The Stubborn Skill-Grinder In A Time Loop

“I still think I’d like to ride a flying broom.”

“And you’re thinking to say this now, when we’re about to risk death countless times in a mad endeavour?”

“Analysis: Aerodynamic efficiency of flying implement: decent, but improvements possible. Solution: Remove broom head.”

“Unacceptable. Then it ceases to be a flying broom and might as well be a flying pole, who wants to ride that?” Orodan asked.

“Who wants to ride a flying broom?” she countered.

“The witches of that forest, they have good taste,” Orodan replied. “Anyhow, we can sweep this discussion under the rug. Lot of furry soldiers standing guard. I believe they’re called werewolves. Fought one once, they seem like good warriors.”

“They also possess keen senses and can sniff us from miles away,” Zaessythra added. “The sound bubble I’ve conjured is the only reason we can speak so freely.”

The three moons of Narictus were high in the sky, shining down upon the world of eternal night as usual, and it illuminated the gigantic structure before them.

Grand, haunting and magnanimous, with an aura of terror that was palpable. This was how Orodan would describe the Palace of the Eternal Moon, even from a distance. Its tall towers ended in sharp and jagged spires and upon these towers many stone statues of a weird, winged beast were arrayed. Yet, Vision Of Purity told him that these statues were no inert things and from a distance he could see tens of thousands of bats dominating the skies above the structure, congregating and patrolling in massive swarms.

Orodan’s Whirlpool Whirlwind was working continuously to prevent any air from escaping their personal space lest the werewolves and bats sniff them out, and W78 was working to prevent any scans from detecting their presence.

They were however, not directly near the Palace, not yet. The Palace of the Eternal Moon was but the crowning jewel situated within the far larger Shadowmoon City. It wasn’t the largest of the Midnight Court’s cities, rather, it was perhaps the size of a large town. Still, this was where the nobility of the court resided. The only common folk to be seen were merchants, ambassadors and skilled tradespeople. And there were guards at almost every corner.

Sneaking in was going to be incredibly difficult.

They were a mile away from the city gates, and Orodan could feel a constant and insidious enchantment attempting to erase his memory of its location. Unsuccessful of course, yet it answered why so few people knew the location of this place.

Ahead of them, their first obstacle, a checkpoint at the gates. It was well-guarded and there was a respectable amount of foot and rider traffic passing through. It took away from the presumption that Narictus was a world of cruelty and misery as many of the people entering and exiting looked healthy, well-fed and happy. Hells, there was even a teleporter about ten miles away in a nearby town that they’d circled around to avoid. Direct teleports to Shadowmoon City were quite restricted and only available to the nobility and pre-approved people of importance. Ordinary foot traffic had to trek through the gates.

Which suited Orodan as their path into the city wouldn’t involve teleportation.

“What do you see?” Zaessythra asked.

On the surface, the gate seemed rather standard if heavily guarded. Dozens of large and powerful looking werewolves donning armor and weapons stood alert, eyes and ears open for the slightest disturbance. Additionally, there were posters at the gate asking visitors to report any suspicious activity to the authorities.

It wasn’t confirmed, but Orodan suspected the recent state of alarm had to do with the war.

And then… unseen by regular eyes, were the statues atop the walls. Vision Of Purity told him that they were very much alive and not inert. And there were dozens, all Master-level, sweeping the surroundings with their gaze. These, Orodan recalled reading, were gargoyles. Nothing he’d seen before, but supposedly quite common upon Narictus.

“Plenty of armed and armored werewolves at the gate and some upon the walls,” Orodan answered. “The gargoyle statues upon the wall are all very much alive and at the Master-level. Not sure how we’ll get past those.”

“Their eyesight is rather poor, and W78 can camouflage us to pass through their scans,” Zaessythra said. “The only issue will be the werewolves. Their eyes are sharp and their noses keen. They’ll immediately notice if you’re using Whirlpool Whirlwind, and they’ll demand to be allowed to catch our scent for tracking and security purposes.”

“In other words, you’re saying we should just smash through the gates like I suggested?” Orodan posed.

“No. What I’m saying is, the gate isn’t a good idea,” Zaessythra replied. “What if we snuck into one of the merchant caravans? Or looked to bribe someone?”

“Or… we could get our hands dirty,” Orodan said as he looked closely towards one particular part of Shadowmoon City that was still heavily guarded… but not something any of the guards particularly wanted to look at. Zaessythra’s face scrunched up in disgust as she got the implication. “The sewers of blood.”

A city full of vampires, werewolves and other creatures of the night still had need of sanitation systems. And while the undead and night lords didn’t require regular bodily functions, the werewolves and living beings of Shadowmoon City did. However, they were called the sewers of blood for a reason. Vampires still drank blood, and the luxuriant noble houses of the Midnight Court were known for wasting copious amounts of it during some of their feasts and gatherings. And the darker fates suffered by the more heinous criminals and detested prisoners of the Midnight Court often had excessive amounts of blood production.

The excess, along with the excreta of the city’s living inhabitants, was oft funnelled together into the sewers of blood.

“That’s foul…” she muttered.

“But it would work. No werewolf or vampire could distinguish our scent if we took a swim through that,” Orodan countered. “Come now, weren’t you a World Ruler? Surely a bit of blood and nightsoil isn’t enough to make you balk?”

To Orodan, it was just honest work and what needed to be done.

“Analysis: Odds of success: decent. Hypothesis: Likelihood of enemy surveillance in sewers: high,” W78 interjected.

“Which is why we have the best anti-detection specialist in the galaxy with us, isn’t that right my friend?” Orodan asked with a smile.

“Information entered into database. Odds of success: guaranteed.”

