Bjorn woke to the sound of alarm klaxons. His body felt heavy and his mind swam. He could feel liquid all around but the red lights and sound overwhelmed any other sensation. He was unsure how long he was in the state between consciousness and delusion before his awareness was pulled inward. He found himself once again in the dreamspace, the place where his mother and father of this life would talk to him.
It had been years since his mother last spoke to him. The space was still as frayed and damaged as before. In the distance he saw his mother, The Queen of a Thousand Heads's mountainous in form. Her name spoken in the tongue of mortals was Poison.
To his surprise it wasn't just the two of them in this space. Tanisha had also been pulled in like last time likely due to their soul bond. She was looking around just as shocked as Bjorn to suddenly be yanked into this space. It would have been fine if it was just her but there was another figure. A man stood beside Bjorn; he was tall and young in his early twenties. Brown hair cut short and military. Outfit the last thing Bjorn remembered him wearing from his memories. A white lab coat over casual wear from his time in the R&D department.
It was Isin just as flummoxed as the rest of them. He moved his limbs experimentally standing on two legs was definitely different from the all fours of their hydra body. He touched his face in disbelief that he was himself for once.
"Bjorn, are you okay?" Tanisha called out.
Just like the last time she was here she couldn't move from her spot.
"Yes, I am fine." Bjorn said.
He nearly forgot he could talk in a way she could understand here. When he heard his voice, his human speech shocked him for a moment.
"Uh, who is that?" Tanisha pointed to Isin.
The man looked up, finally acknowledging her.
"A wonderer," Isin said. "Don't mind me."
"A wonderer in the Dreamspace?" Tanisha questioned.
"He isn't important," Bjorn said.
"I think I am pretty important." Isin said dryly.
"Is he a True or something?" Tanisha asked.
"There are more pressing issues at play now." Poison's thousand voices hissed urgently. "The Divide is weakened but you stopped its degradation. It will heal in time but the one that was trying to open the Rift to the Higher Planes is attempting to restart the facility's destruction. The Serpent will kill everyone in the facility to make this happen. You all must leave now."
"We didn't stop the facility yet." Bjorn said, completely bemused. "We just destroyed the R-02."
"Uh… actually Aurelius and I already did. We are here at the core now." Tanisha admitted. "We didn't know that it would cause a True to come here."
"Can he restart the meltdown?" Isin asked.
"I do not know. But he is beyond the power you all have even in his weakened state," Poison said. "With the Divide damaged I will be able to protect you from any explosion of either the facility or Demonic Incursion."
"That's not an option!" Tanisha snapped. "Can you protect the continent? The millions of wendigo lives that will be lost if a portal to the Infernal Planes opens here. Aurelius's family too? If we let this happen—"
"You should watch your tongue thief." Poison's many voices hissed, the air vibrating with threat. "If you thought this was a negotiation you were mistaken. I will not let my son die on your mortal rock. I would only spare you out of courtesy for him, pet. Other mortals are not my concern. Be grateful that I am willing to do even that."
"There has to be a way to save the facility from him." Bjorn said.
"There is no time," Poison said, final and cold. "The Serpent is already there. My blessing will guide you to an exit. Get there and leave. My influence will linger upon your souls—no corruption from the Chaos Lands will touch you while it remains. You did well to protect yourself but now it is not mere creation beasts or mortal robots. It is one of our kind. That is power you are not ready to face."
Poison's voice grew softer, "I want you to live my son. I want to see the wonders you will create."
Bjorn's awareness snapped back into the liquid cocoon. The klaxons returned, echoing faintly through the glass. His senses sharpened. He was floating in a cylindrical tank, suspended in a healing medium. He was alive, but only just.
"Bjorn, Isin," Failsafe's voice entered his mind. "Finally you are awake, there is something big happening and… and… wait where did that come from? Did you create a new spell or something?"
Bjorn waved his heads to push away the last of the fog over his mind.
"Hold on," He said in a long breath. "We have to get out of here."
"I don't think we can right now." Failsafe said. "Our magic is not responding like it should, I don't actually know how we aren't dead. Probably this tank is keeping us alive?"
"Okay, so one thing at a time. What is going on with our core?" Bjorn asked.
"Ugh… I don't know." Failsafe huffed. "Our tri-core looks fine but we are losing magic through whatever Isin did with the spellform he created."
"I will fix it," Isin said calmly. "You focus on keeping us alive."
"Okay, that is one problem." Failsafe said. "The second is from Ivoi. She was talking to us a second ago. Something is tearing through the outer defences of the facility. She said it is a Divine Entity."
"It is the Serpent, my mother said it is here because we stopped the facility from detonating and the Divide is repairing without the energy from this facility. That is why we have to go, when it gets here it is going to try and restart that detonation."
"If it does, aren't we dead? Along with like, everyone everywhere." Failsafe said.
Bjorn suddenly felt an influx of magic coursing through him. His body shivered as his normal regeneration was bolstered by his magic. It would take a while for him to be fully healed or use his spells magic for anything beyond regeneration but it was a start. It meant he could move.
"We should be fine now," Isin said. "Well don't use any spells until you see what happened."
"I wasn't planning on it. Also you are not getting a chance to control us again! Ever!" Bjorn said.
He knocked against the tank until he noticed the fluid slowly draining. The tank opened and a small body immediately jumped onto him. Anasuya clung to his side, shivering like a leaf caught in a storm. An analog for crying from her species.
"Dad! Dad! Are you okay? Please be okay!" Anasuya wailed.
"I am fine Ana." Bjorn said. "Thank you for looking out for me."
"Master Bjorn," Ivoi said seriously. "I must request that you and the others find an exit to leave the facility as soon as possible. We have picked up a Divine Entity infiltrating the outer defence of the Site."
