(I) Terrify

Shiv looked on in surprise as the once transparent Pathbearer turned visible. For a moment, he thought he was looking through a gap. The once transparent elf thing didn't have any distinct features, for there were none there. Instead, there was simply an absence, an opening. Their body was defined by contours, but now that he studied them, they resembled more of a keyhole than a person. Through that keyhole which embodied their existence, Shiv saw faint colors oscillating within.The undeniable feeling of mana radiated free from the insides of the strange Pathbearer's body, and Shiv fought to process how they functioned at all. They didn't seem to have any organs, they didn't have eyes, ears, or even lips. He had no idea how they were talking to him at all.

Even telepathy required a mind for the composition of thought, so his mouth hung slightly agape until he arrived at his first question. Despite the tenseness of the situation, he didn't really want to offend this most unusual Pathbearer. He didn’t know what they could do, and starting a fight right now wasn’t the best idea. "Were you always like this, or did he make you into this?"

"Udraal. Father-Maker. Before he imagined my creation, there was nothing like me, no one like me, and now there are only a few others." The strange Pathbearer ran a hand across their body, and the only way Shiv knew their arm was moving was due to the different kinds of mana that left their limbs and body, separated by varying gradients. "I am a Thresholder, a thing of boundaries and borders, and my purpose was never a purpose at all. Inside me, there is mana. Of all lores and varieties, of a different ambient threshold."

"Different threshold? Why, though? What's the point of..." Shiv paused. He thought about everything he knew regarding Ambient Mana Thresholds, and quickly came to an uncomfortable guess. "You meant to destabilize worlds somehow? Create mana storms where you go by connecting whatever thresholds inside you with the world outside?"

“That is a cornerstone of my existence,” the Thresholder said, sounding miserable, “but is not the only one. Father-Maker left me in the laboratory for many years, until its wards finally decayed enough to collapse, and I was set free. I did not have a name. I still do not have a name. I am simply Vault Northeast. That is all the distinction he gave me in his documents. But it seems he offered you more. You have a name. A .”

A faint growl entered the Thresholder's voice then.

Psycho-Cartography:

"Yeah, well, that wasn't up to me either," Shiv said, holding up a hand in the defense. "Look, I didn't ask to be, no more than you did. But that probably doesn't matter right now, considering we're both in this shithole prison. But that's where I might be able to offer you the first good turn of your life. You want to get out? You want to go find Udraal once you're out? Because I do. I got plenty of questions to ask him, and you probably do too."

The Thresholder said nothing. For a few seconds thereafter, they simply faced Shiv. He got the distinct impression that they were staring at him, and a faint sense of unease crawled up his spine. The fear chain connecting him to the Thresholder still existed, and it grew stronger with every passing second.

Shiv thought to himself.

"No," the Thresholder suddenly said.

Shiv was taken aback by their disagreement. "No? You don't want to go find Udraal?"

"I wish to never lay my senses upon Father-Maker. I wish to exist far apart from him in eternal perpetuity. I have seen what he has done to those of my like, and I have survived what they tried to do to me."

Shiv took a slight step backward as his danger intuition screamed at him. "You think I'm a threat?" Shiv asked.

"I do not think," the Thresholder replied. “You are his creation. We are all threats. We are all mistakes.” The mana within them grew brighter, and the first tendrils of magic seeped out from the Thresholder, bleeding into the world itself. As it did, a notification appeared before Shiv's eyes.

Warning: Mana instability detected. Clashing mana thresholds might result in magical friction.

Shiv's thoughts were cut off as he felt his Biomancy field get frayed. He barely held back a wince as spiritual pain pulsed through his mind. His Biomancy field felt as if it had been dragged across a jagged carpet of gravel. And that was how Shiv learned about mana friction. It also revealed to him the true function of Vault Northeast. They weren't just a bomb, they were likely a magical inhibitor. Something that negatively affected every bit of mana in their surroundings.