He would swear he heard a lilt of emotion in that, but Orodan knew not how the mind of his machine friend worked. Machines and constructs had no souls, yet Orodan knew his friend W78 had one. The metallic warrior of the Unity had far too much personality, and most importantly, had access to skills.

How it worked, Orodan didn’t know. What he did know however, was that if anyone claimed his friend had no soul, Orodan’s fist would have something to say about that.

Without further ado, the three of them got to work.

It was a perilous task with risky odds of success. Yes, the sewers of blood were a good shot of entering the city, but to reach them was a difficult task in and of itself. The sewers emptied out to a nearby lake, however this place was also well-guarded and had eyes upon it.

Random people trolloping about the lake to reach the sewers would draw instant alarm, especially when the Hegemony was in a state of war and Narictus was one of their critical planets. It wasn’t as though they could blend into a crowd either as foot traffic at the lake was almost non-existent. Given all this, the decision was made to blend in through a different method.

Outside the city gates was a small shop which sold souvenirs, items of convenience and attire which wouldn’t look out of place within Shadowmoon City. It seemed to do well enough, attracting visitors to the city. Those entering might want to purchase attire which allowed them to better fit in, and those leaving might want to pick up a souvenir or two to bring back to their homes

Mere attire changes wouldn’t do the trick though. Hells, the guards had likely been informed to be on the lookout for any half-dragons, and Zaessythra stood out a fair bit even while wearing the garb of a necromancer of House Varachma. Instead… their targets were the occupants of this store.

“No tethers on them, correct?” Zaessythra telepathically asked, and Orodan gave a hum of acknowledgement.

“Your prices are rough as always… can you not consider lowering them a bit for a loyal guard of House Almante?” the heavily armored werewolf asked. “I’m just trying to send a little gift back for my daughter. Something to remember her father by while she trains to become a mighty warrior herself.”

The shopkeeper seemed to be a regular human, but Vision Of Purity told Orodan that the man was a vampire. One that preferred to masquerade as a regular human it seemed. An aesthetic choice perhaps?

“Sir, our prices are set by the authority of House Varachma who owns this shop. We’re forbidden from bargaining,” the man replied. “Instead of this, how about we look at a cheaper alternative? Surely this top-of-the-line amulet of protection isn’t strictly necessary?”

“Who are you to tell me what is and isn’t necessary for my own daughter?! In the next blood trial, she’s a prime contender for earning alpha status within our clan,” the werewolf guard growled, causing the elder guard next to him to lay a hand on his shoulder.

“Pup, calm your temper… offending the shopkeeper will only get you reprimanded by the captain and sent to the purification chamber,” the elder werewolf said.

“Apologies uncle… I have not seen my pack in many moons,” the werewolf said in a softer tone. “My emotions have gotten the better of me.”

“Our people are at a pivotal precipice where we can change our very lot. Our ancestor recently performed most valorously in battle on another world against deadly foes and managed to rescue Lord Ragamul from the clutches of true death,” the greying werewolf said. “We must follow Lord Aarnalf’s example and pave the way for our clan. Do not bring shame to Clan Valeclaw.”

“You speak true, let us-” the werewolf stopped and then looked at Orodan and Zaessythra who’d walked in. “A noble of House Varachma? An honorary member perhaps?”

“…pup, sound the alarm, we were told to watch for half-drag-”

“Now, Orodan.”

Domain Of Perfect Cleaning shot out and established a connection to the shopkeeper’s mind. Simultaneously, W78 jumped on the connection to begin the subtle work of tampering with the shopkeeper’s senses. All the vampire saw was Orodan and Zaessythra walking in, gesturing to the two werewolf guards to walk out, and them all leaving. It was important as the man had some sort of tether leading from him to someone within the Palace of the Eternal Moon. Harming the shopkeeper or breaking the tether would undoubtedly raise an alarm.

In reality, Orodan had his hands around both their throats and promptly slammed them into the ground. They were Elite-level guards, no match at all for his raw might.

“No need to kill them,” Orodan said. “They’ve done us no harm. No need to deprive a daughter of her father.”

“Fine, if you want to complicate matters. Let’s drag them to the cellar where we can knock them out and leave them be for a while,” she suggested.

The trio moved to the cellar of the shop with the two captive werewolves, and upon arrival tossed them into a corner where Orodan used Domain Of Perfect Cleaning to destroy their mental selves in the mindscape. They’d recover eventually, but for now were knocked unconscious.

Using skills so close to a city was ironically a bit easier for W78 to screen against the eyes and detection methods of the enemy. Out in the wilds where nobody should’ve been present, emissions of mana or soul energy stood out. It was why even a minor usage of Domain Of Perfect Cleaning caused the vampire to descend in the Fraakshal Forest. Nothing of Orodan’s strength level should’ve been present in there. Near the city walls though? Far harder to discern

“Information: store change of shift in one hour, thirteen minutes. Analysis: Limited time remaining until shopkeeper returns to cellar,” W78 explained.

In other words, they had about that long until the shopkeeper discovered the unconscious werewolves. A steep time limit.

“Not long, let’s get the armor and uniforms on and move then,” Orodan said.

“Don’t you think I’m a little large for these armor sets?” Zaessythra asked. “How am I to conceal my wings?”

“Just carry me on your back in a sack alongside W78,” Orodan suggested. “That way you can hide your wings too.”

“You can’t be serious…”

Ten minutes later, they were looking at the sewer entrance emptying out into the lake.

It turned out that Orodan was in fact, serious. What else could they do? Charge the gates? Orodan could only dream.

If Zaessythra wasn’t going to let him fight much, then he’d go along with this conniving scheme, to the maximal extent too.

The half-dragon looked comical and more than out-of-place. In fact, at close glance there was no way this would work at all. Zaessythra wasn’t a werewolf, she had none of the fur, their ears and teeth, and she had wings which she had to conceal. This was a stupid plan from the get-go, even from Orodan’s perspective.

