pulling, dragging back its speed and somehow enhancing it even further. There's a twist in the Firmament that feels almost like

It feels almost like it's using a skill.

Do these things have access to the Interface?

Something about that name tugs at my brain. I almost try to reach out to it with Temporal Fragment before I realize its remains are far out of reach. Ahkelios peers over my shoulder, still half-clinging to my hair.

"I wish I'd thought of that when fighting them," he remarks.

"How did you beat them, then?" I'm curious. Ahkelios is silent for a moment, then shakes his head slightly.

"I don't remember," he says. His voice is soft missing a lot of its usual cheer. Not for the first time, I realize that missing so many of his memories, and being aware of it, has to be uncomfortable for him.

I wonder if that's why he was so silent during the battle. He'd been so eager to help when it was against Naru, but I'd barely heard anything from him during this fight.

"Is there anything you do remember about the Fracture?" I ask. I try to keep my voice gentle. "Anything at all."

"There's something really deep down." Ahkelios' voice is uncertain. "Really... really deep. I don't think you should go that deep. Not yet."

"The Fracture is just a Rank C danger, isn't it?" Not that I'm capable of handling a Rank C just yet, but the way Ahkelios is talking about it...

"There are levels to it. If you go deeper, you'll discover a deeper section." Ahkelios shakes his head quickly, and clings tighter to me. "There's something special about the Fracture. I know I discovered something, I just... I don't remember what. Was it the first location you found?"

"It was." I'd been traveling at random, I'm pretty sure, but from the look on Ahkelios' face...

Ahkelios is silent for a moment. "...Stick to the upper level. The part you want is a translation stone. It's in one of the rooms in the northern section of the Fracture. I think there are some traps, but I don't remember what they are."

He trails off, and then more quietly, he adds: "I'm sorry I can't help more."

"Hey, it's fine. We'll go look for some plants for you when we get out of here, alright?" I say. He brightens a little at my words, but not completely.

"You have more important things to worry about," he says.

"I don't know about you, but I don't want to die to something stupid because I didn't take five minutes to relax." My tone is dry. I've been there before. Not the dying part, obviously.

Ahkelios fidgets. "Let's focus on the Fracture for now. I'll try... I'll try to be more helpful."

I watch him for a moment. "Would you prefer it if I dismissed you? I"

"No!" Ahkelios sounds almost panicked at the thought, and I pause. "No. I'll be fine. I need to face this."

"...If you say so." I'm concerned, but I'll respect his wishes.

The Fracture looms in front of me. For the first time, I'm standing in the depths of it so to speak and I'm not dead. I can feel the walls radiating with accumulated heat. The makeshift homes built into its sides practically beckon me forward.

It's not immediately obvious, but buried among the heat and the sand and the dust...

I sense Firmament. Tiny sparks of it, scattered all throughout the ruins.

"Come on, Ahkelios," I say. The headache of Firmament overuse is already starting to dissipate I didn't push myself too far, that time. "Let's see if anyone's home."

That, and I want to bank some credits. I've got more than enough by now, after all.