Aetheral Space

"Hey," Morgan said softly, shaking Serena -- or Bruno, he couldn't tell which like this -- by the shoulder. "You alright?"

Bruno groaned as he woke up, hand grasping for a sword that no longer existed. Whatever had happened here, Morgan could tell it had been quite the battle. The ground was littered with discarded weapons, and a vaguely humanoid impression of dust -- like a blast shadow -- was painted long across the floor.

His eyes flicked around. What had the Del Sed's been fighting? More importantly, had they beaten it?

"You don't have to worry," Sam Set said, staggering into the cave with one hand on his head. "It doesn't show up again."

Morgan glanced at Alcera Nox, standing next to the Cogitant, before looking at him again. "Is that foolproof, though? That ability of yours?"

"It's pretty damn good," Sam said, the slightest trace of indignation in his voice. "When it's wrong, it's not by much. It wouldn't miss a whole thing showing up and killing us."

Bruno finally spoke.

"You don't have to worry…" he echoed, pulling himself up into a sitting position. "...we killed it."

His lips were twisted into a smirk -- and it was curious. Morgan hadn't known the Del Sed's for long, but at this moment they seemed more relaxed than he'd ever seen them. Enough so that he was almost jealous.

"What was it?" Sam asked warily, slowly lowering his hand from his head.

"Nothing that mattered," Serena replied, letting Morgan pull her up to her feet and support her. "More importantly…"

She pointed a limp finger down into the darkness of the next tunnel.

"...why don't we see what it was guarding?"

Sam raised a hand to cover his nose as he beheld the creature.

Creature? Was creature even the right word for this thing at the end of the tunnel? It looked like a creature, for sure, but still… something about it suggested it had lost that designation a long time ago.

It was small and emaciated, with skin as white as chalk and a body lined with bloodshot eyes. It was tucked right back here, in a chamber at the end of the long tunnel, curled up into the fetal position. Sam could see why -- it was wounded, grievously wounded. An opening in its stomach continually leaked blood and pus, blood and pus that dissipated into green Aether as it flowed away across the floor.

And, of course, it stank.

"What is it?" Morgan asked, slowly circling the thing. "Another Aether Awakening?"

Frowning to herself, Alcera squatted down next to the thing's head and poked it in the cheek. It groaned lightly in response.

"Don't touch it!" Sam spluttered, grabbing her by the shoulder and pulling her back. Seeing her annoyed expression, he insisted: "We don't know what it does!"

"I think I know what it does," Serena said, hands on her hips as she looked down at the creature. "It's like I said, remember? There had to be a way for Tybalt to get here without anyone noticing. So…"

"What?" Morgan asked. "You think this is a teleporter or something?"

"Not a real one… but maybe something that records us here and manifests us somewhere else? And the other way around?"

Sam frowned to himself. That… actually made quite a bit of sense. Outside of the twin Arcana Automatics known as the Lovers, teleportation hadn't yet been achieved by means of technology. Aether, however… well, as Only I proved, Aether was capable of no shortage of absurdities.

"Even if that's true, though," he mused. "How would we use it?"

"Huh?" Serena blinked, looking over her shoulder at him. "That's obvious, right?"

"What do you mean?"

Serena didn't reply with words -- she just nodded towards the creature's stomach. More precisely, the open wound on the creature's stomach. The open passage.

Oh, that's foul.

"I am not getting in there," Morgan said quickly, already looking a little green around the gills.

Serena shrugged, and Bruno answered. "Well, it's that or stay here forever. Your choice, man."

"I have to say," mused a voice from behind them. "I didn't expect you to figure out the particulars so fast. I'm proud of you."

Steel shrieked as Morgan drew his blade and whirled around in a single motion, standing protectively in front of the exhausted Bruno. Alcera acted at the same time, seizing Sam by the collar and shoving him behind her.

A woman was standing in the tunnel behind them, leaning against the rocky wall. A woman with messy black hair and an assured smile on her lips, wearing a dishevelled tracksuit. Her posture and expression were so casual that it was almost like she'd just encountered them by chance on a jog.

Obviously, that wasn't the case. You didn't need to be a genius to figure out…

…that this was an enemy.