His suspicions were proven correct as Bonk, Five, and Rebis all let out mutual gasps. The many spell patterns raining down from the Orichalcum walls nearby were also dissolving, turning to powder with every centimeter they traveled. Shiv kept his Biomancy and other magical fields still. But even so, the grind continued, burrowing through his mana fields, then filling him with growing strain. But it wasn't just Shiv and his companions who were affected.

The other Legendary prisoners staggered away from the Thresholder, and Urri let out a growl. "Gap! Gap! You're doing it again! Stop! Urri demands it! Stop!"

And just then, the Thresholder shuddered. The mana tendrils seeping out from their body were reeled back in an instant. The Thresholder shifted awkwardly. "I've lost track of my... track of myself again. He distracted me."

Psycho-Cartography:

Shiv realized he kept his expression stable as he rolled his neck. "Eh, thanks, Urri," Shiv said, turning his attention to the large Vulteg. "Understand why your friend here might not like me so much. I haven't done anything to the rest of you, and frankly, I got more to offer alive than dead.”

The crystalline column rose behind the huge Vulteg, and it directed a telepathic cry at Shiv. "You're worth more dead than alive, Deathless! Ten Legendary Skills will make me equal to any Avatar—more than equal!”

And here came the problem Shiv needed to resolve. Quickly, if he wanted to make use of this horde at all.

"Yeah, if you kill me. Again, if."

"There are sixteen of us," the column declared with a growl in its voice. "You are alone."

"No," Shiv shot back immediately. "There aren't sixteen of you. There's one of you. Because only one of you can get that reward. And as soon as he does, he's going to be pretty powerful. But the rest of you? You're just going to let that felling bastard have that power? Let them figure out how to use it? Pretty risky.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Silver Tongue 36 > 37

Suddenly, the large Vulteg went still. And he briefly looked over his shoulder at the other Legendary prisoners. The rest were doing the same. Shiv saw how an automaton that bore a crown composed from ever-changing ones and zeros turned to regard a man growing blade after blade out from his bare flesh. Behind them, a snarling elven woman with a golden shadow hovering a few meters behind her person glared. Her stare was locked on Shiv, then slashed out to direct her loathing at the other prisoners around her. The golden shadow behind her revealed an arm that resembled a scythe-like blade more than a human limb, and the Chronomancy mana radiating from it was beyond dense.

Shiv pressed his advantage. "You know what I'm saying is true. You can all work together and put me down, but before you kill me, the question you need to answer among yourselves is who gets to keep the reward. And the person who gets to keep the reward needs to ask themselves another question. Why won't the rest of you simply turn on them and kill them when the chance comes?"

Shiv finished and let the prisoners nurse on that question. Instead of breaking into discussion, an oppressive silence followed.

Psycho-Cartography:

But something didn’t fit right. It shouldn’t be the case that all the Legendary-Tier prisoners lacked good Social Skills. No. Shiv considered it for a while longer and came to a simple conclusion: the Legendary prisoners that had good intelligence or social based skills must’ve been in another cube. A place dedicated to containing them specifically.

When none of the prisoners spoke, Shiv took charge of the situation again. "Right, glad you're all as stumped by this problem as I am. But there's something else we have to worry about. See, if we stick around here any longer, an Avatar might show up. Because that’s who attacked me earlier. I’m sure a few of you caught sight of the Waifs here. She’ll probably be back if we keep wasting time, so you’ll get to say hi to her in person if we wait.”

Invoking the Avatars brought another desired change to the prisoners. Instead of being suspicious and paranoid of each other, they were now anxious as well. They might be Legendary, but Shiv knew that even Legendary Pathbearers had limits. His Shapeless Tides Skill Evolution made him a juggernaut, both physically and magically. But he still had no answer for Daughter's Stealth. And he could still be overwhelmed if a few Avatars cornered him. The same applied to the rest of these prisoners. He didn't know what Legendary Skills they had, but he was certain that they wouldn't be able to fight off an Avatar in a direct confrontation. Especially not if all the Ascendants arrived at once.

