Infinite Realm: Monsters & Legends

Chapter 596: Ryun

Preparation

The Twilight Melody Sect war room wasn’t used often. In fact, this was the first meeting where they were gathered for the reason the room was intended for. It was a large rectangular room, lit brightly by gemstones inlaid in the walls all around. The entrance was a heavy wooden double door, elaborately carved with the symbols of the sect. The wood came from Ender’s garden, and was infused with a great amount of Essence. It was deep brown in color, and etched by the greatest artists of the sect. A giant black hole was the centerpiece, painted with the darkest black paint so that it absorbed all light. Surrounding it was a ring of violet and silver, with wolves mid-leap around it.

Everything inside of the room was elegant and beautiful. Artful banners hung from the walls, the round table in the center was likewise carved with elaborate etchings, each leg carved with an important event from the sect's history.

The table’s surface was covered with an intricate formation, one that could manipulate light to project images above it.

The chairs were a bit of a different story, the fact that the sect had multiple races meant that having uniform chairs wasn’t possible. There were different types of chairs leaned against one of the walls, with extra in case they were needed.

Servants would gather and place them next to the table when the participants of a meeting were decided.

Right now, there were eight members of the sect present. Ryun, Selia, and Erdania sat at the head on the side across from the entrance. All three of them wore clothes with the same colors, those of Ryun’s house. Selia sat in the middle, her hands folded neatly over her belly. She had started to show a bit. They still didn’t know how long the pregnancy would last, but Yuron suggested that six months was still possible.

Ryun made an effort not to let his fear show, he had worked through a lot of it, but emotions didn’t just vanish like that. The same as people didn’t change that easily. He still wanted to kill everything and everyone that had dared to threaten the lives of those he loved. If it wasn’t for the two of them asking him, he would’ve already been halfway across the world, leaving nothing but dust in his wake.

Across from them, and on Erdania’s left, sat Reki, the only representative of former Zenshuen members and now House Ekoa. They still had some work on sect hierarchy to do, but there was just no time now. Out of the leadership of the sect, only Anrosh was missing, as she was still in the Dragon’s Heart Sect, organizing the other sects for the counteroffensive.

The last two members of the meeting were Valthua and Vryull, who sat next to Reki.

Once they were all comfortably seated, and the servants left the room after they finished placing plates and pitchers on the table, Ryun turned to Vryull and gestured. “Tell us about the Exalted Empire.”

They all already knew, Vryull had documented his past and what he knew long ago. But reading a report was different than hearing it straight from the source.

Vryull stood and cleared his throat, then spoke.

“The Exalted Empire comprises out of two primary pieces. The first is the pureblood cthul or simply the Pure, those descended from the old worlds. And the second their vassals and the impure, which were all those who serve it but are not pure either by blood or belief.”

He paused there, his mouth tendrils twitching. “To be Pure means that you know your line all the way back to the old world, and that all of your ancestors were from a single Iteration. The Exalted Empire doesn’t… encourage interbreeding between Iterations, the reasons for that are simple. They believe that each Iteration of cthul has achieved the perfect evolution for that Iteration, they take pride in that achievement, the pinnacle of form.”

Ryun tilted his head, he didn’t remember that last part. Still, he could see it. Every Iteration had differences, for humans those were the alternate versions, ones looked like orcs from Earths old stories, others like elves, they were humans though, but slightly different. He hadn’t noticed many changes within the cthul, but then again their race is a bit difficult to distinguish from one another.

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“They value knowledge above all else, the understanding of reality. It is how our ancestors conquered the stars. They… they hate the way things are in the Infinite Realm, they hate it because people can change the laws of reality through will alone. Their core tenets, the supremacy of cold logic and technology, is held as the ultimate way to rule reality itself.”

This part, Ryun, did know. Vryul had explained it all before.

“When I was part of the Exalted Empire, it was isolationist, there was never any talk or even positive sentiment toward expansion and conquering. But that was long ago, I don’t know what changed, I assume that they saw an advantage during the war with the Dome monsters.”

“What is their ultimate goal?” Karya asked. “I don’t see an advantage in attacking the sects. Even with their success in assassinating the leaders, they have to know that it won’t be easy to conquer us.”

Vryull grimaced. “I don’t know. It doesn’t make any sense, it goes contrary to all the principles of the empire. But… ultimately, the empire follows the will of the Machine God, and it would not suggest an attack if it didn’t believe they could win, or unless it believes that the empire would somehow advance toward their goal by acting in this manner.”

