Chương 36: Book 8 - Chapter 32 - To trap a goddess

Tsuya hummed.

"It may be possible. Fully lucid, his abilities would eradicate entire armies of machines. Even entire biomes for certain events. And Relinquished feared him enough to field A01 and others against him instead of the defenses she kept deeper below. It would suggest even at half power, Talen could be a threat to her throne, with assumption that he returns to lucidity. How would you resolve his insanity?" I turned my head directly to Wrath.

"With the same person in charge of pinning Relinquished down. Wrath. Who just so happens to have an entire fractal dedicated to healing humans. Seems too much of a coincidence to me." Wrath certainly seemed to preen at that, but she did give me a caveat to my plan: "My healing fractal has shown results in healing human wounds, yes. And it allows for brain restoration back to baseline, we have data on this from the clan healings I performed. However, there are no trails or testing on the wounds of the soul.

Rather the opposite." She turned and pointed a finger at Captain Sagrius, who remained stoically nearby.

"I have made attempts but saw no method forward in his case." He didn't say anything, simply kept his hands on his weapons, ready in action for anything.

"He might be a unique case?" I said.

"I mean his issue is very convoluted, more a mix of two souls bound together, with both eating each other. For all we know, it could be that your fractal's only healing ability when it comes to souls is specifically what happened to Talen and Urs?"

"Before judgement, there is still more information I need." Tsuya said.

"And that has to do with the other fractal she has embedded within herself. There is a data point I must confirm. Currently Knight Highwind is within your soul fractal assisting?" Tsuya asked.

"He is here to help with occult casting and cover weak points in my combat techniques." Wrath said.

"The temporal fractal requires a soul to command and take the brunt of the feedback in return."

"Good. Ask him to study the fractal and confirm the concepts within. Specifically, he is to search for concepts of range and distance." Wrath nodded.

"He is on the search. It will take him some time to study fully for that angle." I looked over to where A07 remained dead while Tsuya and Wrath talked shop.

"Maybe there's a way to test her healing fractal and return someone to life here? If A57 was testing his soul-breaking ability here, we might have a chance to heal it."

"No." Father said.

"That shell is too dangerous to touch on."

"I would agree with Tenisent." Tsuya followed.

"A07 acted in ways that assisted us, that does not suggest he did so for our sake or had any plans to cooperate. If he is restored, it could mean being face to face against a protofeather of debatable sanity. Possibly a fight against an unmodified A07 before his revolt. I predict your group would likely succeed and defeat him given your overall martial strength, but it would come at a cost that could jeopardize the rest of your mission."

As in if A07 managed to kill Wrath in the last ditch fight here on his way back to the grave, we'd be screwed. Superior, got any more clues from this? You're the one saying he succeeded in his foresight here. Trying to figure out where the seeker's pointing to first, give me a moment to study it. Fair enough, don't think I'm convincing anyone here to help A07 back on his feet anyhow. Not sure I want to myself anymore if there's a chance he goes berserk and hurts Wrath in the process.

What have you got so far on the seeker itself? It would be pretty on point for the mites to be the ones leading us directly to Relinquished, but there's no hints of that anywhere so far. Just a notion of direction. I could see the text log on the terminal about the earlier chat with Tsuya, being transcribed right this moment, with the words getting shifted around as her telling me she had no idea what the seeker was, or how it was used anymore.

The revisions were uncanny to see, and rapidly catching up to where we were right now. She had generated a copy of my voice already, right down to me cracking jokes about her. Bad news. Superior sent. The seeker doesn't have the actual coordinate numbers anywhere, I tracked it down and it pings current coordinates out to something far off in the mite sea and that returns a direction. No way anyone can get the numbers themselves. So no easy way to get a portal coordinate and jump directly on top of Relinquished.

To be fair here, I don't think Relinquished would let any kind of mite portal around her fortress of doom, especially near her original computer. Seems like a little bit of a security risk. Just a smidge. The terminal continued shifting through the timeline Father had sent over, even changing my own voice when I spoke back to Wrath and the others about Abraxas's mission being transferred over to me. Tsuya didn't change or modify anything there.

I was waiting for her to speak or bring up that her friend had died, instead she continued to pass over the information. Almost like she was used to hearing the news her friend had died. I didn't think that was the case. Which meant…

"You think Abraxas isn't dead?" She tutted, basically rolled her eyes at that from the sound she made.

