Dark Matter Ascension

Concerning, but interesting, Moltrinoch thought as he followed Wraith through the skies. The Dreamer's method of transportation was intriguing – he was seeming to throw out some type of tether from his arm. But Moltrinoch only saw the faintest of glimmers indicating a Soul's presence. And that was something that was even more concerning to him.

Every Dreamer had a Soul. It is what separated them from the Astral Demons. Well, one aspect of separation, at least. But this one had no Soul. And yet he was using a tether of Soul energy to chain swings back to back, enabling rapid cross-sky travel. And despite their passing within detection range of a roving band of sub-Potency 1 demons, they did not seem to notice Wraith's passage.

What type of creature is he? Moltrinoch thought as he floated a little bit behind the figure. He cannot just be a Dreamer, because of his lack of a Soul. Is he somehow suppressing it? Is he an Astral Demon with a Talent that makes him appear like a Dreamer? If that's the case, he is such a low Potency that I question the viability of that.

The number one glimmered in slight green text above Wraith's head. Moltrinoch, like other demons, had several passive Traits at higher Potency. One of them that he achieved at Potency 2 was Discern Dreamer; giving him the ability to, at a glance, see a Dreamer or other demon's Potency. And the longer that he spent around this Wraith, the more information that would be fetched.

It's just about time, he thought as the hour mark of their joint travel passed. But instead of seeing the expected message above Wraith's head joining the Potency number…he saw an image of a furry tube-like animal.

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[Wraith – Potency 1.]

[Class – ERROR.]

[Oh, you want to find out more?]

[Not while I'm on watch!]

[Otter hack!]

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Moltrinoch was perplexed as the numbers and information above Wraith's head vanished entirely. What in the Nethershift was that? He thought.

I blocked an information request, Ollie stated with a bit of humor tinging his voice. This Moltrinoch demon guy following us was able to find out your code name and Potency. But I blocked anything further. Despite living in the Astral Verge, it does not look like they have nearly the level of understanding of operating systems as I do.

Jace glanced back and saw the demon, expressionless, still following. Is that going to be an issue? He thought back to Ollie. Should I just kill him now?

I would wait, Ollie replied. We can use him to get to this Riscarn and if he holds up his end of the bargain, we get to know where this next Layer is. Then I can tag it on our map, and we can return when you are Potency 2.

Sounds like a plan, Jace thought back as he kept traversing the skies.

Hours passed and Jace could only tell the shift of time due to the readout in his HUD. The landscape below them rippled as the cycle-counter flipped to the next "day", and the whole watery expanse vibrated before shifting all-at-once. The waters receded, replaced with a single, vast desert. There were no trees, no cover of any type – just rolling dunes of glittering, brown sand.

Astral Demons that were submerged were pushed to the surface, and Jace truly saw the vast number of them now that they were not hidden beneath the waves. There were thousands of Astral Demons in various clusters and encampments below; surrounding pits with writhing sacks of flesh that was covered in pustules that exuded a foul odor. Thankfully, his helmet scrubbed the olfactory assault the second he sniffed it, but even that small sniff almost made him retch.

Moltrinoch spoke for the first time since they formed the temporary alliance, "These are unaffiliated Astral Demons. War parties, who are out for themselves. They have not sworn to a Demon Lord."

"Riscarn is one of them?" Jace asked.

"A Demon Lord is just the title given to a demon who manages to control others," Moltrinoch replied with a sound of disgust. But there was a slight undertone of respect as he continued, "Riscarn earned his reputation by rending those who opposed him. Forming his power base on violence."

"There's nothing special about him?" Jace asked. "Just that he commands others?"

Moltrinoch frowned – as much as his warped, fleshy face allowed. "No. Demon Lords tend to be higher Potency as well."

"Without sinking to the next Layer," Jace stated.

"Catching on quickly," Moltrinoch smugly replied. "Yes. Potency 4 demons cannot stay on this first Layer for long. The call of the depths seeks them, and they respond to it. Riscarn is Potency 3; intentionally hoarding Souls and Universal Matter when he can get his hands on it. Not a bad strategy, as far as plots go. Get a huge haul, use it all at once to level up and raise his Potency, and then assault a lower Layer."

"Why go lower? That takes you further away from universes," Jace turned mid-air as he kept grapple-traveling across the skies, being a bit more present for the conversation and keeping his eye on the demon.

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Moltrinoch guffawed, "You…you don't know how it works, do you? Then you're not a demon – or you are a truly ignorant one." His voice shifted slightly to a whimsical tone, "Not that I've not met some truly idiotic samples of my kind." He shook his head, "Souls do come from the funnels leading to universes. But they go to the next Layer by…oozing through the ground below." He pointed down. "The deeper Layers go, the denser the foundation becomes – meaning Souls cannot travel through the substrate. Meaning they have to go to the entrance to the next Layer down."

It dawned on Jace, "Which means that an Astral Demon who wants a lot of Souls wants to be as close to the lowest Layer as possible, since the Souls will have to go to a single place to enter the Nethershift."

Moltrinoch flashed a spike-toothed smile, "Yes. You catch on quickly. Definitely not a dumb demon. Which means you are a Dreamer."

Jace shrugged as he relaunched his Soul Tether and kept going forward, "But going further away from universes means less access to Universal Matter."

