Dark Matter Ascension

Jace opened the reliquary lid and was greeted with an interesting sight. A soft, indented cushion which held three items. One was a tablet with the rune language on it. The second was a jar with a seal on top. And the third was a stone box.

Picking up the rune-inscribed tablet, he was able to translate it thanks to Astral Translation.

"You have defeated a Vault of The Ancients. This is the first Vault you have defeated. As such, you will receive information appropriate to a newly arrived Ancient. Locations will be translated automatically to your most familiar terminology."

The tablet shifted in his hands, and became a longer, thinner plate with different words written in the runic language.

"The Ancients are the creators of everything. Originating in The Nethershift, we expanded up through the darkness and down through the light. We discovered universes past the blackness above and created a means to enter them – drawing down the largest gravitic mass to create a funnel. We found species. Young species. Those who sought to grow. But once we created those funnels, Souls began flooding the vast blackness above – once trapped in their universe, now free to explore the endless dark. Without any place to go, those Souls manifested their emotions and created the Astral Verge…and Astral Demons. In our descent through the light, we found paradise – the afterlife. Seeing the flood of Souls without a place to go, we created a means of evaluating them and drew them into The Nethershift for sorting. They then were sent into the light – the Soul Realm – and funneled into appropriate afterlives."

Interesting, Ollie said. We can learn more about the history of all creation by clearing Vaults! This is something that we should definitely pursue. Especially since we will need to go through this Nethershift to get down to the afterlives.

Jace put the tablet into his TPSB and turned to the next two items. "It is very interesting," Jace stated, "That the Astral Verge has not been around forever. These Ancients are the ones responsible for our current situation."

Oh?

Jace sighed as he grabbed the jar and began looking it over. Writ on the side was the rune that read [Essence]. Opening the lid, he saw a large amount of white, wispy goop inside. Scooping it into his hand, it soaked through the armor and into him. "How much did we just get?"

Eight-hundred Essence, putting you at one-thousand, six-hundred and ninety. But you did not answer my question. The Ancient are responsible?

Jace nodded as he moved to the stone box. There were no runes on it. Nothing covering it. Just a simple, stone cube with a small seam along the top he could get his fingertips into. "If they never opened up the funnels, then Souls would be in every universe still. Meaning we would not need to go down and get to these afterlives and make a tunnel. They also are the cause of Astral Demons."

At least whoever they are made a sorting process and connected that up to the afterlives. Ollie sounded slightly aggrieved but understanding. I do not think they are all bad in that regard.

Jace nodded and lifted the lid, "They also made these Vaults and the challenges…including that fucking acid," he said with a shudder.

Inside the box was a thin, neon-pink tube of crystalline design. It looked like a handle, and would fit two hands comfortably. The bottom was slightly rounded, like a pommel, and the top had a small spike that jutted up ever-so-slightly. Gripping it, the pink changed to a burning gold.

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[You have acquired a Relic of the Ancients.]

[The Astral System has detected another System present.]

[Do you wish to integrate Relic with existing {Equipment}?]

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"Ollie? What do you think?" Jace asked, unsure of what to do.

I would do it. We can always get you a new whatever it ends up augmenting or replacing.

"Yes," Jace stated with confidence due to his Wayfinder's comforting words. Nethaldrim floated out of the dimensional sheath on his hip and floated in front of him. The golden grip shot out of his hand and lined up with the hilt of the sword. Jace watched, transfixed, as the golden crystalline structure surrounded and grew up the blade, coating it in a crystalline shell. It then burst with a resounding crack, the now-clear and inert crystals falling away into sparkling dust that vanished before touching the ground.

Floating in the air above him was an ornate sword. It had a shining, white-grey gemstone in the pommel that had an inner, deep purple glow representative of Dark Matter's influence. The hilt was black with a golden cord of crackling, sparking energy that solidified before shifting grip design and solidifying again. A cross guard that was slightly turned up towards the blade for catching other weapons and improving deflections. The length of the cutting edge was the most impressive; a groove ran along the center that was filled with sparkling gold and silver, marked with runes that read as [Valor], [Heroism], and [Courage]. A double-bladed weapon just like his old Starstorm Sword.

Reaching up, he grabbed the pommel and felt a surge of tingling, empowering energy that surged down his arm and right into his chest. The golden glow of his Emotional Source flared up before fading slightly and becoming a dim pulse in line with his heartbeat.

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[Relic Equipped.]

[Hero's Blade.]

[Amplifies depth of emotion related to the Valiance Emotion Source. While holding the blade, the user treats their Emotion Source as active at a baseline level, enabling Psykinetic use even when not acting appropriately to the emotion.]

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[Effects from merged {Equipment}:]

[Imbuing – Any type of {Skill} or Talent that is applied costs no energy.]

[Returning – When thrown, the weapon may be summoned back to the {extradimensional sheath} or the wielder's hand.]

[Adaptable – The weapon's properties shift to suit combat situations or environments.]

[Fulmination – All harm inflicted by the weapon is partially replicated and stored, able to be released as a wave of damaging Emotion or {Cosmic} or {Ascended} Power. If unused, after one hour or when sheathed, it will convert to energy for the user.]

[Effects merged to new designation: Convergent Edge.]

[Future alterations will be merged into new designation.]

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"Damnit," Jace muttered. "I lost Hope's Edge as a once-per-day Skill."

