Chương 314: I shall revel in the strife that you sow

"Are you done yet~?"

"No."

"What about now? That thread did flash impressively~."

"No."

"Aaaw. But you need to hurry up, Braid. Kite and the others are going to town on some undead in the sewers, Obsidian Crow and I are discovering new ritual sites waaaaay too often and Branch Director Temren and her handsome deputy boy - tall, blonde, elf. Stern in just the right way. Yum! - was forced into a tussle by some sect goons. We really need some friendly boots on the ground here~."

"I am quite aware, Wander," Braid said, surprisingly unbothered. Having spent so many years by her side, the woman's constant questions had become less a nuisance and more like a familiar cloak by now; a kind of comfort that helped him feel at ease and focus on the task at hand, even though he supposed that it was only his high-end silver-ranked mind that left him with enough mental capacity for it.

"You do know that we need to be meticulous if this is supposed to work."

"Ugh. Fine. And I can't just carry the guards away on a tide of rats? It's not like they're much of a proper guard force anyway, you know with the sects being the ones to actually police the powerful people of the city~."

"We'd better not risk it, hence my solution. Here, hold this."

"Oh, okay– Hey, wait! This is just a short bit of thread attached to nothing ~!"

"That's only what it looks like. In reality, it is the entire fulcrum for this working, and it is most imperative that you don't drop it."

"Wha– No way! You're lying~!"

"Do you dare to put it down and test that theory?"

"... Ugh, I hate you sometimes~."

"It's not like you don't have hundreds of other bodies doing things, so you can't exactly claim to lack things to focus on. Aaaand… there! Now you have another." Wander's whiskers tingled slightly as she could feel the threads that surrounded Braid come alive with magical power atop the rooftop where the two of them had been huddled, a rooftop that just happened to be close to a certain gate in the city wall.

Business in Heavenward wasn't entirely closed off during the tournament even if travel to and from the city was a lot more difficult as well as controlled. If the guild members were to enter the city without incredible delays, some manner of force would be needed. But as they couldn't - or perhaps rather didn't prefer - to lay siege to and break through the gates themselves, they had to find another option. One that Braid apparently had.

Shouts of confusion could be heard from the gate area along with the grinding scrape of massive gates swinging open as the formations that controlled them had activated with no input from the guards stationed there. Fortunately it was a slow enough process that all the people huddling in line had ample time to get out of the way, even though a small and localized chaos broke out as the guards started restoring order while trying to understand why the formations to control the gates no longer responded to them.

"It should be at least a few hours before they can get anyone here to undo my work," Braid said with satisfaction, a few threads winding around his arms and rappelling him down from the roof with Wander perched atop his shoulder.

"Telling Walker now. Those bronzes manning the gates seem smart enough to not try and get in the way of a few dozen silvers and accompanying bronzes~-""Which leaves the next task. This was a good warmup, as it let me get a sense of the city formation, even though I suspect that it will be a lot more challenging to find as well as work with the larger arrays responsible for the spatial lockdown."

"Come on then! We've got no time to lose~!" Wander called, all traces of boredom gone from her voice.

"That city array ain't got nothing on you, Braid. I just know it." The lines of the ritual flared outward in an angry, buzzing arc of wild magic before a blurred and disrupted piece of the arcane diagrams gave out with a pop that caused the whole process to suddenly turn inwards upon itself. The rippling wave was dragged towards the center where it devolved into a rapidly shrinking ball and disappeared, but not before sucking in and disintegrating one of the bodies of the fallen ritualists and half of another.

"I have no idea what that ritual was about, but given that they had priests of Undeath and other disgusting things guarding them, I think we are safe to assume that it wasn't anything good," Dragonfly shuddered as they looked around the underground ritual chamber. Clearly made for the purpose, the small stone-shaped complex they had discovered was linked to the sewers where they have been battling through the undead guardians.

