Chapter 113: Cohesion

“We don’t have much time,” continued James as everyone gathered around. “And I’m not even talking about the Pits fully opening by tomorrow. Everything that we just killed -”

“We?” asked Serenity.

“Is appearing across the world right now. I need to get back to New York as quickly as I can. But first you need to absorb these cubes.”

“What are they?” asked Kimmie, bending over to examine them more closely.

“Reservoir Cubes. The short version is that they’re the source of all the power we gain from leveling up. Our divine pools, Aeviternum, all of it and more comes from these. One cube alone brought me to level 500.”

“Wait, what?” asked Denzel.

“Dude, you’re level 500?” asked Yadriel.

“Yes. But.” James took a deep breath. “These are dangerous. One cube nearly destroyed me. I alternated between wanting to become something like pure, formless energy and… for me, it felt like being a tree, a complete loss of identity and desire, just wanting to bask in being alive, you know?”

“No,” said Serenity flatly.

“You’ll find out soon enough. What I’m saying is this: if you absorb a cube, you have to fight to remain yourself. In all your weakness, foolishness, with all your strengths and principles. It’s like…” Again he paused, struggling to find the words. “It’s as if you transcend yourself for a moment and are given the choice of becoming a star, or one with the universe. You have to really want to come back and fight this fight. If you don’t, you’ll… disappear.”

“Shit,” said Yadriel, drawing his hand back. “That sounds nasty, dude. I’ve always had a god complex.”

Kerim was soberly studying the cubes as well. “How did you manage to remain yourself?”

“I’m not sure.” James frowned down at the glowing objects in his palm. “I grounded in my need to help the rest of humanity. In the need to stop the demons. It was a struggle, I’m not going to lie.”

Serenity holstered her guns. “You’re level 500? Anything we should know about getting that much power?”

“You get access to Miracles, but I’ve not picked mine yet. We should coordinate those. You also get the ability to summon different kinds of angels -”

“What?” said Yadriel, dead pan.

“- and your Virtue’s power goes up. You get every Benediction, as well as enhanced physical, spiritual, and mental abilities.” James rubbed the back of his neck. “Your divine pool starts regenerating once you cross the 200 mark, and you get something called a Limit Break every time your base physical stats cross the 100 mark -”

“James,” cut in Jason, voice dry. “What are your stats right now?”

“Mostly in the high two hundreds.” James cut off further questions. “People are dying right now. We need to get back. You all need to sit down and prepare to go through hell before you come out the other side.” For a moment he considered telling them about how his brain had slurried over and over again, how his whole body had started exploding and then reforming, then decided that wouldn’t help any. “It’s the most intense experience of your life. But I need you all to power up so we can start taking control of this situation.”

Olaf frowned at James. “There are nine cubes. Only eight of us.”

“I know, it’s perfect. I’m taking one back for Jessica.”

“Oh shit,” said Yadriel. “What can a level 500 Battle Engineer even do?”

“We’re going to find out. You all ready?”

“Yes,” sighed Kerim, removing his spectacles and rubbing at his eyes. “As much as anybody can be. Denzel, will you sit with me?”

“Of course,” said Denzel, reaching out to take Kerim’s hand. “We’ll come back for each other.”

Serenity picked up a cube, tossed it then snatched it out of the air. “See you all soon.”

One by one they sat, forming a rough circle, cube in their palms. Kimmie was shivering with nerves. Olaf was pale. Miriam looked dazed. Jason frowned down at his cube, while Kerim and Denzel sat with their knees and brows touching. Yadriel lay down, one arm tucked under his head, ankles crossed, cube on his chest, and winked at James before closing his eyes.

“Good luck,” James said. “I’ll be here waiting for you.”

The process only took five minutes, but it was horrendous. James stood rooted in place, completely aghast as his friends began to scream. Golden light poured forth from their open mouths, ears, nostrils, and eyes. They shook and fell over and began to spasm so hard that their bodies bounced as if the ground had turned into a trampoline. Within twenty or so seconds blood began to pour from their orifices, bones to crack and re-heal, their screams rising and rising till their vocal chords tore.

James immediately engaged Mass Solace and spread healing over them all. His pool of divine power had completely regenerated but soon he sensed its levels begin to drop; his Benediction washed over his eight companions, rapidly healing the wounds and rupturing that occurred within them, but so continuous was the damage and so acute was their pain that it began to overwhelm his Ruby regeneration rate.