"Abraxas is the type that will fake his demise several dozen times in different ways. And he has collected a hoard of treasures and favors over the centuries to do so with, many of which were designed specifically to prevent death, cause confusion, and hide his traces."

"The mites seem to think he's dead. They handed me his direct mission." Thou shalt guide a betrayer to trap a goddess. That was getting more and more context as we went, dovetailing with Wrath's own part into the prophecy. She really would trap a goddess directly, we just needed another god to break in for us. Assuming we could find and heal him first.

"The Mites will work with any side that pays their bargain." Tsuya said.

"It is more likely Abraxas anticipated Relinquished would pay anything for his location. The greatest possible boon he could perform for our side was forcing Relinquished to pay that cost in search of something the mites could not provide." Which meant keeping even the mites in the dark about his life. I saw the data feed right this moment getting scrubbed and re-written.

Translation showing both of us agreeing he was dead for good, and her showing genuine sorrow, along with a small speech about what he had done for the cause, and his history as the first true defector. She didn't skimp out on this part, the 'alternate' version of us all speaking had her explain his history and what he'd accomplished in his life.

Apparently he liked to collect stories from humans, and that's how it had all started: He'd let humans go free if they had good entertainment to swap their lives with when he caught them. Very on brand for machines, in hindsight, now that I know how much of their core motives are all run by narratives, entertainment and dramatics. Out of all the machines out there, he was probably the largest hoarder, and his focus had been on history and stories. His rowboat had been filled with them.

"Wow. The machine rebellion all started because one machine was bored out of his skull and started looking at humans to fix that." Father turned to give me a look.

"You started the very same way. Evading training and seeking novelty from the Reachers." The terminal screen shifted over, and the image of Aztu appearing, along with the records she'd handed me, of which Father now had access to when I'd sent him that data package.

"Speaking of individuals who choose to remain dead even to my senses, I am pleased to see A22 has survived into this era." Tsuya said.

"When you see her again, tell her I wish her well and understand why she decided to remain hidden. She has earned her rest."

"My 'Grandmother.'" Wrath said, looking over the image.

"This is her?"

"Yeah, or at least how she appeared in the digital sea." I said, "Not sure what her protofeather chassis had looked like back in her prime, but she seemed to be living it up on the other side."

"I am extremely unsurprised she referred to you as her granddaughter." Tsuya said, sounding almost nostalgic for a moment.

"Like the rest of your kind, she was also obsessed with dramatics, although she was far more focused on the idea of legacy and being retired."

"Is she alive?" Wrath asked. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"I am almost certain she is." Tsuya said.

"Given she's attempted to openly connect with you, she was likely equally discovered by Relinquished and followed Abraxas. However, finding her again may take quite some time. It took nearly seven hundred years before I was made aware she was even alive again, just now. Be prepared. I will leave her appearance in the recording, and only modify some details about the other appearance we need to discuss."

"It is welcome news to hear I may still meet her in the future." Wrath said.

"Is it possible to recover her messages? She was insistent on sending me a package before she was forced into a halt."

"No." Tsuya said.

"So long as the machine network is down, even I cannot access any of my spy programs within." The terminal shifted and an image of To'Orda grew wide. And next to him, an even larger one. Of the Icon. Ah. That's what she meant by the other appearance: Discussion about the still functional, and completely unshackled, golden age AI and her Feather 'boss' in charge.

"Machines ignore any other sapient life besides humanity." Tsuya began.

"This Odin civilization functionally acted as a protective sphere around the Icon. And were perfectly placed to colonize her hull. As were the original humans guided into reactivating her right after the human empire collapsed in full, at the end of the original cycle when it was clear we had failed. The mites have taken great steps to keeping the Icon of Stars hidden from everyone. I believe she is vital in the prophecy."

Wrath's image showed up on the terminal screen, the image snapped off by Tsuya from the video recordings. The real Wrath standing next to me fidgeted.

"That is not a very flattering image of myself. I would request a better one be taken."

"You look like gold from any angle, you dumb bimbo." Cathida scoffed.

"Don't worry, it ain't your looks that's stopping your progress."

"Knight Highwind, has he confirmed his findings on the range of this fractal?" Tsuya cut in.

"He should have had ample time by now." Wrath waited a moment, eyes closed as she discussed.

"He confirms that it does. Touching. Physical connection."

"How close?" Tsuya asked. Wrath frowned.

