Dark Matter Ascension

Highlord Tibalt was glancing down at the monitor constantly as the emperor droned on and on, posturing and speaking about the greatness of the Vanguard Empire. The man was correct, of course, the Empire was undoubtedly a strong civilization forged from the fires of a universe united through war. From a single star system to across all their known reality, and finally through the singularity at the center of their home.

Now, Tibalt was responsible for managing the foothold in the Verge and spreading the imperial borders in this new domain. But the main issue was their lack of capability for large-scale conflict. Sure, they could bring in armies of power-armor-equipped soldiers. Low-Potency Dreamers who would then be able to use Psykinetics against the Astral Demons. But the armies of the demons were practically endless, whilst the Empire's citizenry was finite.

The cloning facilities were already going at full production capability, and they barely had enough soldiers as it was – enough to keep their home territory and the handful of small outposts they had established near the funnels to other universes.

The emperor's droning continued, and Tibalt read the reports from the probe that had been dispatched to follow the stolen ship. The signal had faded less than two hours ago, and the sight he saw from the aerial view was disappointing, to say the least. The ship was gone – as expected once the individual, this "Wraith" found out they could track it. But there was an enormous, perfectly circular crater with a large indentation at the bottom that was a perfect indentation of a rounded spire.

What in the name of all that is holy could have been there? He thought as he mulled over the scan data that the probe was feeding to their command center, and then to his padlet. I'll task the probes to trying to find this Wraith again. We need whatever device he has that lets him destroy Astral Demons at a large scale.

Tibalt was absentmindedly tapping his stylus when he noticed the emperor had stopped talking. Glancing up, the Highlord paled slightly as he saw the man looking right at him.

"Highlord Tibalt? Have you been listening to a word I've been saying?" the man asked.

Tibalt swallowed down the knot in his throat and nodded, keying the small indentation on his wrist that linked to the cybernetic controls in his brain. He quickly replayed the speech and smiled, "Yes, I agree entirely. The universe we are preparing to breach should be an excellent place to conquer. But holding off the Astral Demons and assaulting another universe is going to be tricky." He began tapping icons on the large panel before him and broadcast his inputs onto the holographic display embedded in the table.

He tapped the spire on the three-dimensional readout of the Astral Verge. Their location, directly under their universe, with the elevator that facilitated rapid transportation. "We are well secured here, barring enormous assaults – in which case we will need to requisition further ground forces."

He pointed to another mountain a good distance from the one their fortress was built upon. "Astral Demons have been coming and going from Universe 1190, along with vessels. We have begun establishing base camps and outposts along the bottom of the mountain to build our new stronghold to act as our staging depot…but transports…"

The emperor sighed and glanced at the chief logistics officer, "We are still having trouble with the flying demons?"

The man nodded, and before he could reply Tibalt cut him off. "We have to dedicate a huge amount of our battle ships to escort a single supply freighter. But I had an idea, and set my best researchers to the task." He began rifling through the reports on his personal padlet and pulled up a theoretical paper that had been tossed aside as heretical.

But he had scrubbed that part of the data and presented it on the main holo-display. "It was theorized, millennia ago in our vaunted empire's history, that there was a means to harness non-visible and non-detectable forces. What we now know as Psykinetics. Which we can now access thanks to the Astral System. Which gives us the title of "Dreamer". And Dreamers use Essence to gain power. Which requires the defeat of Astral Demons…and it takes a lot of Essence to become more powerful." He shook his head, "We do not have anyone who is higher than Potency 1."

The emperor nodded and gestured for him to continue. Good, he thought, the old buffoon kept up with that, at least. Tibalt stood up and smoothed his uniform, clasping his hands behind his back. Speaking with full confidence and assurance, he spoke. "The theory that this research put forth was to imbue people with Psykinetics. Not becoming Dreamers…but becoming Astral Demons by consuming the Souls of others."

There were shouts, curses, prayers chanted, and the emperor stood up with wrath and fury writ upon his visage, his crimson and gold vestments clinking with divine runes of ancient powers long since forsaken in favor of technology. "You would dare suggest that we do what? Become those…things?!"

Tibalt knew this was a possible outcome and made sure to have his finger on the hidden trigger in his sleeve. "We take a few soldiers, infuse them with Souls from…undesirables on the prison worlds…and see what happens. Both from the populace of non-Dreamers, and Dreamers."

The emperor was apoplectic and began to scream at Tibalt. But the Highlord did not want to hear it. He was sick of the dogmatic emperor. Flicking the switch, the floor instantly electrified, shocking everyone to death. Except for him, and his subordinates who were in on the plan. They had heavy, rubber-soled shoes on that negated the flow. And only when the corpses lay still, twitching from electricity coursing through them, did Tibalt deactivate the floor.

Pulling out his padlet, he began firing off commands. The coup begins now, he thought knowing that his brethren military commanders back in their universe would begin the process of taking over the Vanguard Empire. They were fully on-board with his plans, and as he turned to leave, a slight smile graced his lips. Soon, he would find out if a person could become an Astral Demon.

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And if that was possible, the next logical step would be to try and make a Dreamer one as well. Testing, experimentation, and then moving forth for the glory of the Vanguard Empire.

Tapping his padlet, he tasked the probe to keep trying to track Wraith, and it zoomed off towards a slight, golden glow that its sensors detected.

Jace began moving east again. As he went across the landscape, it rippled and shifted once more. The grasslands fell away, the dirt becoming plain for a moment before rippling again. Where once he was in a vast swathe of plains, he was now in a deep, dense forest. The trees began swaying back and forth, gently flowing. "Ollie, let's get that level up out of the way."