Shiv triggered his Outside Context Problem. Then he winked out of existence as he receded into his own soul. And then he re-emerged with a splash of Vitae. It was a calculated gambit meant to shock the prisoners. Urri flunked back. He was faster than Shiv, but not by a lot. That placed him as a High Hero for Reflexes, rather than a legend.

Several other prisoners tensed and calmed in the same instant. Shiv barely noticed the changes in their posture, their movements little more than flickers before his eyes. He grunted as something struck him from behind. Yet it wasn't a physical blow, rather, it was a blow sent across time. A shallow golden scar tore pieces away from his temporal shell, and the Deathless offered a flat stare to the most likely culprit. The elf with the golden shadow glared back at him, but her lip curled in dissatisfied frustration.

"What did you just do?" Urri demanded.

"I left—”

“He left this dimension," the Thresholder said, cutting Shiv off. And it was then that Shiv realized the Thresholder saw everything. The Deathless frowned. He left context once more and stayed there for a bit longer this time. While the other prisoners flinched and looked around confused, the Thresholder continued staring at Shiv.

A faint violet glow lit the inner gulf of the Thresholder's being, and Shiv knew that was divination mana. He wasn't sure if the Thresholder was aware of him, or if they were simply guided by the magical senses lining their insides. So he called out to them. “Can you hear me?”

The Thresholder shuddered. They turned their head slightly, as if someone who’d heard a whisper in the woods rather than a voice calling out nearby.

Shiv wasn't sure how he felt about that. He already disliked the fact that the Ascendants could use Divination to track him when he was out of context. The last thing he needed was someone else that could counter his Unique Skill. And if the Thresholder could do so, that meant that Udraal might be able to compromise Shiv's Outside Context Problem, if they ever met.

Shiv grumbled to himself as he emerged from his soul once more. He halted time only to discover every single Legendary prisoner before him also had a Chronomancy skill. His surprise was deepened as he realized half of them had a Chronomancy skill not too different from his. Rather than forming a temporal shell over their bodies, some had strange animal-like forms made from solid gold, while others projected a small sphere that further expanded outward like a layered onion or a temporal fortress.

All of them immediately noticed Shiv.

“So. With this skill, I can—”

Only one struck with deliberate violence.

The elf with the golden shadow came for Shiv again. He didn't know if it was her natural instincts that drove her to default to violence. But considering her Reflexes, she had more than ample time to decide otherwise. The golden shadow ripped free from her person, and Shiv watched as the elf's human base form remained still, a statue bound to the outpaced present. The golden shadow was anything but a statue. It was lightning across time. It was death riding from the future back to the past, seeking to reap a spoil of souls with its bladed arms.

As it drove its wicked scythe-like limbs against Shiv's torso, he felt a chunk of his temporal shell get slashed free. The slice was so deep and true that Shiv lost three seconds immediately, and before it could cut again, he seized the bladed limb and held it tight.

Inertial Overdrive 133 > 134

His overflow vectors crashed against its plunging blade, and a splash of gold erupted out from the back of the shadow as Shiv's Shapeless Tides repelled the offending mana. The golden shadow looked upon Shiv and flinched back in surprise. That proved to be a mistake as he drove his head into its chin. Rather than the golden shadow suffering any harm, the elf's jaw jerked aside.

The shadow tried to rip itself free, but Shiv held on tight to its bladed arm. Just then, its other hand thinned into a rapier, and it plunged, delivering another stab toward Shiv's throat. The shadow was far too fast for the Deathless to react, but his Shapeless Tides were circulating through his body.

Another chip of Chronomancy was cleaved free from Shiv's person, yet the golden shadow's blade was knocked aside, wrenched off course by a surging vector of force and countermagic. It tried to attack again, but Shiv stole the momentum and threw himself against its body.

Instead of trying to overpower it entirely, Shiv went along with its force, pulling it in close before wrapping his arms under its body. His Legendary Skill Fusion wasn't just something born of Physicality and Magical Resistance, it included Grappling as well. Grappling taught Shiv about leverage, about joints, and about centers of gravity. The golden shadow might have been a manifestation of Chronomancy, but it was still humanoid, and Shiv was quite good at wrestling humanoids.