"True. That is only useful to Potency 5 and higher demons as a resource. An alternate…currency that they can use within the Astral System to level up. Demons at that level of Potency will go to war with universes – taking their hosts up through the Layers and into a universe. Devouring all of the Universal Matter, before returning to the depths of the Layers."

Why is he being so open? Ollie asked. He is giving us a ton of useful data.

He's already determined that I'm not an Astral Demon from our conversation. Whatever Talent of his you blocked must have informed him that he needs to get information from me by just talking. And it sounds like this is general information most demons know. Giving it to me isn't that costly or revealing.

Fair enough. I am logging everything.

Jace turned mid-air to look at Moltrinoch, "Have you heard of Astral Demons staying in a universe?"

"Not once all Universal Matter has been taken, and all Souls consumed. Then the universe tends to collapse and nothing can survive that." Moltrinoch sighed, "There are some who found a workaround. Recently, a powerful Demon Lord named Troxanir died. But he had a good idea – find a universe and latch himself to the funnel. No one could get in behind him, and he gorged himself on a universe for eons." The last was said with admiration and longing.

I could make a power play here, Jace thought. Tell him that I'm from that universe. Or that I killed Troxanir.

A double-edged sword. If word that Wraith came from an inaccessible universe spread, then you could build a legend which might enable you to bypass some scenarios down the line on reputation alone. However, it would also mean that you reveal part of yourself.

Best to keep it to ourselves, Jace thought back.

Moltrinoch kept talking a moment later, his voice shifting to a calm, neutral tone. "Alas, now that entire universe is…blocked by something. Some type of…barrier covers it. Invisible and undetectable, yet those who tried to enter were instantly annihilated."

"Seems like a valuable means of defense," Jace replied noncommittally.

"Nothing like it has ever been seen before." He pointed forward to the east, "Ah, the city is on the horizon."

There is no horizon, Ollie clarified. It is a flat plane of existence. But I have been repressing your far sight because of the nature of the prosthetics. Seeing everything would take too much processing power in your brain, so I slightly altered your vision. Let me just fiddle with this setting…

Jace turned and balked at the sight, pausing in his swinging as Moltrinoch hovered to a stop next to him. Walls that were several thousand feet tall, made of some type of grey stone, were covered with enormous glowing runes. Spires and towers of a black behind the walls arced into the sky. The walls were covered with defensive installations bearing various Runes that read [Guard], [Defend], [Repulse], and other defense-oriented terminology.

Weaponry was atop the walls as well – ballistae primarily – each with different Runes marking them for [Acceleration] and [Accuracy]. The shafts of stone being loaded were similarly marked for various effects – predominantly [Explosive] and [Penetrating].

And for good reason. The entire walled fortification was under attack. Starships that were bulbous and rounded flew high above, letting loose a bombardment that slammed into Psykinetic shields generated from Rune-laced spires throughout the city. Explosive ordinance and blasts of plasma impacted the barriers, pushing them down slightly before they bounced back.

"What fuels the shields?" Jace asked.

"Not sure," Moltrinoch replied. "Krikhold's defenses were something that I was not in charge of, nor had a hand in."

Jace saw assault ships carrying troops and equipment down to the desert sands below, amassing a huge assault on the city. His eyes zoomed in, and he saw the familiar shape of the Gyanv ant-like species.

Xera's voice came over the comms, "Ollie's been keeping me informed. Also, you're going to get a Mission soon here."

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[Mission: Assist in taking the city of Krikhold.]

[Reward: Common (Gear) Infusion.]

[Sender: Gyanv Alliance Coalition.]

[Sub-Mission: Slay Riscarn the render and present his head to the Hive Queen.]

[Reward: Rare (Specialization) Infusion.]

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"Patching the Gyanv through," Xera stated.

A split-second later a clicking noise came through Jace's internal speakers, which was rapidly translated by his Astral Translation. "Contacting Wraith. Wraith, come in."

He shut off his external speakers so that Moltrinoch could not hear him. "This is Wraith."

"I speak on behalf of Hive Queen Phrakal. Your assistance is requested. Did you receive the Mission?"

"I did," Jace replied as he hung there in air, glancing back to keep an eye on the demon behind him to just looked at him with a bored expression. "I am not sure that the Reward is good enough for me to really bother, though," he replied. I'll help anyways, he thought. But I might as well see if I can get something better out of it.

"Then I will also sweeten the nectar by giving you looting rights."

Jace thought to Ollie, Can we take stuff from Astral Demons?

If they have Infusions? Yeah. Most of them do not hold onto them. They do not persist in physical form, either. They must be used or transferred. By default, those you kill should auto-transfer along with the Essence.

Then it is a crappy upgrade, he thought back. Clearing his throat and returning to the aloud conversation, he spoke with firm resolve. "I would already get Infusions from killing them. Increase the rarity of what you are offering or give me something else."

There was silence for several moments before the voice came back. "The Hive Queen has agreed to upgrade the Common Infusion to Uncommon."

"Make it Epic," Jace countered.

Again, silence. But then the voice came back a third time, "I cannot guarantee that. The less forces we lose, the more likely the Hive Queen will be to part with such a boon."

"Alright. That will do for now." Jace drew his sword, shut off the comms line, and glanced back at Moltrinoch as he activated his helmet's external speakers. "You have a way in for me to deal with Riscarn?"

Moltrinoch grinned, "I thought you'd never ask. This way to the bolt hole." He took the lead and began hover-flying towards the walls, with Jace right behind him.