The lack of any more gold-rankers had made the fighting fierce but ultimately trivial as Kite had been able to act as a human battering ram that pierced the throngs of undead like the tip of a spear through a sand castle. Only the protections of the ritual chamber had briefly stopped them, but another few directed strikes and general application of violence had left the room and the remnants of the ritual in their current disheveled states.

Kite was almost disappointed that he had not needed to bring out either of the trio of artifacts he had borrowed from Gleam's armoire.

"We shall have to assess the impact of this once we return to the others," Kite again, only to be interrupted by the rat seated at his shoulder.

"Which I would suggest that you do sooner rather than later. Things are really starting to go down now~."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, The guild members have just started entering the city, much to the confusion of the guards who are at least smart enough not to try and stop them, but I suppose that it is only a matter of time before some of the sects start catching on. Let's just hope that they are too busy with one another and this little tournament to go check out the huge gathering of outcasts who suddenly decided to break in.

Oh, and then there is a matter of Director Temren having a grand brawl with a sect leader up at the campus–""What!? Why haven't you told me? I need to go help her–""I didn't tell you because she explicitly told me - or rather one part of me - that it wasn't needed. She believes that it is a delaying action, and that getting you involved might only risk it working better if other golds come to join the fun. I believe that her exact words were: 'Stick to the skething plan and find the source of Discord's workings'.

There's that odd word again. Was it a curse or something. Perhaps I should–""I suppose we shall have to trust her then," Kite added, interrupting Wander before she could go off on too much of a tangent as they started heading back at speed. Behind them, clouds of rainbow smoke started feeling upwards as Laevyeth once more activated her looting power once they were far enough away to be able to outrun the foul-smelling consequences.

Emerging above ground, Kite could feel the battling auras up at the Adventure Society campus more clearly even though they were somewhat contained, and he could only hope that Anasta knew what she was doing. Making their way back through the city proved even easier than before given that most of the citizenry seem to have started to realize that there was something else going on beside the massive clash of essence users outside their walls.

The fear and uncertainty of the general populace hung like a drab undercurrent to the clashing of the more powerful auras in the area, and Kite suspected that it would get a lot worse before this was over. However, it was with great relief that they started encountering groups of guild members making their way up towards the Tengu Clan compound up on the Heavenly stairway, Kite and the others greeting them all as they raced past to find Uncle Walker just having arrived.

"By the gods, little Kite. This sure feels like it's devolving into quite a mess. Was that Anasta I saw battling above the Adventure Society?" the older man asked with some bewilderment where he stood in one of the courtyards of the Tengu Clan's Heavenward Estate and counted all the different teams arriving by the minute.

"It was. Apparently she feels that she has things in hand," Kite replied, nodding towards Soul who sped over as the Voice of Obsidian Crow started echoing out from a nearby gathering of shadows.

"I have it confirmed as well, and her call is a sound one. Wander and I have found numerous locations around the city to which the Guildmaster here has already started deploying teams from the guild's most timely new arrivals."

"Both a few groups of sect warriors and the guards at the gate noticed our sortie out from the camp of the Fated Severance Sect, so we might find trouble down the line," Walker added.

"Hopefully we'll have made enough of a difference to justify us being present in force. Even better if we can find a few undead or the like to parade around."

"From what Wander has told me, there should be plenty," Kite agreed.

"But please tell our members to be careful. I found a gold-ranked undead at the site we just found. There needs to be plenty of silvers in each group."

"Wander told us as much. We'll try to be careful. Hopefully Braid can manage to wrangle the city arrays sooner rather than later.

Reinforcements aside, he's needed to spearhead our efforts in understanding what the smaller rituals are for and how essential they are to Discord's plans," Walker said, gesturing to a nearby map where Wander and a few members of the Tengu Clan were busy making marks that indicated suspicious magic levels or confirmed locations, and they were indeed a lot more numerous than when Kite had last seen them, spread throughout the whole city with one notable exception.

"There is a distinct gap around the Heavenly Stairway and the palace," Kite noted, gesturing towards the artificial mountain in the middle of the city.

