Chapter 312: A Piece of Plazia (1/2)

Once it landed, I seized the mind's fragment around my own conscious, smothering it. It reached out with an insidious curiosity,

”You who crawls beneath the mantle...Who are you, and how have you not perished amidst my inner sanctum?”

I grinned, ”Me? I'm Daniel Hillside.” I spread my arms,

”And I'm alive because I'm hard to kill.”

Plazia's piece spoke out, ”You are difficult to kill, but only now. You've lived by the mercy of those around you.”

Plazia didn't threaten me like I expected. I leaned back, ”How so?”

It reached out with malevolence, ”The first of your mercies came from the son of that lich you walk with - Alfred Worm. He fell to darkness near his end, but he lived a dignified life. His life's work lives on within you.”

My forehead wrinkled as my eyes widened, ”Wait a minute, how do you-”

”The second of your mercies came from Schema, who hears all but listens little. He chose to let you live, as anyone like you is deserving of death in his unchanging eyes.”

I narrowed my eyes, and it smiled in my mind, ”Your third mercy came from the undead mage, Torix Worm, father of Alfred and bringer of death. He could've stripped you bare. He thought to do so many times. You are a surrogate son to him, and so he did not.”

Plazia's words carried an evil that crawled under my skin. It spoke out like liquid darkness,

”The fourth mercy you own came from Yawm of Flesh. He chose to embed his legacy within yours, and now you will enact his will or die. Your fifth and final mercy came from my own fangs - I did not sink them into your neck. You may be no sheep, but know you live by the will of those around you, as all beings do.”

He was right about that, but how he knew so much about me was eerie, especially the bits from BloodHollow. Plazia seeped out,

”Yet, you understand your weakness well. I found my own weakness in my forgotten memories. I've chosen to live by that weakness instead of dying by my strength.”

I parsed his riddle-bound words. Plazia let me live at some point when he didn't have to. Knowing about BloodHollow gave that some validity. He talked about living by weakness instead of dying by strength. If I guesstimated his meaning, he referenced letting the ahcorus take over Svia instead of being glassed by Schema...Probably.

Plazia continued, ”That weakness was embedded in my faded memories. They linger as raw emotion, and now, only silence remains.”

Plazia bled out, ”But I remember what those memories gave me. Warmth. Refuge. Purpose. In their lingering silence, I found peace. In that gloom, I found the quiet quite welcoming.”

As a hostage, he spoke in confidence, ”Tell me this, Harbinger, are you so welcoming as that silence, or have you forgone me already, as all others have?”

He talked with more eloquence than Obolis, and even just this fractured fragment understood so much about me. As he spoke, one of my minds dissected Plazia's words, and they unnerved me. He researched my background already, but more than that, he was connected to Baldag-Ruhl Somehow. There's no way he could reference my time in BloodHollow otherwise.

Either way, I gave him a nod out of respect, ”Huh, you know me, but I know you too. You're using the ahcorus, and you chose to let them overrun the surface.” More of my animas went into action, thinking of different ideas, ”You sent Wrath to find me as well. If you did, you wanted me here. Now, why you want me hunting you down, I can't say.”

I crossed my arms, ”How about you explain yourself?”

Plazia laughed, a haunting cackle ebbing out. It spoke with joy, ”Do you read poetry?”

I blinked, ”Eh, not really. You sound like you might.”

”You predict correctly, as I partake of it often. I relish in poems, and I listen closely to the words of the dead. They wrote with the wisdom of the living. From them, I have learned much. I learned that the enemy of my enemy is a friend.”

I frowned, unnerved by Plazia's voice, ”I'm picking up what you're putting down. Sort of. So, who's the enemy we both share?”

Plazia's fragment oozed, ”Schema.”

I shrugged, ”I'm not against Schema.”

”But you are. You see the faults of his governance, and you have made your stance clear - you ally with the eldritch. You may ally with even me, should I convince you too. Your history has told me this.”

My hands tightened on my arms, ”If working with you involves getting my skin getting peeled off and worn like a puppet, I'll pass.”

”Listen closely and dwell on the words I've spoken. They carry many meanings, but one is singular; I understand what you are, who you are, and what you will be. I speak of the mercies given to you as an example. You were but a monster in the eyes of all, yet you rise above your origins.”

