Chapter 149: Points

James reclined in the armchair and settled in. He summoned his statistics. His familiar overlay appeared in the air before him, listing his every ability, power, and summons. In the beginning this had all been so exciting, so infused with hope. Magical talents that allowed him to fight the demons on even footing. His lips quirked into a bitter smile as he recalled his eminent delight over his first Heavenly Assault, the euphoria of channeling so much destructive power, the notion that through advancement might come salvation.

Where had that hope turned sour? When had he first begun to doubt the integrity of the model? Was it with Meladrix’s first appearance? The slaughter of tens of thousands of innocents in Salvation Army Square during the Nem1 first wave? He couldn’t even recall. But somewhere along the line sense of desperation had crept in. Not enough people were advancing sufficiently quickly to keep up.

Too many kept dying.

At first he’d thought it was humanity’s ignorance that was at fault. He’d made less than optimal choices himself, and too many had neglected the value of Arete and the knock-on effect that had had on auras. He’d blamed regular people when the truth was that the deck was stacked against them from the get-go.

The System wanted a minority of folks to advance ever more rapidly while most of humanity was left to perish.

Why had he been chosen to be a warrior and not a Fabricator? He’d never considered that question before. If the Eluthaarii wanted only those who could reach the 27th Level as possible recruits, what did that mean that half of humanity never had had a chance? Why has Jessica been designated as a support member while Serenity had been made a fighter?

James smiled wryly. He was still searching for some sense of fairness, even now. Some line of reason or logic that he could understand.

But there wasn’t one. Nothing about this system was fair. There was no reason Crimson Hydra should be Lords of the Increate while billions had died. James especially wasn’t more special than anybody else. He wasn’t faster, smarter, more tactically brilliant, or anything else. He was sure tens if not hundreds of thousands of people could be found who excelled more than he in any one area.

So why had he ended up at the tip of the spear?

Luck?

A bull headed decision to focus on Arete early on?

Chance developments that led to his being supported by Mancini and his squad, then Hackworth and Blue Light?

James grimaced. He didn’t deserve this fortune. If anything, he’d merely brought an unwavering desire to never give up, a willingness to put others first. Bjørn could be here with them now if he hadn’t been so focused on his own privilege.

James closed his eyes. Bjørn. Becca. Was she waiting even now in the depths of the Pits, hatred burning in her heart? Joanna. Whatever had happened to Sarah, that fearsomely independent and resolute homeless lady who’d worked with Crimson Hydra at the very start?

So many dead.

And to think during those first few nights the media had blamed wild dogs for everything.

“Beginning intermediation,” said Mavthua. James looked over at him. The Zorathian had summoned his hovering screen of swirling colors and was tapping and swirling them about. “Accept override and then follow/integrate the prompts.”

James looked back up at his own statistics. Nothing, nothing, and then a second overlay appeared, interposing itself between himself and the numbers. The light was gold and soft, a hazy swirling of currents that James couldn’t decipher.

“Hey alien buddy,” said Yadriel. “You gotta translate this to English.”

“Correct. It should effectuate… now. Erase/undo everything except your Arete. That attribute is essential your ego/personhood/capacity for existence/energetic reservoir and would need to be raised again regardless.”

The golden swirls coalesced into a single prompt:

Accept Zorathian Intermediation?

James willed his agreement, and the new overlay disappeared. James blinked, a golden cursor appeared in his statistics screen. It beeped, flickered across the numbers, returned to the top. His statistics flared, shimmered and sheared as if about to disappear, then righted themselves. The golden cursor skipped past his name, titles, and expended angelic summons. It stopped beside his mass of Benedictions.

Revert Benediction Acquisition Cost?

Despite his resolve James hesitated. He’d grown so dependent on Smite, Heavenly Assault, and all the other powers that had allowed him to survive this long that the thought of permanently deleting them caused him a moment’s panic.

But then he balled his hands into fists and acquiesced.

Reverting 39 Base Level Benedictions…

Process Complete.

1,950 points regained.

Reverting Gloria enhancement…

1,000 points regained.

James gasped, his body shuddering at the emotional intensity of releasing that power. He reached for Shield of Faith and tried to manifest it.

Nothing.

Breathing heavily, feeling worse than disarmed, he looked at the bottom of his sheet.

You have 2,950 unspent points

Holy shit.

That was more than he’d earned from the Reservoir Cube.

The golden cursor wasn’t done. It moved down his statistics to the next field.

Revert First Miracle Acquisition Cost?

Teleportation Circle.

Fuck fuck fuck. What if this didn’t work? More than anything else, this particular Miracle had given him comfort, an illusory sense of control. If shit went south he could always get his friends out of danger.

And yet.

And yet.