Only I!

Five loops would do it, just five minutes long each. Enough time to get an aggregate of who this woman was and what she wanted. From there, he could warn his comrades about any tricks she might --

The woman turned to look at him.

"This isn't real."

Sam blinked. "Huh?"

"Don't pretend like you don't know. This is your ability, Only I." She smiled. "Did you think you'd get to observe my secrets like this?"

Sam took a step back.

"What is she talking about?" Morgan barked, his sword ready.

"The fidelity is just a little off," the woman said. "So I noticed straight away. Still, judging from the surprise on your face, this must be the first time you've seen me figure it out. That means previous iterations of me haven't revealed anything they shouldn't have. That's good news."

"Wha…" Sam opened his mouth. "You…"

"Even if I kill you…" the woman mused. "Even if I kill everyone here… that will only put the real me at a disadvantage by revealing my abilities. Therefore, my best course of action…"

She raised her hand to her neck, still smiling calmly, fingers sparking with grey Aether --

"...is like this."

-- and tore out her own throat.

Blood sprayed across Sam's face.

Only I.

Sam's consciousness jerked back maybe one minute, and the second it did…

"Hm," the woman said. "That expression on your face… you seem quite disturbed, Samuel. Did you just watch me kill myself?"

"What is she talking about?" Morgan asked, his eyes flicking between the two of them.

"She's…" Sam began, but trailed off quickly. How could he even explain this? What good would explaining it to a simulation even do?

"The horror still looks very fresh on you," the woman said, her keen eyes looking at him. "So I'd bet that's the first time you've seen my suicide. That would suggest I'm the second fake version of myself. There's still a long ways to go…"

She raised a fist --

"...so I won't waste time."

-- and smashed her own face in.

Blood sprayed across Sam's face.

Only I.

The moment she saw Sam's expression, she plunged a hand into her chest --

"Disbelief. I see. Third, then."

-- and tore out her heart.

Blood sprayed across Sam's face.

Only I.

"Alcera!" Sam roared, desperation trickling into his voice even as he tried to conceal his horror. "Attack her now!"

If he could trick her into thinking this was reality, if he could trick her into fighting back and revealing her abilities, then he could still recover this. Alcera didn't need to be told twice. Crimson Aether surged as she rushed forward, knife in hand --

"Huh. You're trying to hide your expression. We must be nearing the end."

-- and the woman just spread her arms wide, accepting the blade as it pierced her body.

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Blood sprayed across Sam's face.

Only I.

In the end, Sam Set only learnt one thing from these loops created by his ability.

He learnt that, with pinpoint application of infused and non-infused Aether, it is entirely possible for a human being to rip off their own head.

Only I… Conclude.

Sam Set let out a shaking breath as he beheld the monster before him. For the rest of the world, not even a second had passed… but he had just witnessed this woman demonstrate her inhumanity five times in a row. And now, she just cocked her head and smiled.

"You saw something interesting, didn't you?"

He took a step back.

To realize you were a simulation of yourself and -- rather than experiencing a crisis -- immediately end your own life to deny your enemy the advantage of your existence… a human couldn't do that. A person couldn't do that.

"What the hell are you…?" Sam breathed.

"Erica del Sed."

Two voices said those words at the same time: Erica herself -- and Serena, standing across from her, invisible blade ready.

"What are you doing here?" Serena demanded, eyes narrowed. "What is Tybalt doing here?"

Erica blinked.

"What a strange thing to ask," she said. "This is the Sed, and we are children of the Sed. Where else could we exist? It's the same for you."

"The Sed doesn't exist anymore."

"Indeed. But it can't have all been for nothing. Come with me and --"

She took a step forward, and Morgan took that as his opening. In a flash he was before her, sword singing out of its sheath, movement and preparation and execution merged into one beautiful motion. Erica raised her infused arms to block -- and even as she did, deflecting a blow that would have bisected her, the sheer force of the strike was still enough to send her skidding backwards across the ground.

"Morgan Nacht," Erica mused, looking down at her arms. Even with pinpoint defensive infusion, the blade had broken the skin, leaving two shallow cuts on her forearms. "You're quite impressive. If it had been anyone but me, they would have died just now. Only…"

Morgan didn't let her speak any further. His pupils still shrunk into the flow of murder, he rushed forward, sword kicking up sparks along the ground as he dragged it, then swung it upwards --

"...you missed your chance."