"He claims it is more linked soul to soul in distance rather than an actual physical distance."

"You foresaw this." Father said to the terminal.

"What is your theory?"

"I had an inkling it may not be as simple as we hoped, given To'Wrathh also has a soul-prison fractal." Tsuya said.

"I believe it is needed in the trap. Which would make destruction more difficult. A soul as old and entrenched as Relinquished cannot simply be destroyed by To'Wrathh. She would need to be destroyed by more iron-tight methods."

"You are beating around the main point. Explain it." Father said. Tsuya sighed.

"In my time, we planned to eliminate Relinquished physically. By obliterating her vessel. With her soul free in the open air, even an entity of her size would be destroyed. If To'Wrathh is to bind her soul within herself, then she would equally need to self-destruct in a way that would leave no soul fractal remaining for Relinquished to inhabit." We all turned and shared a look.

"Absolutely not." I said.

"Any plan that has Wrath die in the end isn't one I'm going to help with. At all."

"Would you be willing to condemn humanity itself for the cost of one life?" Tsuya asked. I didn't answer. In my head, I knew it was selfish, and everything I'd been trained on about sacrifice was glaring at me from the other end of my mind. I didn't know how to rectify that double-standard.

"I understand." Tsuya said.

"I also predicted this group would have a difficult time reconciling this issue. I am aware my thoughts over the centuries have grown more utilitarian with less… humanity. In this case, I believe there is another method that the mites were preparing: That I am not the god's wrath in charge of eliminating Relinquished. There is another goddess that can perform the duties in a different manner that would not eliminate To'Wrathh." A third goddess.

Tsuya and Relinquished were basically just AI's with extreme power at their hands and a very long time to develop it. But there was a third AI out there now in the game.

"The Icon. You think she could crush Relinquished digitally?" If the Icon could move through the digital sea, and enter into Wrath's mental field, while she was holding Relinquished trapped there, they might actually fight the machine goddess directly. If she was killed inside the digital sea, she'd regenerate back at her origin location. But if that location was destroyed, and she had no connection to the unity fractal to slip anywhere else…

"Can the Icon actually fight? Or win against Relinquished?"

"By sheer processing power, and assuming Relinquished is cut off from her own. The fight would be possible." Tsuya confirmed.

"I would recommend having backup plans. My old plan remains mechanically functional, however it was calibrated with the intention to destroy a fully powered Relinquished. Detonation triggers within To'Wrathh's shell would be sufficient, so long as the soul fractal that Relinquished is trapped within is destroyed." Ah. I see now what Tsuya was doing. This was her compromise. Make the attempt to save Wrath in the process, but be prepared to terminate her if she failed or got taken over by Relinquished.

"This is an acceptable plan." Wrath herself said, and turned to me.

"Do not be alarmed, I believe the mites have set things up to offer multiple possible means of eliminating Relinquished. We simply need to follow their outline." Tsuya hummed.

"I will see if I can offer other assistance. I will supply Talen's last known coordinates."

"What if he cannot be saved?" Wrath asked.

"Then we'll figure out another way." I said, and believed it.

"The prophesy's words were this: 'Mankind's Emperor, to draw out the final enemy.' We might not need him lucid or even healed. Maybe just the threat of us healing him would be enough to draw out Relinquished in an attempt to stop us." I paced around, putting it all together: "All that matters is that we get you close enough to grab Relinquished in whatever vessel she has, and you should be able to yank her into your prison fractal.

From there, we get the Icon to smite her out of existence, and To'Orda takes over the throne."

"The original computer." Father said.

"It has to be destroyed somehow. A new version of Relinquished would regenerate within. She will have the same digital connections to everything there."

"And I am uncertain how To'Orda could capture the throne itself." Wrath said.

"We may need to discuss this plan further, or there could be another element we do not know of?"

"The latter." Tsuya said.

"I believe there is one last service I can provide on this front. And it has to do with the Division Stone itself." Schematics of the Division Stone appeared on the terminal.

"This Stone is the reverse of an occult blade."

"Reverse of a blade?"

"In a matter of speaking." Tsuya said.

"Your common blades only cut matter. But you have wielded blades that could do more than just that." The fractal of true division. A concept of separation refined to the point it would cut both matter and soul. Unless it wasn't refined? What if cutting matter and cutting concept were separate things mixed together in that fractal instead. I looked over the Stone, now realizing what it actually was.

