Dark Matter Ascension

Jace sheathed his sword as he heard the shouts echo back across the now-shattered, flooded with golden light wasteland. All variations of "come in" and "welcome". He approached at a leisurely pace, "Ollie, why didn't we get an inferno?"

A property of the Astral Verge, Ollie replied. It does not necessarily function the same way as our universe does. It drew on your Emotion Source, which is apparently a golden flame.

"I like it," Jace said smugly as he saw the still-flickering and persist flames upon the ground that was akin to a liquid acid in appearance despite the cascading sparks and embers on top of the pyroclastic flow. "Very on-brand for a hero."

You like being a hero?

Jace checked himself, unsure of why he felt that way. "Yeah," he replied. "I am one. I saved our universe, I just saved this city, and I'm going to save everyone who died in our universe. That's what a hero does, isn't it?"

Yes, Ollie replied, with a little bit of concern but resolve filling his voice. Just do not get carried away. Emotional Sources are powerful personality augmentation matrices. I am keeping mental and psionic influences away from you, such as the thousands of psychic attacks levied at your mind during this conflict. But I cannot suppress your Source. Just do not get carried away with being a hero to your detriment.

"I'll try my best," Jace replied as he felt the cool reality of his situation settle in over him. He had acted recklessly. Sure, he was a nigh-invincible warrior with full mastery of The Cosmic System, but in retrospect he should have just skirted the outside of the conflict, relying on his Void Stalker Skill and his (Returning) Nethaldrim to pick off the forces little by little. Rushing into the fray, while richly rewarding and a good test of his prowess against these Astral Demons, was dangerous. "How many Soul-based effects were targeting me?"

None, Ollie replied. I believe that these low, Potency 1 demons were incapable of such Talents. Even then, your Voidsoul Skill would have kept you safe. We do not need to worry about your Soul being messed with. And since I can protect you against mental and psionic attacks, that just leaves Psykinesis proper. Emotions turned into raw power. Sort of like elements in our universe – fire, water, earth, that type of thing.

"Like the pink lightning we dealt with before?"

Correct. Void Shield will not be able to handle that, as Void only functions against matter and energy.

"Then what are these Astral Demons made of?"

They are organic constructs like you, just formed from emotions rather than biological functions.

Jace arrived at the wall and curled his legs under him, leaping up fifty feet before launching out his (Soul Tether) grappling line to pull himself the remaining fifty feet up. He landed on the edge of the parapet, and got a good look at the people who were cheering him.

Deep, cerulean chitin covered an ant-like body that stood upright. A spindly species with weak-looking limbs for the unarmored civilians who were akin to the insects that Jace compared them to. The ones in the armor, however, he could not tell as their protective encasements were heavy duty power armor just like what Greg wore. "I'm Wraith," he said, his voice distorting thanks to the helmet's external speaker.

One of the figures before him buzzed, and the words translated in his ears thanks to Astral Translation. "You slaughtered an entire army of Potency 1 demons!" It sounded older, grizzled, and astonished.

Jace hopped down from the parapet and found himself a bit shorter than the arrayed individuals, "Just helping out. I saw your place under attack, and I need information."

One of the armored figures who stood to his left spoke, and it was the same female voice as before. "How did you get here?"

Ollie? Jace thought to his Wayfinder, Can I tell them about our universe? Or should I keep it quiet?

Ollie replied, Probably best not to. We need information.

Jace nodded and crossed his arms, "I was close. Now, since I saved your city-"

The gruff, male voice replied – no longer astonished but now pissed off. "Our kinetic batteries would have held up fine, thank you very much! The best Gyanv engineering available. The shields could have held back another dozen armies of low Potency demons!"

The female voice spoke again from his left, "That's our species, by the way. From Universe 880. What universe are you from?"

We do not have a designation, Ollie replied. Do not lie, but do not tell the truth.

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Jace sighed, "I don't know," he said, which wasn't a real lie since he did not know what his Universe's designation was.

"Not uncommon," the older male voice grunted out. "Well…don't cause trouble, and you can stay here." He left, and some of the other armored soldiers followed. It was then that Jace spotted their weaponry – some type of firearm strapped to their shoulders that looked like it tucked back when not in use. A shoulder-mounted weapon.

The female voice spoke and was excited sounding, "I thought what you did was fantastic. What questions did you have?" she asked as some of the crowd dispersed and yet others stuck around to listen to Jace, the powerful stranger who appeared.

Ollie? What do we want to know? Jace asked in his mind.

Repeat after me…

Jace followed Ollie's instructions and began rattling off items. "I need to know where the entrance to the next Layer of the Astral Verge is. I also would like to know why this place is called an Outpost when it looks like a city. Any insights into the Astral Demons on this Layer is also helpful."