Which was why Domain Of Perfect Cleaning would be used and W78 would be helping to alter their senses.

The sewer pipe leading out to the lake was heavily enchanted, the sewage which came out was practically clean water by the time it entered the lake. Bloodsuckers they might’ve been but let none say the vampires of Shadowmoon City didn’t take hygiene seriously.

It was also heavily guarded, and Vision Of Purity told Orodan that the first of the approaching werewolf guards - the gray-furred captain of the lot - didn’t look too happy.

He was bundled up into a sack with a hole cut out so Zaessythra’s wings could also fit in. The sack contained Orodan, W78 in scroll form and her wings. Needless to say, it was rather cramped. It was a good thing Zaessythra was ten feet tall, or else there would be even less room. As it stood, he was contorted into a compact shape and pressed against her upper back while in the sack.

It was a stupid plan which should’ve failed right away. Save for the fact that Orodan had seen some interesting details in the minds of the two werewolves he’d delved into.

Minor changes to what someone perceived through the Psionic Assault portion of his Celestial skill weren’t too difficult. But expecting the werewolves to ignore the lack of fur and the height was a problem. Additionally, he wasn’t exactly stealthy. He could alter what someone saw, but not without also alerting the individual that their mind was being tampered with.

But that was fine, for he had W78 with to aid in the delicate work. For all he had to do… was open the connection and maintain it. From there, his friend would alter how tall she was in the perceptions of the guards. Her horns were covered by the big helmet, and the wings had the sack over them.

And as for the lack of fur…

“Soldier! You dare serve in your civilian form?!” the approaching werewolf, greying fur, growled. “What is the meaning of this dereliction of duty? Have you forgotten the basic tenets?! We are to remain in battle form at all times while we serve!”

“I apologize… elder…” Zaessythra muttered, attempting to look pitiful.

“Spare me your weak grovelling! Why are you pink-skinned and lacking fur?! Vulnerable to blade and arrow, do you think you’re fit to stand before the lords of House Almante now?” the elder asked. “What if our enemies were to show up this instant?! We are at war! Perhaps I should send you to the air purification chamber to reflect on your shoddy conduct? Mayhap the fumes will clear your mind!”

Within the sack, Orodan was sweating as he concentrated on using his Celestial skill to maintain the connection to the minds of all the nearby guards, while not using more power than would be detected. It was pure luck and a good turn for once that there were no mental specialists or enchantments nearby which detected mental tampering. And if there were… perhaps W78 felt confident in dealing with them.

[Domain Of Perfect Cleaning 92 → Domain Of Perfect Cleaning 93]

Orodan could alter what someone saw, but doing so without alarming them would’ve been a real issue. But in this case, it wasn’t just him alone. His hand was wrapped around the metal scroll case that was W78. Fine mental work where the target wasn’t alerted was still beyond him, his Celestial skill was powerful, but he wasn’t a mental specialist who could stealthily wipe minds or alter thoughts.

He performed the actual breach into the guard’s mind while W78 did the fine work using the connection to enter and subtly gain access. His friend was better at delicate mental work, but the sheer speed and raw force of assaulting and creating a path into someone’s mind was something he was good at thanks to his obscene reserves of power and monumental will. The initial entry caused a brief instant where the wolf’s eyes narrowed in alarm. It was exceedingly short however, and immediately smoothed over as W78 got to work, removed the feelings of suspicion and altered what the werewolf captain saw. Orodan was still connected to its mind and witnessed some of the finest mental work he’d ever seen performed.

In fact, it was utterly unlike any form of mental combat or mind alteration Orodan had ever seen. The very way W78 altered the werewolf’s perception and memories was just inhuman, as though his friend didn’t work by the same rules of the mindscape that he and other mental magic specialists did. Hells, in a sense even the Celestial Emperor’s Dao of Domination and Supremacy, while higher in raw power, still functioned in a standard and predictable way. Everyone else operated conventionally, while W78 interacted with the mind in a most unorthodox manner. A difference owed to the nature of machine minds perhaps?

Orodan watched and learned as W78 managed to remove the werewolf captain’s slight feelings of suspicion towards her. It helped that the captain had a new female werewolf on his squad who was taller than him, so that was who W78 modelled her face in his mind after. From the werewolf’s perspective all he saw was his new recruit in human form, tall to begin with.

Altering her to appear seven feet tall instead of ten feet wasn’t too difficult. Furthermore, Orodan himself was decently tall and often stood out, approaching seven feet of height, but this was by the standards of an Alastaian human. On Narictus, he’d be consider on the taller end but within expectations as the people were at least a foot taller in some cases. Whether it was the nutrition, magic or inter-breeding between humans and the tall, lanky moon elves he’d occasionally seen among the merchant class, he didn’t know.

This worked to his advantage as Zaessythra’s ten-foot-tall height was slightly higher than the six foot tall werewolf, so altering her to appear as seven feet instead of ten in the guard captain’s mind was easy for W78. After all, the werewolf had to crane his neck upwards to look at her, and it was only a matter of degree and not something ludicrous like altering her to be shorter than him. Something that would be far harder to get away with when the head was craned upwards.

“My apologies, elder, I can only atone for my shortcomings,” Zaessythra attempted to pitifully grovel.

“And what’s with that bag you carry? Were… were you out shopping?!”

“…”

“Let us all see what you have bought,” the werewolf said as he reached into the sack without really looking in.

In response, Orodan gave the searching hand his re-purposed rag that he’d fashioned into a disguise.