"This is a surgery table that cuts into the soul?"

"Correct. The Stone does not physically separate the Unity fractal. A single break in the physical pattern of To'Wrathh's soul fractal is enough to break the entire fractal. However with enough precision, the concepts within it could be cut and not break the soul fractal itself. I would normally sever all ties to her unity fractal. This time, I will perform a more precise cut. I will cut the bridge that connects to To'Wrathh's soul and chassis but keep the rest intact.

She will be looking into it as an outside observer would, instead of a trapped participant. This means the fractal would still be functional, and could be used as a backwards channel. One that would lead directly to the original computer."

"And the Icon could take that backdoor through Wrath into the original computer right after she kills Relinquished, because there'd be nobody in control of it. She could fry the computer's systems before it generates a new soul." I said, adding on.

"And she'd be right there in the throne room of the machine empire." Which dovetailed perfectly into giving To'Orda the throne. That's how he'd step into the role. This is how we'd win.

"The plan has a strong chance of success." Tsuya said.

"Restoring Talen would certainly draw Relinquished out. However, I believe it is more as you suggested: The implied threat of his restoration that will make her come to you." Thou shalt guide a betrayer to trap a goddess. Abraxas's last mission. It wasn't about guiding Wrath down to the Division Stone. It was about guiding her to Relinquished directly. That's what I needed to do. All we needed to do was fight and get Wrath safely close enough to trigger the trap.

"We're going to need a good staging ground to prepare that kind of trap." I said.

"When Relinquished comes, she's going to be trying to tear and eat everything." We looked over at the Division Stone. The last part.

"Lady Tsuya," Wrath said, folding her wings behind her, standing up tall.

"I am prepared."

"Step into the Stone, the process itself will be swift." Tsuya said. On my HUD all Winterscars reported green lights. No signs of machines anywhere. There wasn't any last second attacks by Relinquished. She really was blind and deaf, too focused on her empire to notice the final pieces clicking into place behind her back. Wrath gave me one last look, and I sent her a thumbs up. This was it. Tsuya was here to operate the Division Stone directly.

After that, it was up to us to make enough of a racket even Relinquished couldn't ignore us. That or we manage to find and heal Talen. Wrath took a few steps up to the Stone. Then slipped inside the inner circle. Lights glowed all around her. Dozens of fractals lit to life. The mechanical arms above started moving above. Fractals were alive within the tips of those hands, like the arms of a surgery table. I saw it in the soul sight. The moment the stone really turned fully on.

Operated by the person who'd crafted it. A soul fractal deep within lit up as a goddess arrived from mite space, stepping within. Tsuya wasn't just remotely connected to the terminal anymore. She was here. Right here with us, deep inside the Division Stone, executing the cuts personally. I could see as concepts moved around those hands, keeping a balance. Precision was key, but Tsuya had complete mastery over the occult.

Dozens of supporting fractals were turned on, some warding the outside, others handling more focused functions I couldn't understand. All of it was tied to her soul tendrils. Wrath's soul was held inside Tsuya's hands, and the goddess cut her chains free. But at the same exact time all of this happened, something else woke within the stone. Two plates inside the stone slammed together internally, connecting into a complete and powered fractal.

I realized a truth at that exact moment when I saw what happened next: A07 hadn't won the fight at the Division Stone. He'd lost. Because the Unity fractal lit to life on that panel. The trap placed there centuries ago. For this exact moment. A presence flooded out of it, circling around Tsuya. It squeezed from all sides, trapping the goddess. Closing off any escape. I could almost feel the immediate understanding from Tsuya.

She held off, pitting her willpower against the enemy with one hand, while she focused to complete her work on Wrath. Keeping the tiny soul of a Feather safe from the darkness that now surrounded them both. The eldritch mechanical soul of humanity's true enemy bit down with all the power of an entire planet. A small sphere of gold light, surrounded by violet darkness, crushing inwards. Tsuya performed the final cut. The speaker crackled with her voice.

"Succeed." She said.

"You have to." The darkness collapsed inwards. We saw the end of a Goddess. The end of an era. Lights faded from the Division Stone as it powered off. Wrath stepped out, looking up at us. Confused why we were all staring with horror. The console's speaker crackled again. The same voice came out. But darker. More malevolent.

"Oh, my poor misguided humans." Relinquished said, laughing.

"Did you believe I would be the one trapped?"