I tapped my arm, growing impatient, ”What's your point?”

The fragment gnarled out like the roots of an ancient oak, ”I want your forgiveness for what I am, and in turn, I will give to you purpose and knowledge. That is a priceless offer, as I know of much. I know of Earth and Blegara and Gypsum. I know of the cipher and its secrets and of Schema's lies. You glimpse at a shade of me, but trust in its confidence. My full being carries a light that will expose the dark, even though I dwell within its twilight.”

It muttered, ”And I will tear you from those shadows if you would allow me to do so.”

His last words carried a lingering, ominous pain. I gestured around, ”How about we call off the insects then? That would be a good start.”

In a flash, the insects retreated. Plazia's fragment stayed in its mental restraints, comfortable as could be. I sighed,

”Ok...If I understand this right, you don't actually want to fight me. You brought me here using Wrath, and now you want to explain something to me. I can't understand why you'd do that. It doesn't make any sense.”

It lounged about, sensing my other minds, ”You are the Harbinger of Cataclysm. You are of many. You reek of forces surrounding space and time. Gravitation. Kinetics. Heat. All forces you've mastered. Your mind is honed as well, yet it is not stagnant. I know that it will change if given knowledge. From these observations, I believe you carry the potential to evoke a great change.”

Plazia radiated his words as if speaking a legend, ”You carry that potential. Others have seen it. I as well. I aim to direct it, but not through manipulation. I wish to give you the truth, and you will direct the ensuing change on your own terms.”

My narrowed eyes turned to slits, ”So you got some secrets you want to tell me...Cool. The thing is, why should I trust you at all, to begin with?”

”I did not speak to Elysium of what and who you are. My silence speaks for me, as your home remains unscarred.” Plazia's fragment trembled, ”Even when I may have scarred it with but an utterance.”

I tsked. Plazia was right. He talked about my time in BloodHollow, so he knew where my home planet was. He could've told Elysium before my ceasefire if he was so inclined. Earth would've been devastated, and I couldn't have done anything about it. In fact, based on what Plazia said, he didn't act on many of my past events. My curiosity peaked, and I tilted my head, ”Point taken. You want to just talk then?”

It reached out towards one of my minds. It seethed inner darkness and primordial hunger, but something else effused from its psyche - a sort of enlightenment. Plazia held some secret or truth that changed him, and he wanted to share it with me. The mind laid bare that raw emotion, and it convinced me more than any words he could've spoken.

But it also terrified me. He was too convincing. My instincts flared as I jerked myself back, and I growled, ”A Ruhl nearly wore my soul for its shell. A feeling isn't going to be enough to convince me.”

Plazia rumbled, ”And you killed my brethren, but I wish not for your blood. I wish to tell you what my full being knows. Meet me beneath the lair of Wrath, and I shall untangle the riddles I've spoken. Your web of ignorance will unweave with my words, and we shall be of one notion.”

The piece of Plazia condensed into a small, minute point as it said, ”If we disagree, then you will kill me. I shall put my life on that edge, as I endure for more than just survival. I wish to one day live as I did before I became an eldritch.”

That was a loaded statement. Fractures popped into the edges of the mind, ”Before this was done to me.”

I tried holding the splinter of Plazia together, but it ripped itself apart before I could even react. The hollowed memories within turned into a garbled mess. Staying amongst the calming lava flows, I submerged in the mantle of Svia for a few minutes, thinking Plazia's words over. Getting my thoughts in order, I pulled myself back to the void ice.

Knocking on it like a door, Helios let me in while I cooled the magma around it. As I stepped into the steel shell, Amara, Florence, and Helios stared at me. Helios tilted his head, ”What did you uncover about our oh so mightyfoe?”

I let my arms down to my sides, ”Plazia knows about me. He knows everything.”

Florence stepped forward, his curiosity peaked, ”Ah, so he knows the history of killing Yawm and the like. Did you not expect him to do research or something?”

I waved, ”No, I mean, he knows more about me than almost anyone else. And, he's hard to understand. He talks in riddles...Well, sort of. I mean, they're kind of like riddles, but maybe he's just metaphorical all the time.”

Helios waved a hand, ”A standard hivemind then? Did he also wish to fight you to the death over many decades?”

