Chương 18: 17. The Vision

Lea gasped, pushing damp strands of hair out of her face. She breathed heavily, leaning on the equipment in front of her. A mechanical panel clattered and clanged loudly, equipment that she'd hacked together working to divert miasma away from the Core Essence. She watched Tavian leading a group of people out of the dungeon and she was relieved to see him again. She hadn't been able to see anything while he was deep in that miasmic mess. And his movements down there had kept stirring it up, making things worse.

That had been close. Too close. The dungeon was dangerous. Lea hadn't been able to do anything to protect the tile that Tavian had tried to claim, not while the heart of the core was under attack. Tavian watched as the people he'd found were reunited with friends and loved ones in the courtyard. Squad Lieutenant Zael made a report to Tavian, of three men who'd been lost in the dungeons. Tavian nodded briskly, then returned to surveying the people he'd just brought into his kingdom.

His eyes were full of genuine concern for them. Lea's heart warmed. In that instant, she saw something inside of Tavian. Could he be capable of more than merciless hunger for power? Had he not yet grown hardened to the ways of this world, like all the other rulers she'd known before? He wasn't just a scared boy. He truly cared about his people. Maybe she had misjudged him. A surge of emotion overwhelmed her. If she linked with him, there would be no going back.

Lea turned back to her job, seeking solace in the work. She began adding all the new people to Tavian's kingdom. She began the process, identifying individuals, activating connection requests, and—"Lea," Tavian called.

"How old are you?"

"I don't really know," Lea said.

"Time passes strangely when my Core is not active."

"Can you read this?" Tavian pointed to an old book. The symbols were familiar, but the language was strange.

"I can work out some of it," she said.

"But I can't read books."

"Why?" Tavian asked.

"I can't turn the pages," she said.

"Someone has to do it for me." Tavian nodded slowly, then closed the book and handed it back to Calli.

"Can you tell me happened to my claimed tile? Was it a miasma surge, or was it the Anarvians—" Lea continued working while her projection appeared in front of Tavian, cutting him off.

"No," Lea said.

"It wasn't them. There's a strong miasmic energy being stirred up around here, and it's interfering with the Core.

""So even the Core isn't strong enough to prevent the surges?" Tavian asked. He sounded disappointed. Lea nodded grimly.

"Miasma is tainted mana," she said.

"It interferes with the normal functioning of kingdom core power. You need to keep it away from the Core." Lea took a deep breath. If she was ever going to trust him, it had to be now.

"Just doing my job," Lea said. And then…

"There's one more thing that I need to do." She moved over to stand in front of Tavian. He watched her, curiously. Lea took a deep breath.

"I'm unable to manifest beyond the borders of your kingdom," she said. Her legs trembled, and her wings fluttered involuntarily to help her stay upright.

"The core maintains a system interface link with you wherever you are, but I am not the core." Tavian waited for her to continue.

"But I have a special capacity," Lea continued, indicating her antennae.

"I can link with your mind. It will let us speak from a distance. And I'll be able to see through your eyes. I'll be able to help you better." Tavian nodded.

"What's the downside?" he asked.

"You seem nervous about this; there has to be a catch." Was it that obvious?

"I won't be able to read your mind or your thoughts unless they're sent directly to me," Lea said.

"Not once the linking is complete. But the linking process… Sometimes it takes a few seconds for the link to settle. There can be some overspill of minds."

"I'll see your memories," Tavian said.

"You'll see mine." Lea nodded.

"I don't know what you'll see," she said.

"It can be… a lot."

"I won't judge you," Tavian said.

"We need every advantage we can get."

"And… I'll feel it when you die." The pain… oh, the pain.

"Then I won't die," Tavian said, with the bravado of youth. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Lea shook her head sadly, rejecting the joke. Reaching out, Lea placed her hands on either side of Tavian's head. No amount of explaining she could do would change things. She was just stalling because she was scared. Better to move on with it. She fluttered her wings, hovering at eye level with Tavian, then pressed her forehead to his.

Tavian didn't feel Lea's hands on his head; he didn't feel her forehead touch his. But the moment she leaned in, the world exploded in color. He saw everything reproduced in an elemental rainbow around him. The ground wobbled like he stood on the deck of a ship. He threw out his arms, trying to steady himself. Instead, Tavian found his soul had disconnected from his body. He began floating up, into the air, looking down at the place where he and Lea stood face to face.

His kingdom core blazed like a pillar of fire, the world hexgrid lines blindingly bright. He moved, faster and higher; Tar Corinath stretching out beneath him, then the whole of the Corinath isles. His soul continued upwards, until all of Andal spun beneath his feet. A wall of darkness washed over the planet, extinguishing all light. Then the twelve pentagonal anchors of the world hexgrid flared brightly, sending out powerful mana cords, connecting the planet to… Other planets.