-- and suddenly stopped.

In an instant, the look on Morgan's face had changed utterly. That cold determination had vanished, turned into a strained expression painted by sweat and twitches. His knuckles were white as he gripped his sword with all his strength. Even the blade shook -- it shook as Morgan tried with everything he had to push it forward, to close the tiny bit of distance between the edge and Erica's face.

"What… the hell…?" Morgan forced out.

"You struck me just now, didn't you? You should have made sure it was a lethal blow. That was your last chance. Skin of God. You will never be able to strike me again. The guilt won't allow it."

As Morgan remained there, frozen in place, Erica raised a languid finger and pointed it directly between his eyes.

"Die."

Claw of God.

Morgan took a breath --

I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE

-- and knew what he needed to do.

Without hesitation, he flipped the sword in his hand and thrust it up towards his own throat.

Blood sprayed, but not from Morgan Nacht.

Instead, the blood came from Alcera Nox, who had leaped in and seized the blade with her bare hands right before it could pierce Nacht's throat.

"Alcera!" Sam cried, eyes wide.

In saving Nacht, Alcera had hurt herself, Sam could see that clearly. Her face twisted in pain as her hands were sliced open -- but she didn't let that stop her from using her ability. With a flare of crimson Aether, her arms solidified into stone, firmly holding Morgan's sword in place.

Erica del Sed stroked her chin.

"I see. Alcera Nox," she mused. "Your ability allows you to turn parts of your body into stone and pin them in space. No matter how powerful the attack, it wouldn't be able to damage those arms of yours, or even make them budge."

She went to step forward, towards Nacht and Alcera, only to stop before she could bump into the layers of force fields Bruno had erected.

"Still," she continued, unperturbed. "It's not as if it's an omnipotent ability. You're stuck in place right now, aren't you? If you deactivate your ability to dodge my next attack, Nacht will just kill himself."

Crack.

She jabbed her fist -- lightning-fast -- into the first barrier, and it shattered.

"Plus, the full potential of your ability relies on the presence of your sister. When either you or her activate your power on your brain, your counterpart is the only one who can bring it out of stasis, isn't that right? So, by necessity, your brain is now always vulnerable. If you don't activate your ability partially, it's basically the same as killing yourself now."

Crack.

She swept a heavy arm through the air, and broke through another barrier.

"So," she concluded. "It's a test of resolve, I suppose."

She pressed a finger against the final barrier and pressed down until it split, letting her point unimpeded at Alcera's forehead.

"Can you resist ending your own existence with just a thought?"

Claw of --

Serena del Sed kicked off the ground.

The mental fatigue had done its work to weaken Bruno's shields, but their body was still ready to do battle. In a second, Serena was between Erica and Alcera, slashing twin blades of space right at the woman. It was as Erica had said. If they wanted to win, they had to make sure that the first time they hit her was a killing blow. Anything else was the same as being defeated.

In this case, though, Erica clearly saw that even a partial attack from these blades could be lethal. She leapt off the ground, allowing Serena to slash through empty space, and flipped over the group towards the odd Awakening.

As she soared through the air, upside down, she pointed her finger down towards Serena once more.

"Claw of God."

I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE I NEED TO DIE

It wasn't just intrusive thoughts -- the thoughts themselves were intruders, slipping into every mental corridor and filling them to the brim. Serena fell to one knee as the whim of self-destruction raged through her consciousness, leaving her immobile.

If she moved her hand, she would use it to kill herself -- this she knew.

If she moved her legs, they would carry her to her death -- this she knew.

If she opened her mouth, she would swallow her tongue -- this she knew.

The end of every action would also be the end of her. This… she knew -- and so she could do nothing but stay there, completely still, like one of those mannequins on the surface. Sweat rained down from her face onto the rocks below.

"Hm," Erica said, landing before the Awakening. "I gave you a lighter dose, but I was expecting you to at least knock yourself out, if I'm honest. Congratulations, you have impressed me. You can relive that in your dreams, if you like."