“Hrm? A dirty rag? And are these eyeholes cut out? Recruit… are you attempting to cross-train for the infiltration unit?” the captain asked, a tone of derision evident. “First you falter in your duties, and now you wish to join the ranks of the shadow wolves and moon elves? What would your ancestors think of such actions? We of the Valeclaw are warrior! Such underhanded methods are not our way! And such a pathetic disguise too, is this a joke? did you think this rag would fool anyone? Who in their right mind would wear such a gimmick and expect it to work?”

Orodan seethed with indignation and outrage. This furry fop dared to insult his talents in the arts of disguise?!

“Apologies elder… I should have known such an incompetent disguise would never work,” Zaessythra said, and he swore he heard a hint of mocking sarcasm as she delivered the line.

Orodan could only silently bear the mocking. These inferior fools would never understand the true meaning of disguise!

“Now then, let’s see what else you have…” the guard captain said as the hand reached in once more. A furry hand brushed against his hair. “Hairy… silken too…”

“Just some carpets, elder…” Zaessythra lied.

“Truly? Let’s see if anything else of note is in here,” the guard said as the hand left Orodan’s head and rummaged. It grasped Zaessythra’s wings, causing her to hold back a grunt of annoyance, until finally Orodan pried his hand off by shoving else into it. It was all he had at hand too. “A rather jostling bag you have here… but what’s this? A metallic scroll?”

W78 wisely made no sounds as he was held within the hands of the werewolf.

“My reading material,” she answered. “A scroll containing various techniques on… infiltration.”

“A scroll? We’re at war with the cultivators and you wish to peruse their reading materials? A regular book was not to your liking? Well… I suppose there’s some merit in knowing the enemy and their methods of war,” the guard said and then flashed his teeth. “Feh! Your dereliction of duty is an embarrassment. Back in my day you’d have been whipped a hundred times and thrown to the frontlines until you killed a thousand foes by yourself! However… the current clan leadership insists we be easier on you pups. Go then, get out of my sight. The chamber of air purification will be a good reading spot for you. Perhaps being forced to inhale the fumes until the end of your shift will be a good reminder to remain in battle form. It might even clear your mind to aid in your studies, hahahah!”

With one final bout of mocking laughter, the guard captain clapped Zaessythra on the shoulder and allowed her through. The other werewolf guards who were farther away had looks of disappointment and pity on their faces, all while Orodan finally dropped the connections as Zaessythra got past the chokepoint of the sewer.

Altering what someone saw in the midst of combat was one thing, especially when it wasn’t delicate work which involved avoiding the arousal of suspicion. Tampering with what the Transcendent vampire saw was a far simpler matter too since she’d been killed shortly after. Even if she’d been alarmed, that feeling and knowledge of it hadn’t been transmitted through the tether connecting to her master. Anyone observing through the tether would’ve only seen the witches of the forest assaulting the vampire with a mental assault and promptly killing her with a specialized weapon. Something Orodan had altered to make it seem so.

To alter the senses of the actual target while not arousing suspicion was currently beyond Orodan however. Good thing W78 was here.

They proceeded onward for a minute until reaching a large room which had a mana battery powering numerous enchantments. Most of the enchantments dealt with purifying the water, and there were even a few which dealt with the smell inside the chamber itself. Although, they’d been deactivated with a note underneath saying how it was meant to foster discipline and willpower in new recruits whenever they screwed up.

Good training in Orodan’s opinion.

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“I think we’re far enough now, we can take this gear off,” Zaessythra said as she began taking the armor off. “Shame, it’s of rather decent quality… I’d even say it’s of dwarven-make.”

“You had dwarves on your world?” Orodan asked as he tore his way out of the sack, liberating both himself, W78 and Zaessythra’s wings. “I thought it was mainly half-dragons and the pure-bloods who wanted to eradicate your kind?”

“A lot of worlds have dwarves. Varkir, the chief God of dwarven-kind is rather mercenary and willing to work for whoever benefits him and his people the most,” Zaessythra explained. “It would not surprise me if he had emissaries upon Narictus, or craftsmen who sold their services at a steep price. More than worth it, given how excellent the quality of dwarven arms and armor are.”

Orodan would have to begrudgingly agree to that. He’d met Varkir once when the Dwarven God of Crafting, Endurance and Honor had descended unto Thavri Grimbreaker, the mightiest of the under-mountain dwarves on his home world of Alastaia. And this was after one absolute slog of a fight where he barely managed to damage that turtle-like dwarf at all. The gear truly was of some excellent quality.

“Information: Dwarven craft exceeds even Unity parameters for metallurgic strength and efficiency,” W78 said.

“Even your people can’t compare? I’ll take your word for it then,” Orodan replied. “Now then… I smell the purification chamber up ahead; I think we’re getting close.”

“I wish I couldn’t smell it… it’s almost as foul as the wyvern pens I had to scrub growing up. Not a smell I hoped to be reminded of,” Zaessythra said. “Now then, I have non-magical raft that should… Orodan… what are you doing?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Orodan asked as he took all his clothes off besides his undergarments and put them into a spatial ring. “How else are we going to sneak in if we don’t go for a swim?”

He was slightly concerned as Zaessythra almost seemed to tremble as her face scrunched up.

“That… you realize this is raw sewage mixed with blood, correct?” she asked.

“And? The shard won’t steal itself; we have a heist to perform and enemies to slay. Safer to swim through the sewage than try to raft above it,” Orodan replied. “Come on, I’ll scrub you clean myself once we’re out.”

“That will not be necessary,” she insistently said while shaking her head. “They really did pick the most unhinged lunatic for this time loop, didn’t they? Let’s get this over with.”

Orodan leapt into the flow first, W78’s metallic scroll form in hand. An ordinary mortal would’ve likely died from being in the purification chamber alone. The air simply wasn’t suitable for breathing and people would pass out and then pass away. Of course, neither of the three needed to breathe.

