Chapter Three Hundred and Twenty-three. Rays and Shadows.

Chapter Three Hundred and Twenty-three. Rays and Shadows.

Bob closed his eyes and counted down from ten as he took slow, deliberate breaths.

Ten years. That was more than enough time to rebuild the Freedom with an eye towards efficiency. Hell, he'd been operating under the System for less than five.

The village represented two months of work and crystals gathered. Ultimately, it was that they still didn't have a place to settle down. He knew that Dave and Amanda wanted to bring their families with them, once they'd settled down. Naomeh's verdict served to delay that further.

"I do wish it could be otherwise," Naomeh said, "however the agreement between the twins is a fundamental aspect of their natures. Attempts to violate it compel them both to arrive and correct the offense."

She paused, and Bob could almost hear the frown in her voice. "The actions taken to correct that offense have been recorded and dispersed for millennia, and serve as a stark example that has prevented a repetition for time beyond living memory."

Bob opened his eyes as he pulled a sleepy Monroe out of his inventory, cradling the super-sized floofers haunches while draping the rest of the kitty over his neck, the big head drooping down his shoulder.

Monroe was used to his human's occasional need to deliver devotion, and accepted his relocation to a new napping position with the benevolent kindness that was the mark of those who rule by divine right.

Bob reached up with the hand not dedicated to supporting Monroe, and dug into the huge Maine-coon's ruff.

"It's clear we don't have a choice in the matter," Bob began. "We likely won't need the full ten years. We'll refurbish and replenish our ship, hit our tier cap, reincarnate, then once we've reached an appropriate level, we'll leave." He paused for a moment to do the mental math before nodding. "A year, maybe less."

"Where will you go?" Naomeh asked.

Bob shrugged, hefting Monroe a bit to reposition him. The update had taken away the attribute-per-level increase, and Bob hadn't invested points in Strength, which meant that carrying a tier six Monroe around was a workout.New novel chapters are published on

"There are an infinite number of universes," he replied. "While it might take a while, we'll find one where we can make our home."

"There may be another, more immediate solution," Naomeh said. "The twins have been contesting over worlds forever. While the contest of seed worlds has been well established, there are ancient records of other struggles, abandoned in favor of the seed worlds. I have communed with Vorstach and there is are worlds where both the twins have declared a policy of non-interferrence."

"Okay," Bob said slowly.

Naomeh smiled. "Again, such a versatile expression. These worlds have remained uninhabited and undeveloped because the very act of bringing anyone to them would violate the agreement, which would cause the twins to act to correct, which would negate the effort of bringing people to inhabit them."

"Are these worlds in some distant arm of the most remote galaxy?" Bob asked.

"Quite the opposite," Naomeh sighed, "they are quite close to the core worlds. The records indicate that the loss of life in the struggles over those worlds was so devastating that the twins were forced to meet in peace for the first time in recorded history, where they came to their agreements. The abandonment and quarantine of those worlds was deemed a lesson for them both to learn from, one that would serve to remain in perpetuity."

"So, habitable worlds in easier reach than others more distant," Bob shook his head. "I find it hard to believe that someone didn't just, you know, go there. Without benefit of blessing of Vorstach or the other one, they'd be fine, right?"

It was Naomeh's turn to shake her head. "I'm afraid that wouldn't be possible," she began. "Those who wish to invoke the powers of Stone and Flame must first find the acceptance of Vorstach. Those who seek the powers of Stone and Ice seek out the cold one. Without those powers, such a voyage wouldn't be possible, but by having the sworn themselves to one of the twins, they are unable to go."

Shifting Monroe, Bob began to massage the big kitty's toe beans. It was one of the odd things tiering up had changed about his buddy. Beyond the proportionally increased appetite, Monroe had begun not only tolerating, but actively requesting toe bean interaction.

"Where I spent the past few years, there were a lot of gods. I mean, I think it was thiry-six?" Bob shook his head again. "Something along those lines. From what I understood, and it's definitely only a cursary understanding, they were pretty much operating across a single solar system. If I'm not committing heresy or anything, can I ask if Vorstach and Baldarkurax are the only gods around?"

Noameh frowned. "While not forbidden, the twins encourage us to correct anyone who uses the term 'gods.' They stand as the gatekeepers, those who have gone before us to show us the way, but they are not infallible."