He wrenched his foe along their midriff, pulling the shadow off the ground, and as it tried to fight the momentum, he suddenly spiked it down the other way, slamming the shadow against the ground. A resounding impact shook the room, and Shiv sprawled atop the shadow's back. Its arms lashed out, but he drove tide after tide into its body, pinning it in place, while circulating other vectors of force along its limbs. He fought to control it at first. The shadow resisted him, kicking and lashing, yet it had no ability to fight off the ground.

Its ability to resist was further worsened as Shiv drove a knee into its midsection. Once more, the shadow didn't take any damage, but the elf folded slightly, curling over her left ribs.

Shiv stole this opportunity to concentrate every single Overflow Tide he had into the shadow's right arm, and then he inverted half those tides. Fifty percent of the vectors went in one direction, fifty percent went in another. The shadow's arm didn't have joints per se, but it was still mostly solid, and solids had rules. When you bent a solid too much, it would either fold or break, and the golden shadow gave a resounding shriek before the first cracks lined the time-mana forming its body. Shiv let out a growl of effort as he circulated more tides through himself. Every time he got close to being exhausted, a new burst of force flooded his very bones and urged him to fight on.

But then a spearing pain burst from his back, and he looked down to see a golden blade protruding from his chest. He blinked, and as he turned behind, something took him across the top of his head. Death came, and only thereafter did he discover why.

Outside Context Problem 92 > 94

Inertial Overdrive 134 > 137

Strider of the Unbending Path 155 > 158

His Vitae emerged from his body as he found his skull split at a 45 degree angle. But that was secondary to the fact that there were thirty other golden shadows that had manifested into existence from out of nowhere. They came right at his body. The shadow he was trying to disable rose just then as well, and they started hacking at Shiv's corpse. In a frenzied instant, there was little left of his body beside blood and giblets.

Shiv was glad that his Voidmantid armor was bound to him. If it stayed connected to his corpse, it would have been utterly mangled as well. Just then, a fourth shadow came for Shiv. Right as his temporal shell was about to break, he almost flung himself back in time, but remembered what happened back at Gate Piety in the last moment. He'd tried to revert time when dead before, and all it did was rip his Vitae wide open. He needed to resurrect fully and be in a stable state before he could use his temporal anchor.

The Deathless growled. He launched himself forward and drove his Vitae against the nearest golden shadow. It parried his Vitae and slit the tendrils he unleashed upon down the middle. Shiv tried to concentrate on both his shapeless tides and his Pillar of Orichalcum. But he couldn't. He decided to focus on his Legendary Skill instead.

It proved to be a good choice, as another few hundred golden shadows suddenly exploded out from the thirty. In a moment, Shiv was drowned by a swarm of attackers. Blades fell from all directions. A few shadows simply burst into being, as if they had existed then all that time. Only the faintness of Chronomancy warned of their coming. The attacks were overwhelming. By all means, Shiv should have been cut down. But where his Reflexes were lacking, his Shapeless Tides prevailed.

He channeled vectors across his entire body, Overflow Tides gliding over his Vitae. His innate tides were directed outward. Blows that should have cleaved clean through his Vitae-forged form were driven back. Chronoromantic blades bounced off of him after leaving shallow gaps like axe heads recoiling from plate armor. Other strikes were dragged off course. His frictionless vector skill activated over and over, causing golden blades to crash against one another. A few times, the golden scab shadows skewered their other selves as well, and through the messy tangle of limbs and shifting bodies, Shiv noticed that the elf was bleeding, her body dotted with small wounds and shallow cuts.

The shadows halted their onslaught, trying to figure out why they were the ones hurt instead of Shiv, and that was their final mistake. He reached out using his Vitae and curled a branching limb around one of the golden shadows, and he pulled, tearing at the l ife force inside of them. Then Shiv linked his being with Integration itself.