Even with Mass Solace they flopped like fish on dry land, insensate though no longer screaming. James wished he knew if he was doing the right thing. Was the pain necessary in some fashion, a means to help with the transition?

He’d no idea.

It had felt like hours for him to pass through all the phases, but within a couple of minutes the eight of them grew still, the golden light dying away, their bodies relaxing, and soon they lay still upon the grass.

Have faith, said Jelly, floating beside him. They are strong.

It’s a weird strength they need,he replied. Too much strength and spiritual purity makes the temptation all the harder to resist.

James turned to scan the clearing. Already they stood in a depression two yards deep. The homestead was creaking and groaning, timbers straining as the ground shifted beneath it, the foundation cracking. But though James searched for a threat, his Spiritual Exaltation detected nothing new.

The Nem5 assassins were out there, though.

Gold light washed over Denzel first, erasing the blood and vomit, and his eyes flickered and opened as he stared up at the sky. James immediately crouched by his side and squeezed his shoulder.

“Welcome back.”

“Kerim?” asked Denzel and rolled over to look at the older man.

Jason returned next, followed by Serenity and Olaf. Yadriel sat up suddenly, gasping, and Miriam moaned softly, curled into a ball, and wept quietly to herself even as she blinked and came to.

Kimmie and Kerim remained still.

The others sat up, rubbing their eyes, blinking away their dazed expressions, and slowly amazement and awe transfixed them as they gazed upon their new statistics.

But James remained fixated on the two who yet remained comatose.

“Kerim, hey, come back already,” said Denzel, shaking Kerim gently by the shoulder.

There was no response.

Serenity crawled over to Kimmie and curled her white-blonde hair out of her face. “Hon? Kimmie? It’s time for you to return to us.

The power of Serenity’s Inspire shook the air, but Kimmie didn’t respond, her pixie-like face tranquil and at peace.

“Shit,” said Denzel, looking up to James. “What do we do?”

“Nothing we can do.” James forced down his burgeoning alarm. “Nothing but give them time. This was a test of the soul.”

“I’ve got all the Benedictions!” laughed Yadriel. Angelus Armor blazed around him, magnificently crafted and burning gold, and then he extended his hand and a Heavenly Assault dropped from the sky deep into the forest, as slender as an oak tree but shot through with Gloria. Yadriel frowned. “I should probably raise my Arete to get the big bang, though.”

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“You’re like a child in a candy shop,” said Serenity. “You just touched divinity and this is how you act?”

“C’mon now,” said Yadriel. “Arete just makes you more aware as to who you are, it don’t change what you are. And what I am is awesome.”

Serenity rolled her eyes and turned away.

Denzel sat and levered Kerim’s head onto his lap. “Hey,” he whispered. “Come back to me, man. Follow my voice. Come back.”

Kerim lay still.

“Do you all have access to the same miracles?” asked James and listed the ones available to him.

“Yes,” said Jason, expression taut with focus. “I have access to all the Benedictions as well.” He then recounted his other gains, which were equal to James’s. Everyone had risen to Lord of the Increate 1. What little difference had existed between their levels before was insignificant compared to the massive amounts of experience required to jump from the later levels to the next.

Olaf dug his water bottle out of his pack, raised Kimmie’s head, and doused her face with it. She didn’t so much as splutter.

“All right everyone,” said James firmly. “We need to spend your points and get moving. We’ll bring Kerim and Kimmie with us and hope they return soon. But for now, try to raise your physical stats to base 200 each, raise your Aeviternum by at least 500 experience points, and put the rest in Arete.”

Everyone focused, even Denzel, and before James’s eyes they completed their changes. Their bodies didn’t grow larger, but somehow they all felt more present, more real, as if the world around them had grown more insubstantial in comparison. James sensed their power levels rise, his Spiritual Exaltation portraying them as bonfires of Aeviternum and divine power.

“Wow,” whispered Serenity. She studied her palms, turned her hands about, then leaped lightly to her feet. Crouched and leaped again, and this time soared high into the air, rising some fifty feet straight up. She dropped smoothly and landed with complete grace. “This feels incredible.”

“I feel like I can move mountain,” said Olaf. He clenched his fists, the large muscles of his arms swelling. “Incredible.”

