Chapter 2239

Chapter 2239

Neveah raised her head confidently, waiting for the world-state image to peel itself backward in a grievous rout in front of her point... but nothing happened.

Mae Myrna frowned at her from across the table. “Nether Warriors? What are you talking about?”

From the lack of pulse from the natural force, Neveah had perhaps her saddest realization of the entire night. Her insight had been more accurate than she even suspected. Mae Myrna hadn’t been lying about the way the pattern she generated powered itself, but it was a more central conceit than that; she didn’t know how her image force worked, not really.

She had expected it to be half-known knowledge, which she could force a confrontation over to reach the other woman. Yet Mae didn’t understand the scope of her efforts. Or those it could easily influence and those it couldn’t.

“You are just afraid, aren’t you? That’s why you are hiding in here.” Neveah whispered, almost without thinking. No other explanation for her lack of awareness made sense.

The invisible force blasted out from Mae’s body, shaking the room. Her countenance darkened. “Of course I fear the cruelty of this world. How could you not? At any moment death might walk out of the murky shade of the future and beckon me over with a long finger? For all that this method possesses flaws, I am at least trying to shield our weakest from the fickle dictates of fate. Do not resent me just because I’m willing to fight for a different lot in life.”

“Your fear-” Neveah changed her mind and started again. The churn of the invisible force, the hanging shadow of the significance, it was all becoming a bit too much. She felt slightly ill. “Did you know that every other location in the Aetherlands has been at peace for the last week? The reprieve will soon be over, but hostilities in every other location have ceased after the Nether Leader was injured in battle. Why didn’t they cease here?”

Genuine confusion crossed Mae’s face, but the instability in the force began to vanish. She clearly didn’t understand how truly flawed the foundation of her little experiment was. “I possess no special insights into the motivations of Nether Leadership. But are you sure about this peace? I have heard nothing-”

“One of the many flaws in your construction is its inability to allow outside information to affect it. You are insular. Such is the result of your foundation being built on fear. But Mae Myrna, the reason that the hostilities didn’t cease with the rest of the conflict is that you are the Nether leader here.”

“...I don’t understand your accusation.” Mae frowned. Yet a satisfying ripple ran through the force. Even if the owner didn’t understand the actions of its pet, that didn’t mean the semi-autonomous force based on what people ‘deserve’ would be numb to reality.

“You see, Mae Myrna, this is why your chosen utopia simply will not survive. You claim, at its core, your truth has spread and made the lives it touches better. Yet you have failed the weakest and least of those under your purview, the Nether beings caught in your web.” Neveah enunciated the words in a careful cadence. The force rippled around her body, still pressing against her and still unable to seep into her skin without an invitation. “You take advantage of them, cast them in whatever roles you wish, treat them as cattle. The Nether Warriors here do not remain willingly. They are coerced, twisted, and warped into a convenient villain. And they certainly did not deserve this hell.”

Mae stilled. Her eyes went wide as the implications hit her. Again, it occurred to Neveah how vulnerable she looked. The Patron of Truth hadn’t come here in a healthy mindset. She seemed haunted and hunted, seeking to play princess, knight, and dragon with her Nether Warrior dolls to avoid reality.

What did you see in the attack on Wyndaos? Neveah wondered. How could you become so hollowed out so quickly?

Mae Myrna’s hands curled into claws. The upright, self-righteous woman vanished so quickly she seemed to have never even existed. In her place stood a cruel monolith, twisted by fear into the very thing she hated.

“You don’t need to do this.” Neveah said. She knew she sounded like she was pleading, and she was. Already, she could feel the slimy edge creeping through the city.

“The world will not better its behavior without cause.” Mae Myrna said coldly. The force around her body continued to build, the energy in the room accelerating around her as she focused on Neveah. The hook edge energy rose up in a tidal wave of force, seeking to either assimilate or obliterate her.

Neveah froze. In the split second of action available to her to mount her counterattack, her cold-fingered fear kept her from unleashing Tiamat. So she just watched as the attack came forward.

At the last second, a blast of force cracked open the sky and obliterated the looming strike. Huge chunks of splintered timber fell down around them as the individual burrowed their way down to the map room. Neveah have been saved and she let out a sudden gasp of relief. “Randidly! I have no idea how you sensed what was about to happen, but thank-”

Her words cut off as she actually looked at the figure floating down amongst them. The aura of momentum spread out first, very different from the notes that Randidly would have utilized, especially in a massive tree. Neveah looked up at her savior, a dead-eyed Elhume who barely spared her a glance.

He raised his fist and threw another punch, obliterating the rising tide of invisible force that swirled up in front of him, resisting his descent. He snarled and glared at the only woman he noticed right now. “Mae! I had assumed... I had assumed you didn’t understand the damage you did. That you tore at the universe with your existence. That you hurt Pine with your misplaced sense of justice. Yet you do this willingly... why?”

Several more individuals burrowed their way into the room. The wall to the larger hall collapsed underneath the combined strain from all the arrivals, giving Neveah the chance to open up some space. Mae still stood with her hands clenched, glaring up at Elhume floating above her head. Her new, bloodsucking world-state image created a tight slipstream around her body, building up momentum. One by one, every Patron except the Patron of Feathers floated down and watched the confrontation with unease. Even the Patron of the Deep had come with Elhume on his tidal wave of significance, biting his lip and undulating his massive body.

If I had not forced the issue... what would have happened. Neveah felt helpless and foolish. If I had just taken my time, without being disgusted by the energy, I would-

Don’t judge yourself. Randidly spoke directly into her mind, forcing his way through the interference of the energy. You couldn’t know Mae Myrna had the possibility of blowing up like that. Be careful, I’m on my way but it will take a bit of time.

“Don’t you have children to murder, Elhume?” Mae countered. A nearby wall exploded and the scaled, cloaked form of Duo walked out of the debris, somewhat undercutting her point. His long tail slashed side to side and drool dribbled out from between his mandibles.

She shook her head. “Of course I would prefer to help your son. And what has that ever gotten us? We’ve followed you for years and accomplished nothing! All we’ve done is compromise. This is probably not even about Pine, is it? This is about control for you. I finally have found another Path I believe in and you show up to stop me.”

Elhume’s eyes narrowed in irritation. He did not attempt any further discussion. He made a fist and threw a punch. The whole tree shook with the power contained in the blow. Neveah felt surprise; as far as she remembered, Elhume was nowhere near this strong the last time he had run into Randidly.

Mae Myrna, the one-time Patron of Truth, simply screamed. Her altered energy began to boil around her body, a rising tide of violence. When the two forces met, the entire floor of the tree exploded.