"How long do we have before it gets here?" Bjorn asked.
"Ten minutes at most." Ivoi said.
"Is there any way to stop The Great Serpent from infiltrating?" Bjorn asked.
"The Great Serpent?" Ivoi questioned. "Are you sure that is who the Divine Entity is? Hmm. Unfortunately not, if the facility was in full operation longer perhaps the shielding could have prevented his entry for a few hours. However the systems have not fully rebooted and he has already broken through the outermost defences."
"Shit, okay." Bjorn said, "Any other way?"
"The facility was not designed to stop a Divine Entity, just postpone it long enough for the population to escape." Ivoi said.
Bjorn took in the room and saw that only Fuyumi was present; she was on a patient bed unconscious. She was missing her right arm. Bjorn walked over to her his body heavy but as his magic circulated he was steadily recovering.
"Can you put her on my back? We will start moving now." Bjorn said.
"She can not leave the lab." Ivoi said, "Currently she is on life support and will remain that way."
She continued to explain the condition the ghostborn was in. Her organs which were replaced broke her ability to channel mana which under normal circumstances is required for her biology. Without it the facility is the only thing providing the energy she needs to live.
"We can not leave her. You said this place is going to be destroyed." Bjorn said.
"There is another option," Ivoi said. "One that I heard she herself wanted to propose."
"Anything, let's do it quickly." Bjorn said.
"If you become her aetheric patron she will gain the ability to channel aether." Ivoi said.
"Become her patron? How do I do that? And that sounds like something she should be awake for." Bjorn said.
"She will not regain consciousness until she has a suitable replacement for mana." Ivoi said.
"How will her becoming an arcanist affect her?" Bjorn asked.
"Positively," Ivoi said. "Though her people use mana, their biology is actually better suited for aetheric flow. She'll be groggy at first, perhaps weaker, until she adjusts, but it's temporary. Jimmu engineered their bloodline for deep-space exploration, where mana was unreliable. Aether was meant to be their natural medium. The fact that her kind survived without it is… remarkable."
Bjorn trotted in place for a moment as he thought.
"Okay how do we do this? How do I become a patron?" Bjorn asked.
"Because her mana is so diminished right now it should be easier. With your angel core produce the purest aetheric orb you can and tether it to your core. Then move the orb to her core. There will be a reaction so don't lose focus. Her mana core will likely disperse as her body accepts the new more suitable energy."
"I am sorry what?" Bjorn questioned right as the orb entered the center of Fuyumi's chest. "You could have said that sooner."
The reaction was instant as Fuyumi's eyes opened wide in shock. Golden veins pulsed just under her skin burning with aetheric light. Her skin took on a more natural human hue. Instead of ghost white her skin carried the soft glow of sunlit bronze. Her snow-white hair deepened to a glossy black that shimmered like obsidian under starlight, and her crimson eyes softened into molten silver-gold.
Identify
Name: Fuyumi Tsukihana
+ Species: Yuki < Onryō
+ Level: 142 < 100
Vocation: Walking Armory Mage
+ Highest Stat: Dexterity: 580 < 400
Once the transformation was done she sat up. Breathing in and out in heavy meaningful gasps. She looked at her hand in both shock and wonder.
"Is she okay to move now?" Bjorn asked.
"Yes, the process is complete." Ivoi said.
"Great, tell her what is going on on the way out." Bjorn said.
He didn't wait for Fuyumi's reply. His tail coiled around her waist, lifting her gently onto his back. He broke into a run toward the lab's exit—only to stop when he realized Ivoi wasn't following.
"Ivoi!" he called over his shoulder. "What are you doing? Let's go!"
She stood at the threshold, unmoving. "Bjorn… I can't leave."
"What do you mean you can't?" Bjorn questioned.
Her holographic eyes softened. "Laxy must have told you before. This body is only an interface. I am the Xenobiology Lab. Even if you were to take the G-21 out I would remain here."
"So we leave and you and Laxy are both dead too?" Bjorn questioned.
"Dead? No, we are aetheric programs. Not living organisms, we are not alive." Ivoi said clinically. "Please take care of yourself and clear the facility as soon as possible. It was good to see you one last time, Lord Isin."
Bjorn paused for a moment that seemed to be frozen in time. He knew Laxy and Ivoi better than anyone else. He had years of fragmented memories living in this very city with the ghost that likely haunt these halls. He had to leave. There was no choice.
"Thank you… for everything you've done," Isin said, his voice steady despite the ache in his chest. "Your service… your contributions… will be remembered. Xenobiology Lab Aetheric Unit G-21 designation: Ivoi. Shutdown. Rest well."
"Yes, Lord Isin," she answered.
The lab door closed behind her with a definitive hiss.
"Well," Isin said, "let's get out of here. We have an apocalypse to stop."
"Stop?" Bjorn's tone was sharp. "Poison said it's unstoppable."
"She didn't build this place, did she?" Isin's voice hardened. "We need to get to the core before the Serpent does. We died once… what's one more time?"
"I don't like the way that sounded," Failsafe muttered.
"We'll make it work," Bjorn said firmly. "We'll get out alive."
"There's a True ripping its way into the city as we speak," Failsafe warned.
"All the more reason to move quickly." Bjorn answered.
Bjorn activated his shadow concealment. To his surprise, Fuyumi was drawn into its magical effect as well, likely a side effect of their now-shared aetheric bond. He had no time to ponder it.
He sprinted toward the powerplant, the ground trembling beneath him as distant alarms and destruction echoed through the facility. Every second counted. Every heartbeat was a drumbeat in the race against annihilation.