It was as filthy as one would expect, and slimier and more than a bit thicker than a swim in a lake. Yet, it wasn’t really an issue to cut through the liquid and against the flow as he and Zaessythra swam along.

Without the ability to launch a scan that wouldn’t trigger detection, Zaessythra wasn’t of much use as a guide. Consequently, Orodan took point, using Vision Of Purity to maintain visuals as they swam. The sewers of blood extended all the way underneath Shadowmoon City, even going beneath the Palace of the Eternal Moon itself. That was their target.

About a third of the way in his Vision Of Purity began picking up wards and enchantments. However, all of these were detection alarms for things above the surface of the sewage water. With them staying below the surface and swimming, it didn’t pick them up. There were also some which were meant to prevent the birth and breeding of blood slimes and other foul creatures in the sewers, however these were nothing the group needed to worry about.

Finally, about halfway in, there was a grate of sorts before them, one meant not for the filtration of blood and excreta… but corpses. Bodies were stacked up against the grate and promptly vaporized by a flaming enchantment which boiled the sewer water.

Orodan and Zaessythra both simply passed through this, W78 in hand. The grates weren’t so far apart that someone couldn’t squeeze through with some effort. Ironically, Zaessythra had an easier time getting through the gaps than Orodan. Yes, she was ten feet tall versus his six, but Orodan was perhaps a slight bit wider and had more apparent muscle on his frame.

Still, they managed to squeeze through and get to the other side. Which was where they ran into some real obstacles.

Someone had left their pets down in the sewers. And while the prospect of a fight wasn’t an issue, the risk of detection was. Each of the crimson-skinned ghouls had sensory tethers sending information to someone in the Palace, and there were dozens of them feeding on corpses as they were thrown down the sewer grates and the flows merged into a central one.

Furthermore, these ghouls specifically evolved to live and breed in the sewers of blood. Werewolves, vampires and the like couldn’t exactly sniff them out while they were swimming underwater in blood and excreta, but these creatures could.

It was an efficient monitoring system Orodan had to admit.

And the nearest ghouls were in fact sniffing around and drawing closer and closer to their position. The trio had their soul emissions lowered, but if a wild beast actually saw them, there was a good chance its natural instincts would activate and it would go running away, thereby triggering the watching spymaster. They acted like hungry dogs, drooling at the prospect of a meal as they drifted closer and closer.

Which was when Orodan had the bright idea to play fetch.

His left hand was lopped off at the wrist by his own sword and it was promptly thrown out of the water and in another direction, causing the nearest dozen ghouls to go running off. His hand immediately regenerated, and Orodan smiled as he’d come upon a convenient way forward.

The overseer of these creatures would likely still investigate… but seeing something curious versus seeing Orodan himself were two different things. One would cause an investigating party to descend and perhaps even try to collect Orodan’s lopped off hands for investigation and potential further alarm. The other, would cause the instant descent of the Hegemony.

Still, it worked, and for the next ten minutes Orodan swam and occasionally lopped off a hand to throw at the ghouls. Frankly… he doubted they could even eat it, particularly given the whimpers of pain as a few broke their teeth upon his discarded limbs. It wasn’t his fault they failed to take the hand he offered.

At last, the trio were directly under the sewer grate nearest to the Palace of the Eternal Moon.

Any further and they’d run into a particularly troublesome creature, a many-eyed vampiric octopus which they couldn’t easily sneak by. This right here was as close as they could get without getting detected.

Orodan’s head surfaced, and then Zaessythra did as well.

Her mismatched white and gold eyes held a look of annoyance which was directed towards him, and her pale skin was positively slimy with grime and blood. Her human skin could be cleaned easily enough, but the parts which were scaled would need a thorough scrubbing given all the blood and filth caught within. And her normally white hair… the less said about it the better.

Still, despite all that, Orodan found himself staring for a bit longer than he should have. Who knew a trip through the sewers could make someone stand out so? Her eyes narrowed and he finally looked away, mainly because that line of thought would only lead to pain and distraction. He could afford neither in his circumstances.

“Well? What next? It actually smells worse now that we’ve broken the surface, so let’s dive down or get out of here,” she said.

“You could just choose not to breathe,” Orodan countered. “It’s not like either of us need it at our level.”

“There’s something about breaking the surface after a swim and taking a breath of air,” she answered. “You learn to miss the small things when you’re bound to a book.”

“Fair enough, from here we’ll ascend and move into the Palace,” Orodan said.

“Information: military-oriented architecture above, odds of encountering enemy patrols: high,” W78 said.

“We’re under a-”

Orodan moved her head to the side, interrupting her as she spoke. Just in time for a rather large dollop of filth to land where her head had previously been.

“The werewolf barracks. There’s a decent number of them up there, and we’re directly beneath the privy I believe.”

“…”

“What? You agreed to this, you could’ve stayed on Xian if you wanted.”

“When I had my memories and body restored by some mad time looper, swimming through raw and bloody sewage while dodging lumps of night soil wasn’t what I was expecting to do,” she remarked. “Let’s ascend.”

She then grabbed both of his arms and with a single beat of her wings they reached the openings of the piping system.

Dirty, and some of them were too small to really crawl through. Many of them were man-sized however, likely meant for the disposal of corpses, these were the ones Orodan and Zaessythra travelled through to reach the werewolf guard barracks above.

The building was directly adjacent to the Palace of the Eternal Moon, and the base of power for the werewolf guards of royal house Almante. They were responsible for the safety and security of all Shadowmoon City and the nearby areas. They were not, however, permitted to enter the palace. That was an honor reserved for the Blood Guard, the royal protectors of the Palace who were all vampires.

They ascended the corpse pipes, fingers leaving dents in the piping as they ascended until they were near the holding cells. This was when he began to hear the murmur of voices. Orodan’s Vision Of Purity could see clearly, however.