He willed his acquiescence.

Reverting First Miracle…

Process Complete.

500 points regained.

James glanced desperately at his last line:

You have 3,450 unspent points

“Fuck yeah!” Yadriel’s exhilaration was clear. “I’m rich, bitch!”

“I’m freaking out here,” said Serenity. “Anybody else verging on a panic attack?”

“Affirmative,” said Jason through gritted teeth.

Revert Second Miracle Acquisition Cost?

And like that Create Demiplane disappeared, taking with it Herman’s Bar and everything that place represented.

The loss was like a punch to the chest.

Desperate, not wanting to linger, James agreed to liquidating the Third Miracle as well, and Refill the Cup disappeared.

You have 4,450 unspent points

Revert Corporal Perfection Acquisition Cost?

James grimaced and willed it to be so.

Reverting Corporal Perfection…

Process Complete.

125 points regained.

In quick succession he reverted Mental Dominion, whose 100 points netted him 200, and Spiritual Exaltation, which netted him 225.

You have 5,000 unspent points

Losing those attributes, however, had a direct impact. He’d grown used to taking his well being for granted; suddenly he felt… fallible. Mortal. Aware of himself as a child carrying a pane of glass across a crowded living room might be aware of the consequences of tripping on errant foot.

Even as he still felt strong and powerful, it felt as if his body had gone from being made of adamantium to mere flesh.

And his mind. The clarity, the expansiveness, the resolve that he’d also taken for granted evanesced. It wasn’t that he grew confused, but rather his thoughts lost their crystalline distinctness. Emotions and half formed notions swirled behind his awareness, and it felt as if walls had collapsed around his mind, leaving it bare and vulnerable.

Worse was the loss of Spiritual Exaltation.

His awareness of Crimson Hydra vanished. He’d grown accustomed to intuiting their location around him as a matter of course, an unobtrusive radar that made him feel part of a pack, one of many, embedded in the crew.

That was gone.

He was alone.

Just himself in his mind, in his skin, blind to the energies around him.

Mavthua’s presence, the energies swirling around them, all of it vanished.

Just like a light switch being flicked.

“Urgh,” said Olaf. “I do not like this.”

Revert Virtue: Justice Acquisition Cost?

That was an easy one. James willed it to be so.

Reverting Virtue: Justice…

Cannot complete.

Dikastís Embedment Immutable

Whoops.

Reverting Judgement of Siglio Power…

Cannot complete

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Reverting Judgement of Angelus Power…

Cannot complete

Reverting Judgement of Sanctity Power…

Cannot complete

James stirred in the armchair. Immutable? What the fuck?

But the cursor had already moved down to his Aeviternum.

Revert Aeviternum Acquisition Cost?

Hell yes.

Reverting Aeviternum Acquisition…

Process Complete.

1000 points regained.

Hot damn. He’d 20 points. That meant each earned him 50? That’s what they’d cost when he’d purchased them as a Lord of the Increate. That meant his earlier points had all been massively discounted.

You have 6,000 unspent points

Revert Strength Acquisition Cost?

Revert Stamina Acquisition Cost?

Revert Speed Acquisition Cost?

Revert Agility Acquisition Cost?

Revert Power Acquisition Cost?

Again James hesitated. The sense of mastery he’d gained over the months, that feeling of physical perfection… it was intoxicating. To be able to leap over buildings, to run faster than a car, to take blows that would fell concrete walls. To lose that. To become… what? The old homeless dude he’d once been?

Fear swept through him.

Would he even be James if he wasn’t able to handle himself as he’d grown used to?

His whole body was trembling.

With extreme effort he willed the Zorathian interface to strip him of his enhancements. Beneath all his enhancements, his boons from his Virtue, from the absent Jelly, from his gear and blessings, everything was a base of 200.

Reverting Strength Acquisition…

Process Complete.

194 points regained.

Limit Break Ability Lost.

Reverting Stamina Acquisition…

Process Complete.

195 points regained.

Limit Break Ability Lost.

Reverting Speed Acquisition…

Process Complete.

194 points regained.

Limit Break Ability Lost.

Reverting Agility Acquisition…

Process Complete.

196 points regained.

Limit Break Ability Lost.

Reverting Power Acquisition…

Process Complete.

195 points regained.

Limit Break Ability Lost.

James let out a groan as his body… diminished. He felt like a balloon that had suddenly lost half its air. Aches and pains assaulted him. His hips hurt, his knuckles ached, his neck grew stiff, a blanket of weariness draped itself over him. His chest tightened, his breathing grew more shallow and swift, his muscles tightened like saltwater taffy even as they shrank.

It felt awful.