“We should cover all the Miracles,” said James. “There are fourteen of them, and we have twenty-one slots between us all. Here’s what Jelly told me they do.” He repeated the explanation as quickly and succinctly as he could. “Let’s do it this way. Everybody pick their favorite one, and then we’ll divvy up the remaining Miracles between ourselves.”

“Resurrection,” said Denzel, stroking Kerim’s cheek.

“Freedom,” said Serenity. “Nobody’s ever going to hold me down.”

“Word of Slaughter,” said Olaf. “For too long I have been goody-goody with Circle of Protection. I am a warrior. This is my first Miracle.”

“Flight,” said Jason. “What the Wing gave me a taste of I want for myself.”

Miriam hesitated, glanced around at the others, then flushed. “Invisibility. I’m still feeling kind of traumatized by having Jane tear my head off.”

Yadriel tongued the inside of his cheek. “Man, so many bad-ass choices. Infernum Crush sounds kind of like my style, though. You know? Use the enemy’s strength against them? What about you, boss man?”

James frowned. “I want all of them. But Teleportation Circle is calling to me the most. The ability to get to other people and help them.”

Jelly bobbed. “That leaves Dimensional Anchor, Banishment, Divine Bastion, Aeviternum Hurricane, Refill the Cup, Forced Humility, and Create Demiplane.”

“Forced Humility for me,” said Yadriel. “Sorry, warned y’all about my god complex.”

“Aeviternum Hurricane,” said Jason quietly.

“Divine Bastion,” said Denzel.

Olaf nodded. “Banishment.”

“Refill the Cup,” said Miriam.

“I’ll take Dimensional Anchor,” said Serenity with a frown. “It’s probably the kind of boring power that will end up saving our lives, so why not?”

“Then I’ll take Create Demiplane,” said James. “That covers all the Miracles. Third Miracle is your choice again.”

Miriam was chewing on her lower lip. “Refill the Cup allows me to restore my Aeviternum and divine pool. Which means I should take the most expensive Miracle, Aeviternum Hurricane.”

“Word of Slaughter, yo,” said Yadriel. “I mean, c’mon.”

“Flight,” said Olaf. “Mobility is everything.”

“Resurrection,” said Jason. “That way if Denzel goes down we’ve got me as a backup to revive him.”

“And I’ll take…” Denzel hesitated. “Flight as well. No good reason. Just always wanted to fly.”

“Invisibility,” said Serenity. “I like the idea of being able to get around the battlefield without being seen. Add in Freedom and nothing will stop me.”

“All good,” said James, fiercely proud as to how everyone was making this process smooth. “And I’ll take Refill the Cup. Who knows what we’ll face in the depths of these Pits, but getting to double my Aeviternum is too good to pass up.”

Nods all round.

James looked from one Crimson Hydra member to the next. “Let’s make those selections official then.” He summoned his statistics, found the Miracle section, and focused on each Miracle in turn.

Teleportation Circle came first, and with it a complete understanding of the power. He could transport up to nine people total to anywhere in the world he had visited before. The farther the location the more divine power it used, or he could simply burn an Aeviternum for an instantaneous transfer.

Create Demiplane overwhelmed him at first with its complexity; it would take time and focus, but once he began the process he’d be able to create a pocket realm that would always be available to him and eight others, a realm whose size depended on his divine pool, and which would furnish them with comfort, rest, food, and which he could shape and fashion as he willed. It was undetectable to all but the greatest of foes, and even they would be barred from entering.

Refill the Cup was his last choice, and though it was eminently pragmatic - and he felt a pang of loss at not being able to choose Flight - he knew it to be the right choice. Once per twenty-four hours he could completely restore his divine pool and Aeviternum. With his Ruby regeneration rank his divine pool would naturally restore itself from complete depletion to full in about five minutes, but to regain 20 Aeviternum? That was too good to pass up on. A small caveat presented itself: Aeviternum regained in this way could not be imbued into a construct.

Huh.

James blinked and looked around at the others. They all frowned off into the distance, but one by one came back to the present moment.

The ground beneath them rumbled and suddenly sank another foot.

“All right everyone.” James cracked the knuckles of one fist inside the palm of the other. “It’s time to get back to New York. Ready to kill everything?”

“It’s slaughterin’ time,” said Yadriel, hopping up neatly to his feet.

Denzel gathered Kerim to his chest and gave a sober nod.

Olaf picked up Kimmie.

Everyone else moved to stand in a circle around James.

Who inhaled deeply, focused on his First Miracle, and invoked the ability to teleport them all home.

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