Chương 115: Chapter 101 - Schematics and Preparation

++Long-form ritual magic was something I had neglected for most of my time back in the physical world, simply because I had not yet been required to do anything that necessitated such steps. Meeting Sethira changed that. ++ - From the writings of Isabel Vornholt, 'The Great Lich'. 1, 891 A. E. The rest of my walk to Sethira's base of operations within the crypts was less eventful, though we still illuminated each other somewhat more.

I was actually less bored, roaming through those tunnels, than I could remember being in a long time. She was still, of course, an inferior to my own vast intellect and magic, and was in no way remotely close to being my equal. At the same time, I enjoyed her company, found her intellectually stimulating and actually looked forwards to discussing various theories with her. This fundamental cognitive dissonance is common among liches of course, and common among magicians too.

The ability to hold two separate, contradictory ideals in mind at once is actually quite practically useful when it comes to dealing with magic. What was less practical, but infinitely more entertaining, was when I came face to face with Nesariyah once more as Sethira took me to the main base for her rebellion. The girl looked worse than she had under me, I thought.

Though it had only been a short while since we saw one another I fancied that she had lost several pounds, and missed perhaps a dozen hours of necessary sleep. The bags under her eyes might have been used to train a boxer's punches, and the startled look they took on when her gaze shot over to me was rather reminiscent of a frightened animal. This caused interesting things to happen down in my lower abdomen, but I did not have time for the sensations right now.

"Hello Nesariyah," I said.

"It has been a while."

"... Hello, miss," Nesariyah replied stiffly. I took a step forward.

"Miss? Call me Isabel, we are social equals now are we not?" I was enjoying watching her squirm a lot. To tell the truth I actually found myself liking the woman a lot more now than I had before. She had been useful then, certainly intelligent in academic terms at least, but I had found her cowardice contemptible. That cowardice was still here, but I saw now that it was not so strong as to prevent her from acting in her own interests completely.

If there is one thing in the world that I cannot abide, it is the petty worms who are happy to see themselves crushed under another's heel. When I own the heel in question, I of course make a point of destroying any who resist it, but I always think more highly of them than the ones who do nothing to avoid their fate. Still, I would be doing no crushing for a while now. Certainly not to Nesariyah. Her talent was rare and useful, no doubt that was the real reason Sethira had taken her on too.

Then again, she had been used rather masterfully to outplay me. I assumed that plan was not Nesariyah's own. It still went to show how a well-controlled pawn could truly be used.

"Do you mind if I vaporize this one?" I asked Sethira, gesturing towards Nesariyah.

"I do mind," Sethira replied, looking thoroughly unamused even while Nesariyah quivered in the most entertaining way I had seen in thousands of years. Apparently my fellow lich did not have as good a sense of humour as me.

"Unfortunate," I sighed, looking further around the chamber. This one was large and expansive, and though there were a great many men and women inside it, I got the impression their numbers were not the reason for all the space. No, one end of the chamber was practically empty even with so many people within.

"That will be where we work?" I guessed.

"It will," Sethira confirmed.

"You and I will be doing the bulk of it, but there are other magicians and scholars here who will… contribute." I was surprised to hear that, and looked around to see a few bitter-looking men who clearly did not like that as their lot in life. Apparently, Sethira was facing a good deal of friction for her unfortunate draw of human bodies, just as I did. This friction could have been abated by giving the men a more involved role, but I knew that would slow us down.

Among normal people, progress rarely comes from lone genius. That is not true when liches get involved. Our minds are so expanded, our experience so vastly superior, that it does not take long before we find common people, even academically gifted ones, little more than a hindrance.

"Let us talk in private, now that we're finally here," Sethira suggested. I was surprised by that for a moment. Had we not been talking in private already? Ah. But she wanted to discuss her specific plans, now. Of course. The concern before had been that I might flee without cooperating once I learned what she intended to do. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

And if she thought that was a risk, to the point of only revealing that information once I was surrounded by her men, it meant that she was about to tell me something that was either very useful on its own, or that would reveal some great treachery on her part. I could have tried to flee, but the labyrinth was full of those custodians. Besides, I stood to gain knowledge here, and if Sethira had some grand betrayal planned she had already let far better opportunities to act on that pass her by.