Feeling like he’d aged forty years, James glanced at the final line:

You have 6,974 unspent points

Reluctant in the extreme, he looked at his physical stats.

Strength: 6 (95)

Stamina: 5 (43)

Speed: 6 (80)

Agility: 4 (78)

Power: 5 (84)

James blinked. He still had countless enhancements. He focused on several of them. He was benefitting from the Anima Sola bonus, the Class bonus, Virtue bonus, different Major Runes, his skeggox and chest plate, synergy bonuses…

And he still felt like shit.

But the Zorathian system was implacable.

Revert Arete Acquisition Cost?

James stared at the question. Arete. It powered his aura, but more than that, it had changed him as a person. Turned on the lights in the darkest corners of his mind. Forced him to face his fears, his self-imposed limitations, his insecurities and doubts.

James’s realized he was snarling silently up at the glowing letters and gripping the armchair’s arms tightly.

What would happen when he released his Arete?

Thank god he didn’t have to find out.

To face all the trauma and horror he’d experienced since the System began without Arete’s guidance and comfort.

Fuck that noise.

He denied the request.

And with that he was done.

Almost 6,000 points had been liberated from his sheet. The equivalent of almost three Reservoir Cubes.

“Fuck,” sighed Serenity. “I need a drink.”

“You all done?” Jason had sat up. “I’m sitting on a bunch of points here and feeling terrible. What’s next?”

“Yeah,” said James. He stood up. He felt like he was made of old wooden boards connected by rusted hinge joints. He tried to stretch and felt his spine pop. “I’d not mind getting some of those abilities back.”

“Yo James,” said Yadriel. “How many points you sitting on now?”

“6,974.”

“Shit man. How come you got more than me? I’m a couple of hundred less.”

“I’m at 5,825,” said Serenity. “How… oh. Right. Gloria.”

“Earned me a cool 1,000 back. Mavthua. How come I couldn’t get rid of my Virtue?”

The Zorathian turned away from his glowing panel. Somehow he looked bigger, fiercer, more intimidating. “Have you summoned/activated your Virtue?”

“Oh shit, that’s right.” James rubbed the back of his head. “That’s why we’re permanently linked? He owns some of my Arete.”

“That is a permanent bond that cannot be undone/regained. Even if you sold/recovered your Arete, you would be unable/restricted from selling the portion your Virtue has acquired.”

“So what does that mean? I’m bonded to Dikastís forever?”

“Only Eluthaarii can undo that bond,” said Mavthua. “Apologies. Not optimum/ideal. Highly recommend you never summon/manifest your Virtue again. The more of your Arete it acquires, the more your basic personality/matrix changes and the more it gains awareness of your thoughts/locations/intentions.”

“Wait, what?” Serenity shook her head swiftly. “You’re saying Sthénos can sense what I’m thinking?”

“Perhaps. How much of your Arete does it own?”

“I’ve only summoned her once.”

“Then no, unlikely. Best if you keep it as such.”

“Yo, what the hell are Virtues?” asked Yadriel. “Like, are they Eluthaarii?”

“They are the highest level servitors of the Eluthaarii. They are autonomous splinter/fragment personalities derived from Eluthaarii awareness/power/consciousness. They mold/fashion themselves along a culture’s highest values/moral principles, operating independently of Eluthaarii consciousness/direct control.”

Yadriel made a face. “Why? Why the hook? Why they trying to buy us up?”

The air around Mavthua shimmered as if he were suddenly underwater, but then he spoke. “Unknown for sure, but Zorathians believe/hypothesize that it is a trap/beguilement to undo champions who cannot achieve goals/overcome challenges without aid. Independence is prized.”

Miriam shivered and rubbed her upper arms. “Wish I could get rid of mine. Feels like having a remora stuck to me.”

Kimmie bounced over to her and hugged her tight. “One way or the other, this will all be over soon, and then it won’t be a problem.”

Miriam arched an eyebrow. “That meant to be comforting?”

Kimmie grinned. “Yes! Maybe? Sort of.”

“OK,” said James. “We’re all sitting on a ton of points. What’s next?”

Mavthua raised both hands and for the first time several colored panels appeared about him. “Now we recreate you from the ground up. We Zorathians have developed/tested best practices for clutch dynamics. It is time to fashion/tailor your group into an optimized force of destruction/impossible goal achievement.”

“Fuck yeah,” grinned Yadriel. “Now we’re talking.”

“Let’s just hurry,” said Serenity. “I feel so fucking weak and off that I almost wish I was hungover instead of just… me.”

“We’re ready,” said James. “Let’s do it.”

Mavthua tapped the screens and set colors to swirling. “Listen closely. There will not be another chance to make these decisions again. What you decide here/now will determine your/our fate. Here is what I advise.”

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