This weapon still has a lot of cool features! It kept everything from The Cosmic System, and now you will always have access to your [Crusader] Talents instead of having them fade and fizzle if you do not act heroic enough.

Jace turned the sword over in his hand, feeling the heft and weight which was perfect. Taking a few practice swings, he felt his Swordmage Stance (Rank 3) activate and adjust his grip and form. I can two hand or one hand still, which is good with the shield being back in the mix.

Jace was sucked backward and went rolling down the tunnel he had arrived in. Stabbing the sword into the ground, he skidded to a stop. The Vault door in front of him was cracked down the center, and the tunnel walls seemed to have slumped in slightly towards the far end. He activated Void Stalker and made his way up to the surface.

The circular building was empty, and he went to the doors, trying them only to find them locked and chains rattling on the outside. Well, this is going to be loud. He shoved the tip of the sword into the center seam and ran it down the length, cutting through the chains before they clattered to the ground. He pushed the door open and was greeted with a rapidly-approaching group of guards led by that tall, female Astral Demon.

And this is where I slip away. Sheathing the sword, Jace began heading to the space port, slipping down an alleyway and past the group of guards that approached that circular building. Twenty minutes of travel later he arrived at the now-slowly-coming-back-to-life trading venue. Vessels were appearing through rips in space before landing, and products were being moved around to various warehouses. Vials of Souls and containers of Essence were being handed back and forth from the vendors.

The buzz of the environment filled his ears with a familiar thrum, just like the corpo markets back on Earth, or the few times he and Shhiv went shopping out in Khrox. The feeling of being around other people was something he hadn't realized he missed. Sure, Ollie was always with him, but that was different than seeing other people out and about. And not just demons, but species from all across different universes.

He spotted what looked like a near-empty cargo ship. It was a boat. A literal, honest-to-God boat just like what one could find in a history museum. Wooden panels carved with intricate, magic language that at a glance Jace knew would allow it to fly through the air and even the void of space at incredible speeds. The red-skinned humanoid figure holding a clipboard in front of a square door along the side glanced up at him as Jace dropped the Void Stalker.

His dark, green eyes stared at Jace expectantly, "Yes?" he asked, his voice rumbling out with a distant, tinny ringing noise. As if Jace was hearing him down a long, metal tube.

"I'm looking to go east. You look like you're emptying your cargo bay. Any chance you can take me that way?"

The figure shrugged, "Depends on the cost and where you're going."

"I need to get down a Layer," Jace stated in response.

The figure frowned and scratched a small horn that grew out of the back of their neck. As they turned to look at the cargo compartment, Jace saw that the red-skinned merchant had spikes going all the way down their spine. "Well, it would have to be a good sum of Essence or Souls to make it worth our while."

Jace pulled the vials from his TPSB, "I have sixty Souls I can trade. How far will that take me?"

The merchant looked back to him and raised an eyebrow, the mass of folded skin slightly rising above the deep, green horizontal iris. "Two jumps. Then we let you off."

"How far is a jump?" Jace asked.

The merchant scratched their neck again, around the spine on their spine. "It varies. Depends on the state of the Astral Verge. We can get you a good distance, though."

Jace handed him the vials, "Then I accept your deal. Whenever you're ready."

The merchant nodded, "We have a few items to get on board, please head on into the cargo bay, head up the stairs to the top deck, and make yourself comfortable in one of the guest quarters." The merchant pulled out a long, metal rod with intricate magic carvings along the length and began speaking into it. "We have someone hitching a ride. Give them the first mate's quarters."

Jace headed into the darkened interior of the ship.

Highlord Tibalt scowled as he looked at the holographic screen. The test subjects had turned out as their researchers had expected. Prisoners who had not been to the Astral Verge, kept isolated in cells, became Astral Demons when Souls were shoved into their bodies through mechanical means.

"We expected this outcome," his compatriot helming the experiments said over the video feed that showed the ravenous prisoner attempting to rip apart the walls of the facility. "If we mentally conditioned them, perhaps, and put brain implants into them, we could control them."

Tibalt felt the traces of a smile on the edge of his lips and couldn't help but grin just a little bit. "You have brilliant ideas, as usual. What about the process but on Dreamers?"

"We have to wait for the transports to arrive."

Tibalt clicked his tongue and leaned back in his chair, "Very well. Keep testing with the idea of controlling our own Astral Demons…and apprise me of the results with our Dreamers." He turned off the video and audio channel.

At least, he thought, if we can control our own Astral Demons, we can eliminate the populace of the prison worlds and feed their Souls to our controlled force. Make them higher Potency really quickly. Hopefully, Dreamers becoming demons has a more optimal outcome. I don't want to rely on raving monsters kept in check by cybernetics…which probably won't work, since demons cannot use technology. But, perhaps, if it is implanted before-hand…

Heading over to the command center through several long, metal corridors, he sat down in his command chair. "Report out," he instructed to several of the officers present.

"Yes, sir! We have tasked the probes and they have not found any trace of this Wraith figure."

Figures, Tibalt thought, given the name I predicted that he would be hard to find. He cleared his throat and made sure his tone was deep and serious – his normal, commanding voice. "What about our efforts reinforcing our foothold around Universe 1190?"

"Sir! We have successfully reinforced base camp one with a new contingent. They are making progress towards the summit."

Good, Tibalt thought. Once we are atop the summit, we can install our subjugation beam and take yet another universe for the glory of the Vanguard Empire.