“I don’t like this…” said one werewolf as he threw the corpse of an executed villager down the pipe. The corpse fell past Orodan and Zaessythra and continued downwards. “We should offer to turn them so that they might join the clan and swell our numbers, perhaps while being closely monitored. That or hand them a weapon so that they might die honorably in battle. To butcher hapless peasants… elder, why do we do this?”

“I… it is not our place to question the orders from up high, pup,” another werewolf - a guard captain - said. “Lord Evgaros has demanded their deaths, and even the crown must appease one of its more powerful subjects from time to time. As soldiers of House Almante, we can only obey. These prisoners came from a round-up of any unaffiliated villages near the Fraakshal. Supposedly they’re in league with the witches who slew Lady Isadora.”

“Elder… these pink-skins do not even know of her existence. Is this not just a message and vehement retribution?” the werewolf asked. “How long till our masters find cause to carry out vengeance upon us for slights we knew naught of?”

“You speak dangerously! Do your duty and mind your tongue whelp! I have a pack waiting at home, jeopardize me not with your words,” the captain growled. “Need I remind you the lake-regiment is requesting more men? They have a few soldiers unaccounted for. Finish up here so that we may reinforce them. Probably more damned witches.”

“Yes elder… hrm… I smell something… a ghoul coming up the pipe?”

“The enchantment should stop them… pup, draw your weap-”

It was over quite fast. Orodan practically flew out the corpse-gate and gave each of them a good smack before they could sound any alarm. They were then sent into unconsciousness through the Domain Of Perfect Cleaning. All around the room… were corpses. Freshly slain too.

Any usage of Time Reversal to bring them back would instantly raise the alarm too. These deaths were an after-effect of the vampire whose killing he’d orchestrated in the Fraakshal Forest. He wasn’t enough of a self-flagellating idealist to blame himself for their deaths, but he still felt unhappy about them all the same.

The Midnight Court was tyrannical. And Orodan didn’t like it.

“We can return to resurrect them once we’ve won the war,” Zaessythra suggested.

“It’s fine. At the very least, I’ll make sure the one who ordered their deaths pays,” he said.

His own hands were stained with blood, and perhaps he was a bit hypocritical, but watching the common folk be slaughtered for things outside of their control irked him to no end. It reminded him deeply of growing up, of Ogdenborough. Where House Argon would lop the hand off an uninvolved street rat while the thief who’d stolen the bread ran off.

“We can’t afford a direct fight… we have to be smart about this, Orodan,” she warned.

“And why not? Haven’t we come close enough through being quiet and sneaky? From here on out we could feasibly rush our enemies and inflict as much damage as possible, as is our mission,” Orodan countered. “After all, we’re to not only take the shard, but also to swing the war effort towards our favor.”

“Which will all be for naught if the enemy manages to land a strike using the shard on you,” she retorted. “You are the strategic asset. We need to secure the shard or find some way of preventing its use against you first. Only then can we safely begin striking against the forces of the Hegemony here.”

Orodan had thoughts about that plan in his mind, yet for now stowed them away.

In any case, things were clearer now. He had an apparent goal; was at the location he was supposed to be… and was close enough that Vision Of Purity could see the entirety of the Palace of the Eternal Moon.

It saw everyone within. It could look through walls, objects, people and terrain to see whatever he needed to.

Including the Lord of Night sitting atop his throne, the shard on an amulet around his neck.

#

“We should detonate the weapon immediately and restart!” Zaessythra argued. “Now that we know where the shard is, we can bring in as much assistance and strength as necessary to assault the palace on the next attempt.”

“I thought that’s to be used only when the Hegemony descends upon us,” Orodan said. “How about we confront this Lord of Night first?”

Beating up the regular werewolf guards and sending them into unconsciousness was a trifling matter, and from there finding the entrance to the palace proper was simple enough. The problems however arose when they encountered the first of the Blood Guard, the royal guards of the Palace.

Each one had elaborate spells cast upon their minds, tethers connecting to a hooded vampire seated to the right of the Lord of Night, and various enchanted items which all warded against mind and soul assaults. Orodan could break through all of them, but not undetected, and neither could W78.

“Analysis: feasibility of undetected infiltration: low. Solution: …break and enter.”

“Well said my friend,” Orodan praised. “I think we’ve gotten as close as we can through stealth, now the time to smash and grab. To confront the enemy.”

“The moment you do that, the Hegemony will fire their weapon, we might as well have no time at all,” Zaessythra said.

“Not necessarily. In the very first attempt I had… that shard was only used after a decent amount of time. I estimate we might have at least twenty minutes if I’m being generous,” Orodan said. “Twenty minutes is a lot of time to cause damage.”

She could only sigh.

“Well, I suppose we have no other options then,” Zaessythra muttered.

Orodan had one gigantic grin on his face.

The time for sneaking about was over… it was time for fighting!

The instant he crossed the threshold into the palace, an alarm went off and hundreds of ethereal arrows flew through the walls and passed through the very ground he walked on to assault him. He flared Shield Intent and defended against them easily enough.

“Analysis: soul detection and scanning wards. Information: ward efficiency is beyond this unit’s ability to perform countermeasures against.”

“That’s fine, you’ve gotten us more than far enough,” Orodan said as he threw the two nearest Blood Guard into the walls and ignored them. The royal guards were mere Grandmasters and not worth his time.

He sought enemy Gods and Transcendents. And the first of them responded immediately.

Ethereal, tall and lanky. With pointed ears and dual-wielding daggers which moved exceedingly fast. This was a moon elf. And the ruby-red eyes also told Orodan that this was a vampire.

“The time looper! Send the alert immediately!” the Transcendent vampire roared as a necklace around his neck glowed and sent a message pulse out.