I blinked, ”No. Plazia wants to explain something to me. Apparently, he remembers a time before becoming an eldritch.”

Helios's inner brow wrinkled, ”Huh. Really? That's...odd.”

Amara hissed, ”I know my own kind. It is a beast, and it cannot be trusted. It will attack when you are vulnerable. It throws us from our hunt to save itself. Do not listen.”

My face wrinkled in confusion, ”I don't know. Plazia seemed pretty genuine about us not killing each other.”

Florence spread out his arms, ”Guys, when an ancient, revered hivemind wishes to not kill us, who are we to argue?”

Amara simmered, ”You are a coward.”

Florence swung an arm, ”And proud of it. Now, any details on the peace treaty? I'll get the pen and ink out if you need them. I'm sure Plazia wants the treaty signed in blood, so I'll make the donation if that's necessary. Now, if the parchment needs to be skin, you'll have to find someone else for that.”

I leaned back against the steel bubble, ”You know what, I really don't know what he wants. If anything, he might be pulling me in with curiosity instead of threats. If I come wanting to learn, my guard would be down. Maybe that's his aim.”

Helios's eyes narrowed, ”Has the great Harbinger's confidence been shattered?”

”What confidence I had at least.”

Helios rolled his shoulders, ”Then we move forward with more caution. It is as simple as that.” Helios walked over and gave my chest a hard tap with his gauntlet, ”Where must we go, and what must we do to prepare for Plazia-Ruhl?”

I shook off my jitters, getting déjà vu from my time in BloodHollow. My helplessness then gave me some severe whiplash now, but I got myself together, smashing it apart. I wasn't the same person trapped in that cave, and I wouldn't be manipulated again.

Plazia wouldn't end up wearing my skin either.

I stood back up, ”We need to head to Wrath's colony. That's where Plazia told me to meet him. He's probably under them.”

Florence's jovial demeanor deflated at that, ”Oh...Do we know for sure that Wrath is Plazia's tool now?”

Remembering how Plazia knew my past, I nodded, ”We were right. Plazia directed me here even before the rebellion with Giess began.”

Helios snapped the fingers of his gauntlet, the void ice dispersing from around our steel bubble. Helios said, ”He may not have known of your rise to prominence. It is an easy error to make, as I would know.”

Helios's upper lip twitched. I turned a palm to him, ”Look, your first impression with me was about as terrible as it could get. That being said, you haven't run out in the middle of a fight, not even against Lehesion. You're gaining ground, albeit slowly.”

I tapped his shoulder, ”So chin up, ice mage. Someone has to be the cynical jackass of the bunch, and you're just the man for the job.”

Florence smirked, ”He does have an icy demeanor, doesn't he?”

I laughed, but no one else did. Amara winced, ”I hate you all.”

I lifted an arm, pulling our steel bubble up from Svia's mantle, ”Well, that's enough talking for now. Let's warp to Wrath's colony and meet him. I'm tired of waiting.”

Helios opened his status, ”Do you know her colony's coordinates?”

I sent Reason a message about it as I spoke, ”No, but I will in a few minutes.”

Without warning, our make-shift vessel collided with the solid crust of Svia. Everyone lost their footing before I winced back, ”Hah, sorry, guys.”

I mentally cringed at the simple mistake. Using this many minds for so many tasks overwhelmed me at times, and it led to tiny errors like that. Getting all the different animas working together without gaps took more effort than I'd have thought. It needed abundant organization and keen foresight.

So much foresight that I planned on brainstorming some kind of solution for it. Before doing that, I got us out of Svia's crust, pulling the steel sphere into Reason's colony. Among the toothy tunnels and pressured depths, we rested inside that metal orb for a moment.

Florence made notes in his status about Svia, the Ahcorus, and Plazia. Amara opened up her red status, fiddling with it. Helios waited, meditating for a bit. After Reason sent me Wrath's coordinates, I relayed them to the ice mage, and Helios got to work. He pulled out a dozen apps, each helping him handle the logistics involved with warping.

Helios even constructed 3-D, visual spaces from 2-D maps of Svia. He actually made the areas well enough they mirrored reality quite well. Helios kept at it more than necessary, however. He etched in details, finalized the colors, and added depth to rocks.

Turns out, Helios was an artist.