"Yet from what we saw during the entry ceremony…"

"We know. The palace should be our main avenue of inquiry, but it has so far been too shielded from my web of shadows or Wander's infiltrations," Obsidian Crow confirmed.

"An actual approach on foot might have better results, which is what Bright Day has been investigating–""And now I know enough," River's voice interrupted the older gold-ranker, the acolyte of Pain appearing to the gold-rankers and Kite's inner circle while the other guild-members seemed unaware of her presence thanks to what Kite assumed was an impressive display of aura finesse.

"We need to get further inside though, as the palace arrays would notice me." This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. The latter was said through clenched teeth, River clearly being frustrated over her inability to solve it on her own.

"The King needs to be warned as well. He might be part of it, but if not he might be another source of help for our cause," Kite agreed.

"I can head there immediately. He at least knows of me. Perhaps enough to hear me out, assuming that he is up there as chaos is spreading across the city."

"Fools rarely listen, but it might at least allow me passage inside to wring truth from that courtesan," River replied in her usual flat voice.

"Come, we should leave at–""Hold it, I'm coming too," Dragonfly protested, ignoring the gold-ranker's obviously annoyed glare.

"I can confirm more of what Kite says, and the King can read my aura and confirm the truth a lot easier. And…"

"Of course, dear wife," Kite confirmed before Dragonfly had to find further justification for something they had already agreed upon; that they wouldn't split up unless absolutely necessary. Not this time.

"Will? Laevyeth?" The spearman and his weapon - now in humanoid form, hand in hand with him - glanced around the courtyard and the deploying guild members before panning their gazes out towards the city beyond. What wasn't needed was for them to look at one another, their contact already laying the hearts of both bare to one another. And it seemed that they were of one mind on this matter.

"No, my Lady and I should join our people in the city. There is darkness afoot, just beneath the feet of so many ordinary people without the means to fend for themselves. The Saint of Spears and his Lady should be there for those they can," Will stated with assurance, Laevyeth nodding her assent.

"I understand," Kite replied with a nod of his own.

"Dragonfly and I will join you soon then. This little excursion should at least be quicker and less spectacular than taking on hordes of undead in the sewers." The former council chamber of Discord's inner circle in Hua-Xi - previously a most exclusive location where only a few had been allowed to tread - was now abuzz with activity.

Messengers, observers and agents were constantly delivering updates of the goings-on in the city which they gathered through methods varying from classic legwork to more esoteric magical means. Things had progressed well overall, with the main ritual site reporting steady progress supported by the conflicts rising around the city and protected by the diffusion of the secondary sites. That is, until one particularly harried messenger arrived.

It wasn't noticeable on the man's masked exterior, but Altessia, Ametrine and Sect Leader Calamity noticed it instantly in his aura.

"Report!" Altessia called as soon as the man entered the chamber, flashing to stand before them in a puff of flames.

"One of the secondary ritual sites has been destroyed, the followers of Undeath either wiped out or sent on the retreat," the agent stated without hesitation.

"So? Any leads of the assailant? Must have been at least one gold-ranker present. Who is unaccounted for among–""Honored high priestess! I am detecting odd interference near the north gate of the city!" The call came from another observer - an informant from their allies in the service of Deceit possessing the eye essence and several powers that allowed her to shift her vision through varied conjured eyes and familiars stationed around and above the city.

A gesture from Ametrine had her use a series of linked far-sight crystals carried by one of said familiars that showed an aerial view of the city, quickly moving to note that the northern gates had indeed been flung open.

This was in clear contradiction to the orders Ametrine had King declare as part of containing movement somewhat during the tournament, and given the large group of bronze- and silver-ranked that was soon moving in after setting out from one of the nearby sect camps, it was easy to make the deduction as to the identity of this force.

"The guild," Altessia muttered.

"Their alliance with the Fated Severance sect has persisted despite our efforts, it seems." There were several calls for orders to intercept them, but she dismissed them with a gesture. The reason became obvious around half an hour later as the groups of guild members started congregating on a location which was obvious in hindsight, even though they had previously detected no change in the activity of the old compound on the lower reaches of the Heavenly Stairway.