I followed her to a secluded room branching off from the main chamber, and listened as she spoke.

"What do you know of the underworld?" she asked me, then paused.

"... You may, alternatively, know it as the Depths." Words have not yet been invented to describe how excited I was when I heard that sentence. Like someone had injected molten enthusiasm into my heart. It was all I could do not to squeak.

"I know less than I should," I admitted.

"I have…seen it, a part of it. But I do not understand it. I know it is a realm running parallel to our own—" —"No," she cut in.

"It is not."

"What?"

"That is the layman's mistake, people tend to assume it is just another reality, even another plane of existence. It's something much more than that. If you'll permit a clumsy metaphor, the planes and worlds we know could be likened to tiles on a mosaic. In that scenario, the Depths would be the mortar backing and binding them all." I got the distinct impression of being talked down to. An infuriating feeling, I was not used to knowing less in a lecture about metaphysics and necromancy.

Still, the opportunities here outstripped the irritation.

"That sounds like…a vast well of power," I noted.

"And an interesting one. You said the Depths are the underworld? Does that mean the consciousnesses of the dead drift to other planes through them, or do they linger in the Depths forever?"

"I don't know," Sethira replied.

"But I do know that some remain there. And not just human consciousnesses either. What do you know of Zameka?" I knew that she was the one who decided on imprisoning me in the Depths. I also knew, this much from researching the Gods in the new age after gaining freedom, that she was now considered a traitor. Whether this was due to an actual betrayal or just some divine politicking behind the scenes, I lacked the information to say.

"She is no longer aligned with the other Garamon Gods, disappeared some time ago, and is not active anymore. Not destroyed, officially. But then, if the Gods knew of something that had destroyed their kind, they would want its existence to remain unknown." Sethira nodded.

"I'd gathered as much myself. And I considered the possibility of the God-killer, of course. Either a being or a weapon. Perhaps they can simply kill one another, though I find that doubtful."

"You think that if the Gods could destroy one another, they could easily destroy a lich's soul with or without the phylactery?" I asked. She surprised me by shaking her head.

"No, I don't think that follows. I doubt it because around the time of Zameka's supposed disappearance, there was a disruption in the Depths, near their surface." I was getting interested, now.

"You think it is her," I guessed.

"You think they did not destroy her, or lose her, but sealed her away, as they did.." I had gotten over excited, and nearly given away something I should not have.

"... Lord Dread," I finished. Now it was Sethira's turn to be interested.

"I can't tell if you just made a very good attempt to trick me, or a ridiculously miserable slip with one of your own secrets," she noted.

"Lord Dread is real, is that what you're telling me?"

"It does not matter," I waved a hand dismissively.

"Tell me all you know about Zameka. Wait, no, that is your plan, is it not? To bring her back, to bind her as a servant somehow?" This new body of mine was actually salivating at the thought.

"No. I intend to do more than that. Zameka has fallen from the grace of her peers, but she's still a God. She's still, ultimately, a great cluster of cosmic power, burning with energy and magic." It all clicked instantly.

"You want that power for yourself," I realised.

"Yes," Sethira confirmed." All of it. I want to absorb the very essence of a God and wrangle it under my will. I want to meet with the rest of Garamon's deities, not fighting them with the strength of a lich, but with one of their own kind." My salivation did not get any less upon hearing this.

"But you cannot do it alone," I noted.

"Ah, you need the blood of a magical genius, is that right?" Sethira's face twitched with irritation.

"Yes. I was going to use you, to have the best chances."

"The best chances," I echoed.

"Not the only chances. So you could use an inferior genius?"

"Not too inferior, but yes. There are maybe five prodigies alive who would work. Perhaps as few as three, or as many as ten. I know for a fact my own talent is sufficient." I considered that.

"This is the same as the ritual you used to free the bulk of your own power, then? To become Sakhent again."

"It is. Though we will need to delve deeper into the Depths for Zameka."

"How much deeper?" I was thinking back to my own time in them, and, perhaps due to the new, organic fears of this new, organic body, found myself pondering the idea of being stranded there again.

"Much deeper," Sethira said after a moment.

"And are there consequences for a failed attempt?" I asked.

"Wasted time and resources, nothing more." I smiled.

"Then I would suggest someone for us to make use of. A little rat named Bagran."