The moon elf was quick, but still an early Transcendent. A brutal bash of his shield crunched his opponent’s nose, and a mighty follow-up swing carved a horrific wound across the foe’s bosom. It was but two attacks, however the shockwaves shattered all the decor and furniture of the opulent hall they were in.

“Apologies for breaking your home, I’m here to collect something,” Orodan said.

The Transcendent had a look of sheer panic upon his face. Yes, the moon-elf was strong, but still a weaker Transcendent and not one with particularly high rarities either. In a straight melee, Orodan felt confident that he could overpower this lanky and fragile looking elf through honest might. Absolute Body Composition, Body Tempering, his defensive abilities and his self-healing capabilities came together to make Orodan Wainwright a deadly foe who was far stronger than one would think, and practically unkillable.

To the side, the very dimensional boundaries crackled as Zaessythra was battling a twelve-foot-tall glowing yellow werewolf of hulking proportions. It was a God which was expending energy by the second to remain in the material plane, divine energy roiling off its frame. It was an expert at unarmed combat. She was winning but barely, and at this rate the battle would simply drag on.

Frankly, Orodan thought this skinny dagger-wielding foe was a bit unsatisfying anyways. Which was why he pulled Zaessythra by the shoulder and nudged her towards his opponent as he rotated and turned to face the werewolf God.

“Let’s swap, my opponent is a bit weak for my tastes,” Orodan said.

She rolled her eyes but looked all too happy to bully the weakling he’d traded off.

“Time looper! Your end approaches! You face Gregorios the Golden Claw; the yellow moon empowers me and all wolf-kin of Narictus pray to me for their might!” the werewolf bellowed. “That puny shield and little body of yours won’t hold up against my assault! Evade me or die where you stand!”

“Shield? Evade?” Orodan asked as he put both weapons away. “I want to face you like a warrior!”

The enemy God’s eyes widened a fraction as Orodan chose the ridiculous option of meeting its divinely empowered claw with his fist.

An All-Strike met a mighty divine claw, the two attacks met and stalemated for a brief moment until the Action Increases came into play and the werewolf God was blown backwards and sent through multiple walls of the incredibly durable palace.

[All-Strike 89 → All-Strike 90]

[Divine Resistance 52 → Divine Resistance 53]

Fist against claw. Finally, a proper brawl.

“Divine Resistance… of course. I neglected the warnings and paid the price. No more… now you face me and my own might!” Gregorios bellowed and blitzed forward to meet Orodan once more.

The next clash of blows was far more even. Mainly because the werewolf God was using its own soul energy rather than divine energy gathered from its followers.

Orodan’s right fist was caught by the enemy’s left hand, and the werewolf God’s right claw was tightly gripped in Orodan’s left. They were in a locked grapple, broken by a sudden knee from Orodan slamming into his opponent’s leg, causing it to buckle.

“I see tales of your might and talent were not exaggerated. You truly do fight toe-to-toe,” the werewolf said. “Still, I have one more method of attack than you do. Fear the fangs that come for your neck!”

A set of jaws suddenly swooped down and attempted to lunge for his exposed neck…

…only for Orodan to meet them with a furious headbutt.

[Unarmed Combat Mastery 89 → Unarmed Combat Mastery 90]

[New Title → Unarmed Combat Master]

His enemy’s attack was partly successful in that pieces of fang and tooth were embedded in Orodan’s skull. However, these pieces came from the utterly shattered face of the werewolf whose jaws had been broken.

Did he think Orodan feared biting? If jaws came for his neck, Orodan would simply meet them with his hard head!

The werewolf was no slouch, however. The grandstanding and threatrics on his opponent’s part soon stopped and a deathly serious melee began as Orodan matched the werewolf God blow-for-blow and began overwhelming it. It was strong, stronger than the weak moon-elf vampire, but perhaps a notch below Zaessythra in terms of battle-power.

Within two minutes, Gregorios the werewolf God of the Hegemony was on his last legs and about to be dealt a finishing blow when a mental assault smashed into Orodan’s mind.

[Psionic Resistance 78 → Psionic Resistance 79]

[Warrior’s Reciprocity 85 → Warrior’s Reciprocity 86]

Not bad, but the Celestial Emperor’s was stronger, and this assault was a Psionic one.

The culprit was a True Vampire hanging off the roof, upside-down, looking every bit the stereotypical bat as possible. The enemy Psionic also looked utterly disoriented and on the verge of losing grip and falling down to the ground. Warrior’s Reciprocity had made it pay dearly for the assault.

“My Psionic Resistance just levelled up, thank you,” Orodan said, preparing to advance.

Before he could though, he heard familiar metallic whirring and the angry whirr of a machine. W78 was expanding into combat form.

The next mental assault wasn’t delivered by the enemy psionic, but by his friend who then caused it to fall off. It began flying in the air, W78 activated some manner of propelling flame underneath them which allowed the metallic warrior of the Unity to also fly and meet the True Vampire in combat.

Zaessythra had successfully killed the Transcendent moon-elf vampire too. All in all, this freed Orodan up to launch a downward All-Strike towards his opponent…

…which missed as the entirety of the Palace of the Eternal Moon shifted.

It was space manipulation; someone was folding space inwards to draw them towards the throne room of the palace.

Orodan would’ve ordinarily countered the hostile spatiomancy, but for once, getting closer to the Lord of Night was in line with his goals.

The Palace shifted, space folded and the walls moved about until they were somehow standing in the throne room.

Before them were a number of individuals. And the one sitting upon the throne was only the second most interesting one of the bunch.

The Lord of Night, a man known as the progenitor of vampire-kind across their galaxy. Rumored to be at level 149 with a Celestial skill. Blood-red eyes which felt as though they were attempting to scour Orodan’s very soul.