Andal was simply a node, in a cosmic web of worlds. Kingdoms glowed in the expanse; consuming whole planets. The vastness of it threatened to consume him. He'd be lost in it forever, unable to ever find his body again. Tavian shut his eyes. He fought his way out of a cocoon, struggling as weak limbs broke through hard fibers. His wings unfolded behind him. The sky was filled with fluttering wings, of myriad shapes and sizes. Tavian didn't just see the other lepidoptera. He was them.

A symphony of minds, filled with joy, wonder, and connection. He was home. Then Tavian was running through the halls of Tavirost Fortress, playing with Calli and Braun. They were looking for someone. Looking for his mother. When they found her, they all embraced. It was the last time he saw her. A wave of fear and panic rolled through the lepidoptera. They were starting to disappear. Winking out, like stars obscured by a black cloud.

Tavian looked down and saw men and women, standing strong and tall, wearing ornate, powerful armor, and wielding mighty weapons. They throbbed with power. Each one had a link of mana, connecting them back to kingdoms within the galactic web of energy. Tavian recognized the man at the head of the warriors. Ishtoran. He looked at Tavian, and beckoned. He wanted Tavian to join him. A black cloud rolled between Tavian and Ishtoran. But it wasn't a cloud.

It was a wave of grotesque, insectile creatures, chittering and consuming everything in their path. In its wake, it left nothing but blight and Void. Void. It consumed mana, sucking it out of the planet, crumbling the world to dust. The world hexgrid was breaking down. Tavian turned, his wings fluttering. His sisters gathered around him. He longed to join Ishtoran, to take up his power and stand against the all-consuming void. His kingdom core pulsated, flickering as the planet was consumed. He felt afraid.

But this wasn't him. These weren't his feelings. In an instant of clarity, Tavian tried to seize control of the vision, to will Lea's body to accept Ishtoran's offer. To go help him. Lea wanted to do the same. But Lea did not. She joined hands with her sisters, forming a ring around the kingdom core. They began to hum, and chant, wings fluttering as they rose into the air.

"It's the only way," Lea said.

"We cannot save our world. Our people. We need more time." The world flashed and crackled. Ishtoran glowed so brightly that Tavian couldn't look at him, cutting through the black of the void with his sword, driving it back. Tavian—Lea wanted to fight alongside him. She wanted a chance to save this world. The world exploded. Lights, shapes, colors… Scenes and settings that Tavian could not comprehend. A single feeling, that he could. Loss. It ached in his bones. Tavian squeezed his body shut against the pain.

"Look," an alien voice called for his attention.

"Look!" Tavian peeled his eyes open. He looked, and saw… Andal. The world where he lived. Something moved through the void, impacting his planet. The ground rolled, and earthquakes shook Andal to its core. The twelve pentagonal mana wells flickered—but only for an instant. But no. One of them did not turn back on, not all the way. There were only eleven, now, burning brightly. Tavian fell toward the feeble trickling space where the twelfth mana well powering the world hexgrid now struggled. Faster. Faster.

Tavian crashed back into his body. He blinked. The core courtyard was as he'd left it, moments before. Mundanely normal. The sounds of nervous children and relieved parents echoed in his ears. Lea had vanished." Lea?" Tavian called to her, in his mind." You saw what happened."" I don't understand it. What was that? What did I just see?"" I destroyed my people,"Lea said." So few of us yet remain."" But they were still fighting. You still had the opportunity to fight against… against the Void.""

I thought that if I bought us time, we could change things. The others wanted to make a final stand, but… I broke everything apart instead." Tavian didn't know what to say. He didn't truly understand the magnitude of what had happened. There was a tension in Lea now, a knot of emotion that he could feel as she spoke. He stood in silence, waiting for her to explain. She didn't." Why?"" To buy time,"she said." We needed more time." She'd sacrificed her world. Let her people die." How could you let them die?"

Tavian asked. Lea did not respond. He felt pain, through the bond." If it hurts you so much, why did you do it?" he asked." I still believe that I made the right choice,"Lea said." If we failed there… we failed everywhere. I preserved the rest of the worlds. She fell silent again. Tavian scowled. How could he trust someone that would destroy her own world and not fight to defend it? How could he trust something so ancient, so… alien in its understanding of the world.

Could they even communicate accurately with each other? What if she decided that his kingdom needed to die? A chill ran down his spine. What happened to his core if Lea abandoned it?" Lea,"Tavian asked, afraid of what the answer might be." Why are you here?"" I'm here to fight against the void," she said." Is that why you're afraid of miasma? You're fighting it?"" Miasma is not void. Miasma is the essence of death. We understand it. We can account for it. Void… it is something else entirely.

Pray that you never encounter it." Tavian did not reply to her. Could she sense his unease?" You're upset about me.

"Lea said." I… I was afraid of this."" Yes." Tavian didn't know how else to respond." I need to be able to trust you, but…" Her tone changed, becoming flat and bureaucratic." Don't worry. I am fully committed to my task as your Core Administrator. I do not let my past affect my work."

"Just give me some space," Tavian said.

"It's strange to have someone else in my head." He looked around for something to distract him. He'd liked it better when Lea was simply an avatar of the Core, but they couldn't go back.