"Let me rephrase then. Are those two the only way to access Divine magic?" Bob asked.

"Yes," Naomeh replied.

"Alright, I can see how that could be a problem," he mused, "still, you could probably get by with just Arcane magic, in terms of traversing from one world to another."

She shook her head again, her expression sad. Bob wasn't sure how exactly marble could move like that, but her perfectly sculpted features were incredibly expressive. "Arcane magic is forbidden to any save the Lhorne, a small sacrifice to repay the eternal debt."

There had already been efforts, successful efforts, to discredit her role in the success of this seed. She was too young, and too new to the path of ascendancy.

The System providing irrefutable evidence of her accomplishment had seen her rise meteorically, while those who had attempted to freeze her out had found themselves distanced.

It also served to highlight the character of the man in front of her. He had clearly acted to save his world, with it's boundless numbers, and hadn't been recognized for his efforts, instead being driven from his home.

Despite that, he still sought only a place to live with his friends. There was no such thing as a truly peaceful existence, but one where the only conflict was with the monsters, sent by Vorstach, or the System, she supposed, was a laudable goal.

She shared it. Part of ascendancy was the revelation of certain truths, one of which was that the hatred of the Eire for the Irth and vice versa was entirely unnecessary. Naomeh could envision a future where the twins amended their agreement, changing the contest for the seed worlds into something with less permanent consequences for those competing against one another. A small number of ageless could watch over the contest, removing those who would have otherwise perished.

She shook her head to clear it.

"You don't seem satisfied with that answer," she observed. Suspicion was written in his posture as he unconsciously lavished affection on his familiar.

"That's a rather large long term investment, one that may not even pay out," Bob replied.

"It is," she acknowledged. "However there is something else I want."

"What might that be?" He asked.

Naomeh pointed to the bracer on his arm. "Your people have developed in an unexpected direction," she said. "We have been working within the twin's graces, and through them, the System, forever. Somehow, without those benefits, you have gained an understanding greater than our own, and harnessed that understanding to spectacular results. You shared a memory of the Trials you undertook with Ordast in a fashion that allows him to share it others."

She shook her head. "To share it with anyone. That's incredible. We could place one of those devices in front of each Trial to ensure that any who entered it were prepared. The written word can be interpreted but a memory simply is."

"We like to say that a picture is worth a thousand words," Bob replied.

She nodded agreeably. "You can see the value of those devices."

Bob shook his head. "The problem is that we have a limited supply of them, and with our universe being integrated into the System, I'm not sure if people are going to keep making them. If they do, I'm not sure what the supply will look like."

Naomeh shrugged. "While I couldn't replicate the device, I'm certain that a transcendent could."

"Beyond the supply, is what might happened if we introduced our technology to your universe," Bob continued.

"I fail to see any problem, at least not if you were to provide it to both Vorstach and the cold one," Naomeh said.

"That's a lack of vision on your part, or ignorance," Bob replied, his voice low and his expression grim.

Naomeh raised an eyebrow in amusement. "How so?" She asked.

"Stop me if I'm wrong, but throughout the universe there a bunch of these 'seeds' being grown and contested over by the Irth and the Eire at the behest of the twins. I'm making a wild guess at the numbers, but based on my understanding of racial affinities, affinity crystals, and attributes, we're talking hundreds of thousands from each faction on each seed," Bob said.

"Close enough," she agreed.

"So, let's look at what we've shown you so far. Recording and relaying information," Bob continued. "My people have a saying. 'Amateurs talk tactics, professionals study logistics.' I'm not a soldier, but I've known some of them, and to a man, they have told me the same thing. Obtaining and disseminating information is key to victory. Do you think that every person in a fighting force having access to the ever changing situation on the battlefield wouldn't change the course of a war?"

Naomeh paused for a moment. As an ascendant, she was required to act as the overall commander on the battlefield, while forbidden to participate herself, save for action against another ascendant.

If her subcommanders and unit commanders had an overhead view of the battlefield, there ability to effectively maneuver against the enemy would drastically magnified. At the unit level, Eire would be moving in the right direction before the orders were even given.

"Providing one side, or even both sides, with the ability to more effectively kill each other?" the mortal shook his head. "I'm not sure I have the right to make that decision."