“Whatever their reasons,” Ryun interjected. “They have attacked, now it is on us to make sure they understand the error in their judgment. Tell me more about their armies and weapons. I’ve read some of the reports from the invasion, but they are using their vassals as fodder and only utilizing their own troops in the supporting role so far.”

Vryull glanced at Valthua and she nodded, then stood as he took a seat.

“All of their technology works on the basic principles of Essence interactions. Physics as I believe you called it in the old worlds,” she said with a look at Ryun and Karya. “They build machines, devices that can harness power without the need of formation scripts or any willpower. That limits them, but also sets them free. Their power isn’t reliant on their focuses, their tiers of power, only on the quality of their gear. A powerful weapon in the hands of a low tiered person will be just as powerful as in the hands of a high tiered one.”

Valthua pulled out a small jade tablet and placed it on the table. A moment later, an image was projected above the table. Ryun immediately recognized it as a rifle of some kind, looking fairly high tech.

“The strength of their weapons is in the materials and fuel they used. This is the standard weapon for the Pure soldiers. It fires a concentrated beam of light, and I would put its power level equivalent to someone on the fourth or fifth tier of a focus.”

“So pathetically weak?” Karya snorted, and Nayra rolled her eyes at her mother.

“To you and the rest in this room, of course. But in combat against another army, it is far more effective. It doesn’t drain its wielder, and it can be put in the hands of people that are far weaker.”

She touched her tablet and the image changed to display a mech. “This is what their more elite troops use. A mech, machine operated by a person inside. The pilots don’t have powers that directly enhance their mechs, an idiotic doctrine—but I’m not going into their zealotry and dumb beliefs. Though, all their troops will have powers and perks that enhance the self and their ability to interface with their machines and weapons.”

“What is the difference between that and enhancing them?” Reki asked.

“The difference is between actually affecting their tools and just improving their ability to use them. Think a power that increases the size of your sword, versus one that makes you strong enough to barely feel its weight. The Exalted Empire’s people, on average, and discounting the people in this room, will think faster, their reaction speeds will be better, their hand to eye coordination will be superior. For the rank and file, this will mean nothing against you. But this—”

She tapped her jade tablet again, and now something else showed up, familiar to Ryun’s eyes. It was all black, wedge shaped and covered in weapons.

“This is one of their standard battleships, a flying craft capable of traversing the Void. It means that they can drop down on any territory without being seen, far behind enemy lines, or anywhere else they choose. They are built from superior high tiered materials, utilizing their knowledge of Essence interactions to the fullest, are piloted by crews of thousands, each working in perfect sync. Each is like an army, with enough firepower to lay waste to an entire territory. As far as I know, they have six of them, not counting this.”

Again, she tapped her tablet, and the image was replaced by a bigger and meaner version of the previous one.

“The Memory of Stars,” Valthua said. “Their flagship, commanded by the Herald of the Machine. Fighting it means fighting against hundreds of mechs and other attack craft that it carries, against all of its weapons some of which are capable of unleashing as much carnage as any person here. But also systems built on the understanding of our current reality, on the interactions of Essence. It’s capabilities aren’t well documented, it hadn’t been observed in combat often. The last time was against the Exalted Empire’s assigned dome several years ago. The battle was short, it unleashed enough firepower to lay waste to everything within the dome moments after it opened. What remains there now is a hole leading straight into the Under.”

“They haven’t put those into action yet,” Ryun said. “Do you think that they will once we join the war?”

Valthua didn’t answer immediately. “I don’t know,” she said finally with a shake of her head. “We know little of what they are actually capable of or how they will compare to you or the rest of our High Ranker level people. What I do know is that they most certainly will once you start pushing toward their territory.”

Ryun nodded, it was as he had expected. “I could just go to their home, their capital city and wipe it out from the face of the world.”

“The defenses around Starcity are… significant,” Vryull interjected. “Perhaps significant even to kill you.”

Ryun didn’t answer, but Erdania’s and Selia’s thoughts reached him over their bond. He sighed, conceding to their points. He glanced at Selia and her belly. She smiled at him and he nodded. No, he couldn’t afford to rush blindly anymore.

He turned his attention back to the two cthul, and had them continue, detailing everything that they knew. He already had a plan in mind, but more information wasn’t unwelcome.