Got it, his Wayfinder replied. What are you thinking of?

"We can put in a [Specialization] or a New Talent, right?"

Correct.

Jace thought on that for a few minutes as he slowed to a jog due to the dense trees. What could be good, he thought, was some type of Talent that does area-of-effect Psykinetic damage.

Ollie replied, Hmm. I have an idea. New Talent. Want me to fire up the System interface?

"Yes," Jace replied as he came to a stop, opening his TPSB and pulling out his canteen to take a sip.

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[You have leveled up!]

[You have chosen New Talent!]

[Talent Name: Hero's Arena.]

[Effect: Creates an area that extends thirty feet in all directions from the user. Those designated as foes who enter the radius suffer injury whilst they remain within.]

-----

"Let's test it," Jace said as he felt the cooling Essence rush through his body before suffusing his form. "Hero's Arena."

He saw a sphere surge outward. The trees blew backward ever-so-slightly as the shockwave passed them, and the area within the boundaries of the sphere was flickering with golden motes of sparkling flame. They danced in place, forming a mesmerizing display that was akin to fireworks.

This, combined with your armor's (Beacon), should make dealing with large groups of Astral Demons a lot easier! Ollie sounded quite enthused. We should find more to test it out on.

Jace let the Talent fade as he continued his trek to the east. Quinn's voice came over the comms as he walked, "Xera has given me one of the probes for my direct control. I'm having it scan the environment to the east." She took a deep breath and her voice became more serious. "Jace, you're headed for a big city. Not an outpost like those Gyanv bug-people. This is a walled settlement of some type…and it's filled with Astral Demons."

Seems perfect, Ollie replied.

He was about to say more, but Quinn cut in. "No. We are talking millions of Astral Demons. I don't think you can take them on."

Jace felt that thrumming in his chest, and his limbs began to glow with the slight, golden luster. "Someone needs to stop them," he said as he began moving faster, feeling his heart beating as that surging in his chest pushed him forward.

"Stop!" Quinn shouted, exasperated. "You're letting your Emotion Source cloud your judgement!"

Jace didn't want to hear that. He wanted to be the hero. To save the Astral Verge from the demons. To slaughter them. Wreak the same havoc on them that they had on countless universes-

Yeah, okay buddy, Ollie said. I am going to fiddle with some brain juices here…

Jace felt that pulsating in his chest fade. The golden glow persisted, but he felt…clearer. What was I thinking? He thought. I'm not here to kill Astral Demons for…what, justice? Vengeance? No. I'm here to get deeper. Farther down. Get to Chroma. Save her. Save everyone. He cleared his throat, "Thanks, Ollie."

You are welcome.

Quinn's voice came back, sounding relieved. "Good. I'm not saying you don't kill Astral Demons – going to deeper Layers means you'll be fighting higher Potency demons, and we know that they can detect you, now. You will need Essence. But…instead of charging headlong into a whole city of them, let's think of another plan."

"I have my Archmage's Admixture," Jace replied. "That merged with the Psykinetic damage should be able to obliterate a huge amount in one go."

"Yes," Quinn replied. "But I think I have a better idea. This city is big. I'm talking huge. I highly doubt there is a singular command structure. Instead of going in and fighting them all yourself, you could see if they are prone to infighting. Get atop those walls using Void Stalker, place a bunch of Dark Energy Mines, and set them off."

"And then strike them while they are immobile," Jace added. "Just like back on Nihilethelea when I got back to the Archmage's capital."

Right! Ollie added. Good plan, Quinn.

"I am a strategist," she replied. "Now get a move on and let's put that plan into action! Hopefully, these demons have factions we can exploit. And if not, well, it's valuable data nonetheless."

Hive Queen Phrakal rushed to the antechamber. "You said they released her?" she asked her advisor.

The male guardian nodded, "Yes, my queen."

She reached the exhausted, out-of-breath and on-the-edge member of her species. She was being tended to by physicians, who placed glowing yellow globules on her varying wounds. Kneeling next to her, Phrakal gently grabbed her hand, "What is your name?"

They shook their head, "No, my queen. I am not of your hive."

Phrakal nodded and stood up, "We will tend you, nonetheless. You are in City 231, hiveling."

"I…bring a message," the grunted out through their clattering mandibles, the humming pitches carrying the pain that she felt. She passed a rune-marked device to Phrakal.

Phrakal took it and held it to her ear. She had seen them used before – long range communication devices that the Astral Demons utilized. "Hello?"

A voice came through, sinister and filled with a subtle rage that simmered under the surface. "I released your peon. I tire of slaughtering your kind."

The Hive Queen laughed, her mandibles clattering together as her pitch trilled higher from amusement. "We have trillions of Dreamers, and more hatchlings on the way every cycle. We can out-reproduce your killing, as we have for millennia."

The voice roared over the Psy-speaker, and she felt a chill wash through her at the unmitigated rage that flooded through her mind. "You will stay within your walls, or I will crush you! I will flay you alive, ripping that chitin off and dipping your writhing, bare body in the dirt before slicing away a new layer with a razor! I'll brutalize you for centuries before you are turned into a brood pit!"

Phrakal felt herself losing control of the situation, and her advisors looked at her with concern and confusion. "Very well, we will stay in our walls." She threw the device to the side, and one of her underlings ran over to snatch it up and ferry it to the incinerators. She looked at her commanders, the military-minded of city 231. "They want us to stay behind the walls, but we will not. They are scared of something, and want us out of the way. This is the perfect time to strike."