She turned to head towards the Awakening…

Click.

…only to stop as Sam Set flicked the safety off his pistol.

Erica glanced at him.

"You just saw me do all of that. Do you think my Aether is weak enough that someone like you can take me down with a gun like that?"

Slowly, Sam shook his head… and then, he moved the gun -- pointing it at the skull of the Awakening instead. For the first time, he saw Erica's body stiffen. Just slightly, but enough to tell Sam that he'd made the right decision.

"The red dome is a decoy, right?" he said, keeping his voice calm and measured. "It's a false goal meant to keep the people trapped down here moving the way you like. We struggle to reach it, we fail, and we die… and there's nothing even there, is there?"

Erica narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Did I tell you that?"

"Do you think I'm too stupid to figure something out without seeing it myself?" Sam sneered. His finger curled around the trigger. "The real headquarters -- the real place where this experiment is being run from -- is right through this guy, am I right?"

"There's no reason for me to tell you if you're right or not."

"There's no need for you to, either," Sam shot back. "Not really. If this thing wasn't a valuable hostage, you'd have killed me the second I moved the gun away from you."

"Fair."

"If I kill it, you're stuck down here -- and then things get a whole lot more complicated for you, don't they?"

"No. I think they stay pretty simple."

Sam furrowed his brow. "How's that?"

Erica raised a limp finger once more, pointing directly at the back of the immobilized Alcera's head.

"You kill LYCHGATE, and I kill her. I know you love her. Like I said, it's a pretty simple decision."

Damn you.

Sam tightened his grip on the gun, his knuckles turning white, and bit his lip until he tasted blood. Erica just stood there, Erica just smiled, Erica just watched him. Even now, she was completely self-assured.

"Perhaps you think I'm bluffing… but deep down, you know that's just you grasping at straws. Perhaps you're thinking you can execute some kind of plan before I attack… but that's a dangerous line of thinking, too. You need to pull a trigger and the plasma shot needs to reach your target. That's a very quick process, but it's by no means instant. My ability is instant.

"Are those odds you're willing to gamble her life on, Samuel Set?"

It was…

It was…

It was as she said.

Gritting his teeth bitterly, Sam lowered the gun.

"I'm glad you saw reason in the end. Don't worry. No matter what happens next, you'll be the last one to die."

And, still smiling, Erica stepped into the Awakening's open wound. As she steadily sank into the cavity, defying the body's internal dimensions, she turned to look back at the group she had just defeated.

"If you want to follow me afterwards, go ahead."

Her face disappeared into the blood and guts, her voice echoing throughout the chamber.

"That, too, will illuminate what exactly 'survival' is."

Erica stepped free of LYCHGATE, a loose entrail sticking to her boot like toilet paper as she advanced across the hangar. With a shake of her foot, it came free. Blood painted the metal floor.

How many guns were pointed at her, right now, she wondered? A hundred? Maybe more?

"I'm unclear," she said calmly. "Is this you betraying me, or were you expecting someone else to come back?"

She looked up -- past the horde of armed automatics that surrounded her -- to the obsidian lion himself, standing proud in the observation chamber. That crimson gaze clashed with her grey. Once again, Blackmane was doing things as he liked.

"Can you blame me for my trepidation?" the air asked with his voice. "You invited enemies to follow you back to our base. It's only natural I be ready should they take you up on your offer."

"They won't do anything for a while yet," Erica strolled past the lines of automatics. "But, yes -- I'm accelerating the experiment. The conclusion was always meant to come when they tried to rebel against the shape of their world. It's an eventuality you should have long since prepared for."

Blackmane huffed. "That doesn't necessitate them actually stepping foot on the Comet. Seeking out LYCHGATE alone fulfills the conditions required to illustrate 'rebellion' to the Prince-Regent. You were well within your rights to kill them all there and then."

"You know I can't do that," Erica said firmly, stopping in front of the beast, looking down at him.

Blackmane looked right back. "And why is that?"

"The same reason I've been gathering the other survivors of the Sed."

Erica pushed back Blackmane as if he were nothing, resuming her ascent into the darkness at the top of the stairs.

"It's the older sister's job to take care of her younger siblings."