"The Tengu Clan. Obsidian Crow," Altessia all but hissed. They had checked the place several times since they had noticed the increased activity in the city, but only from afar as all had seemed well with the puppets installed on the city property. It was too obvious for it to have made sense as their hidden point of entry, which paradoxically made it make all the more sense. With enough time they would have been able to do a proper sweep, but time was what circumstance had robbed them off.

"So, now we have more hostile agents in the city, no doubt with the intent to disrupt our rituals. And with his web of shadows emanating from the Heavenly Stairway, something must be done," Ametrine stated gravely, almost surprised when Altessia immediately nodded her agreement.

"Send the word to all our allied assets to increase activity and take the liberties they wish within the allowed bounds of our agreement," she stated coldly.

"Make sure that they use their gold-rankers to protect the ritual sites. We cannot spare a single one. Ametrine, have your puppet King guard the main ritual site."

"It will be hard to keep him inside the palace if the activity starts rising inside the city. The golds already clashing at the adventure society campus as well as the core-using family elders–""I do not care how, just see it done," Altessia snapped.

"Might of Inner Calamity, you and I shall lead a strike towards the clan compound and see if we cannot rip and burn one of the hydra's heads while the directors of the Adventure Society remain busy. We must use our advantage in gold-rankers to the fullest, be it at the compound or around the city."

"So, the time for subtlety is gone then? Anyone present will recognize my aura," Might of Inner Calamity mused even as his smile was anything but hesitant.

"Once today is over, it shall matter little," Altessia agreed.

"Your sect will remain the mightiest, one of the prime sources of strife in the garden of Discord that shall soon spread across this city. And Cala will soon be avenged." As she spoke, her illusory dress had once more disappeared to reveal her form-fitting armor as the helmet grew to envelop her head, leaving Altessia's voice distorted by a discordant chime.

"The time to step into the light and stake our claim is upon us, though many of the people here will not notice through the haze of our God's purview." Before she could say more, a presence descended over the room; the divine spirit carrying an overwhelming sense of the screeching of disharmonious notes, voices raised in anger and the simmering frustration of a world on the brink.

Everyone present, gold-rankers included, fell to their knees as the lights in the room started shifting colors in ways that might permanently hurt the eyes of any normal-ranker beholding it. Discord was there among them, but as was their way, they very rarely appeared as a humanoid image, instead choosing to manifest as the true hints behind barbed words and flickering discordant light and notes. Even so, there was no denying the divine presence who acknowledged their efforts with a rare visitation."

You have sown the seeds and brought the fertilizer, my gardeners. My hopes for this project had been waning given the recent setbacks, but you may still prove yourselves worthy. Succeed in this, and you shall finally have a sanctuary in the open where all may come to revel and grow. And I shall finally have a monument to the truth behind all real growth in the world. Clear out the pests that would hinder you, my gardeners, and know that I shall revel in the strife that you sow."

"So, it is time," Collector of Anima purred as she received the missive, having projected her senses through one of her spiritual familiars gifted her by glorious Undeath that had met with one of the little messenger-agents of their allies. Or perhaps hosts were a more apt description, given how the followers of Discord were the ones truly in charge.

While she knew that many of her brothers and sisters chafed at the feeling of not being at the forefront, Anima shared in her god's sentiment that making the effort to carve out a good piece in the haven Discord meant to provide would hold incredible long-term potential.

Anima had not thought that she would return this homeland of hers much after her retreat from the conflict in the far north where she had been leading a contingent from their church in support of some other project of Discord's, but the heavens had proved fickle as usual as she had ended up as one of two of Undeath's chosen to lend their support to their allies' cause. Now a gold-ranker herself, Anima was the main priestess in charge of the hidden spawning pits in their hideout beneath the city.