The armored figure nodded and she spoke rapidly, "The next Layer is far, far to the east. Way far over there. As for why this is an Outpost? We Gyanv are a hive-based species. Eventually, when our hatcheries produce enough populace, we will expand and become a proper city. And as for the Astral Demons…I mean, mostly Potency 1 with a handful of Potency 2."

"Where do they come from? Do they have a-"

Spawning point.

"Spawning point?" Jace finished.

"Not really sure," she replied. "Oh! I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Guard Phral." She gestured down to the city below, and Jace took in the design of where he was. The walls below him were some type of metal that was rough on the surface to provide a textured, grip surface for sure footing. The buildings below were all dome-shaped in varying sizes, and made of the same substance. Rows of poles were placed into the ground, topped with brilliantly glowing, pink crystals that illuminated the space around.

It was then he realized there was no light source above. Just endless dark. Thanks to his Cosmic System, he could see in the dark regardless in the grey-white scaling of colors. There were thousands of these Gyanv down below – all varying sizes, but what stood out to him the most were the ones who dragged some type of sac behind them on a sled. The direction he was looking must have been obvious, because Guard Phral stated, "Ah, our egg layers. Unlike our far, evolutionary past, they are not confined to a laying chamber and can live rich, fulfilling lives."

"Why did you all leave your Universe?" Jace asked. "And are there other species there?"

She shrugged, and the shoulder-cannon jostled slightly before coming to life, sweeping the area, and then receding. "No clue why we left. I was born here. I'll probably die here."

"On the Astral Verge?" Jace asked.

"No, in this Outpost. And as for other species? No clue."

Jace felt a bit of shock at that, but it made some sense. These were an insectoid type of species that probably had a fairly short life cycle and span. This person he was talking to might not be around for long compared to his lifespan. Well, his pre-Ascendant lifespan. Now, age was not a factor for him, or Shhiv thanks to Xera having cloned bodies awaiting her consciousness. "Are you all Dreamers as well?" he asked.

She nodded, her helmet clacking slightly against the chest plate, "Yes. Every one of us. Mostly trades. My Class is [Guard]." She sighed, "I wish my clutch would have been chosen for the hydroponics facility."

Jace felt a little sad for her. She never had a choice in what she got to do, he thought. Just another drone working for a cause that she is forced to follow. It echoed how the megacorps back on Earth treated people – using them like cogs in the machine and never letting them achieve any aspirations thanks to their need to constantly produce more and more capital. It set his teeth on edge, and a rage he thought long buried flared up in his chest. "I'm sorry," he said, forcing his voice to a neutral tone.

She made a clicking noise then pointed into the city proper, "We have extra buildings if you need a place to recover."

Jace checked his energy meter and saw it refilled almost fully. "I'm fine, thanks. Two more questions. There's a lot of these Outposts, right?"

"We are all over the Astral Verge. Probably the…second most populous species of Dreamers?"

"Is there something you can give me that will flag me as an ally?"

She nodded, "We have pheromone packs for those leaving a trail to be followed. If you kept the valve closed, and only opened it when approaching an Outpost or city, then my species could detect you as a carrier." She stepped towards the inner-side of the walls and out over open air, gently floating down to the ground below. Jace dropped down and only had to lightly crouch to cushion the landing. She glanced back at him, "No slow fall Talent?"

"No need," Jace replied.

She led him through the place, past long domes that were more oval in shape rather than spherical. "Our hydroponics, where we grow our food."

Jace didn't bother asking what they ate, as he really did not care all that much. They're bug people from another universe. Get this pheromone thing to more easily interact with them in the future, then off to the east. Their short journey ended at a slightly darker spherical building.

A circular door slid open, metal leaves retracting in spiral, and Phral stepped inside before returning with a tube that had a vent on top with a valve on the side. "If you twist the knob this way," she twisted, and a slight amount of white powder escaped upward before she shut it, "Then you will activate it."

"Why is it white? I thought pheromones were invisible."

"Coloring added to help us have a visual. We give these canisters to the hatchlings if we must travel beyond the walls."

Jace chuckled as he took the device and put it into his TPSB, "Treating me like a child, fun."

"It is something that won't be missed. The hatchlings lose them consistently, so we have a ready supply." She sounded slightly saddened, "Well…thank you for pushing back that horde. Hopefully the next one won't come for a good, long while."

"How frequent are they?" Jace asked.

"Every few cycles."

Ollie spoke in his mind, A cycle to them is about the equivalent to a day for you.

"Well…I wish you the best of luck," Jace said. "If you'll excuse me." He turned and activated Void Stalker, wanting to escape the awkward end to the conversation. He raced for the wall, used his grapple line to affix to a point in space, and pulled himself in a graceful arc over the wall. He landed in a roll on the decimated battlefield outside and kept running to the east.