"It is time. I hunger for the strength of those that would oppose this cause," her counterpart Tunghar Boh replied with a razor-tipped smile of his all too wide mouth even as he stood with crooked back to fit beneath the low ceiling. The ghoul monarch was not an essence-user like Anima but rather a trueborn child of their god, having ascended to gold rank through much more… carnivorous means over time.

But where the lesser ghouls shambled unclothed and ravenous, Tunghar's tall, thin body was covered in armor of enchanted skin taken from his many victims and vanquished foes, and his hunger - while potent enough to cause a ravenous pit to form in even Anima's stomach - was less a slathering beast and more a palpable, directed force.

"Take care though, lest you choke on their prowess," Anima warned.

"The sect-leaders and grand-elders of Hua-Xi are not to be underestimated, should they choose to abandon their quarrel outside once our children start emerging to protect the rituals."

"Oh, do not fret, Priestess," the ghoul monarch replied, voice much smoother than such a horrid mouth should ever be able to produce.

"Me and the other of my kin already have a plan for that. Keep directing the lesser children, and prepare."

"In Undeath's name, it shall be done," Anima agreed.

"The gold-ranked children will be kept closer. As for the rest… Let them bring in plenty to the fold of true life." The priests and priestesses of Deceit never wore their true faces, not even in their small sanctum on the courtesan's avenue of Heavenward. This was not to hide from one another, but rather as an ever-present act of worship to their god. Every movement to mislead, every face hiding multiple others to confound and even shifting spirits to befuddle.

All except their devotion to Deceit could be adjusted to their needs, as proven when the lone gold-ranker among them led those of the faithful still remaining in the sanctum in one final prayer.

"- and thus, bless this grand masquerade in the land of self-deception that is Hua-Xi," a shifting voice intoned softly.

"Let the pride that these people use to shield their hearts from the truths of their failings grow strong, each boast an act in your name and each attempt to bring down those around them to themselves advance a call to your splendor. Strength is ever seized by the cunning knife that chooses its moment once the glorious fighter has tired or by the feint of blade and spirit that leaves prey witless to the very end.

This shall be our contribution to the new Hua-Xi that shall be born, with all of the divines present having no recourse but glorious self-deception to shield their eyes from the fact that the truth of things is that truth itself has long since died."

"So, they think that they can tame us? To have us be their obedient dogs simply because they lord over us? That their feeble plans and schemes would ever be anything else but another set of kindling to the glorious fires of Destruction? What do we say to that, brothers and sisters?"

"Destroy!" the answer echoed in the dark tunnels from the gathered silver-rankers.

"Destroy indeed! Discord and strife do make for great sparks to light the fires of our god, but none of their whispers and lies can remain if there is no one left standing to tell them. So we shall indeed guard this ritual of theirs, letting none pass. And to it, we shall add one of our own. Begin the summoning! Show everyone in this capital whose fate is ash that Destruction is inevitable and that the mere power of an individual will never be enough to contain him!"

"The vectors have begun to spread out. They should reach enough saturation for me to stride forth within the hour."" Good… Good…" A voice like the buzzing of flies and coughs of the multitude whispered in the mind of the lone man sitting in meditation inside the house in Heavenward that - like the best vectors - looks unassuming from the outside while carrying a whole host of unseen life within; life that longed to spread and multiply." Ah fertile ground, this shall become.

Discord has called, and of course we shall answer. In the fall of unity and order there always appears nooks and crannies for my blessings to inhabit and spread from. Let Hua-Xi know Plague, my champion. Your wings shall cover this city soon enough as any interlopers will find their arms shaking and their breaths ragged."

"Thank you, divine Plague," the lone man replied, still serene even though the half-seen cloud of foul dust around him shifted with each slow pulse of his aura.

"I shall make sure to spread your blessings to the wind in my wake after I move on in search for the next ground zero."" Thus is our agreement with Discord, leaving only a small domain of mine to linger after this bid for power of theirs is finished. But such is also my way, wandering the world like the winds themselves. Keep up your preparations, my chosen wanderer, and know that I will be watching each of your strides with the greatest of interest."