To the right of the man, a half-dragon, half-elven vampire. His scales shimmered with a strange silver power and Orodan’s gut told him that this man was a step above Zaessythra in battle-power.

Behind the throne itself, there was an opening leading to a clear view of the night sky and the three moons of Narictus. A view that was now subsumed almost entirely by a gigantic phoenix whose flames were a deep crimson red. It had accepted the blood-curse. Orodan felt this was perhaps the weakest of the bunch, no stronger than the werewolf he’d fought and bested.

To the sides of the throne were Transcendent vampires, one of whom bore the sigil of House Evgaros, and another the sigil of House Varachma. There were more Transcendent and Grandmaster nobility among the vampires as well, but weaker. With the heads of the houses being the mightiest.

And the last…

…Orodan’s eyes never left the final person, even as the Lord of Night began speaking.

“Welcome, time looper. You devastate my subordinates and cause chaos, all in the name of this shard, yes?” the Lord of Night asked as he pointed to the shard hanging off his neck in the form of an amulet. “Is this your first time meeting me? If so, I am Vakan Almante, Lord of Night. You stand before the Midnight Court that I preside over. Care to introduce y-”

“Orodan Wainwright…! Long have I waited for this moment!”

That voice sounded so familiar, yet it was so mangled and distorted. The hatred in Orodan’s heart stirred, and his grip on his weapons tightened. He wanted nothing more than to wage eternal battle and war against the foe right this instant.

“Agathor…! What the hells did you do to yourself?” Orodan asked, pure venom in his voice. “No… I care not. Let’s fight here and now, I have an unsettled grudge against you.”

“I shall run no more…! I will fight you to the very end! Do you like the new power I wield? A most mighty fusion, a blurring of the very System’s boundaries, the line between God and Transcendent need not be so distinct when one can fuse both together. The divine mixing with man… God fusing with Transcendent. Who needs an Avatar… when a Crusader is far superior?”

This was an example of one of the Hegemony’s foul aberrations. A Crusader.

Beings that had been sent after Zaessythra hundreds of thousands of years ago. Gods couldn’t freely enter the material realm without great cost and the constant expenditure of power, but what if a God was combined with a Transcendent in a brutal process in which one party was almost entirely gone? The result… was a Crusader.

Albeit this one that hadn’t bonded correctly from the looks of it.

Agathor, the Inuanan God of War, the mightiest of the human Gods of Alastaia, his home world. The man who’d fled thirty-thousand years ago and given cause for the Void Horror to rise up and destroy all civilization on the continent. The God who’d then tried to possess Orodan and enter the time loops.

The very God who Orodan had mentally subverted and commanded to face him.

Was now a broken shell.

It was more than a little unsightly, seeing two extra arms popping out and Agathor’s typical skin being cracked and broken in multiple places. Divine energy constantly flitted in and out, and then the soul energy of whoever the other being was periodically spurted forth as well.

A botched combination. And if Vision Of Purity was right… not one which favored Agathor.

“Are you even in control? Ironic… once upon a time you sought to possess me, and now look what’s happened… you’re being worn like a suit,” Orodan said. “Who knew that planting the seed of courage and a deathly desire to meet me in battle once more would do this to you?”

“You know nothing of the pain! That violating feeling of an unriddable thought planted into your mind… no matter how many times I sought to escape it I could not. It haunted my every waking moment!” Agathor roared. “But now… now I shall slay you and be free at last! And whatever strange obscuration you have placed upon Alastaia will soon be stripped and I shall return to rule over my birthright.”

In fact, at the time Orodan had used Incorruptible Being upon the thought he’d snaked into the small bit of consciousness Agathor sent into his Avatar host. This caused that small thought to become pervasive, interminable. This created what stood before him now.

“A weakling like you will do nothing. Even with the seed of courage forcibly planted into your head you’ll always be a coward, a thrall at core who can never take charge of his own destiny,” Orodan countered.

“You die now, Orodan! You will pay for all the suffering I have en- no, wait! Let me remain in control for a bit lon-”

The divine energy remained, but the glow of the eyes vanished.

“That little upstart… he comes to our master, begging for the might necessary to beat the time looper, and he dares to take control from me?” the new voice asked. “You, time looper. You are the reason for his mental state are you not? Good. Once you’re broken, I’ll have you fix his mind so the fusion can progress smoothly and reach equilibrium.”

“That would involve beating me first,” Orodan challenged as he stepped forward. “Whether he’s merged with some four-armed ogre or not, I’ll kill both you and Agathor at the same time.”

“Bold words. Orodan Wainwright, was it?” the Lord of Night asked. “You’re outnumbered, and you shan’t be escaping today. Setting foot on Narictus was a mistake.”

No more words were necessary, for the battle had begun.

Vakan Almante, the Lord of Night, simply hung back. Zaessythra engaged the half-dragon vampire, W78 began fighting against the phoenix and the other Transcendents in the room yet would soon be overwhelmed without support.

As for Orodan, his eyes were set on the hated enemy from his past. He vowed then and there that Agathor would be the first God he killed. He charged forward to meet the incoming foe.

Agathor’s original form had a hammer in the left and a great sword in the right, with two spears on the back. This new form of his was four-armed, and the other two arms wielded these spears.

All his Action Increases came together. Sword and shield met spears, hammer and great sword.

And Orodan found himself being forced backwards, barely managing to remain on his feet.

“They do not lie about you. You truly are a physical freak of existence,” the Crusader spoke. “Without the merging, I doubt either Agathor or I could have beaten you individually. Yet, together, with our souls nearly merged… you will find a Crusader to be a daunting foe. I can access his Mythical rarity skill, and he can access mine.”

Every blow of his was countered, his Combat Mastery not providing him nearly enough skill to match this foe. It was akin to fighting a foe who knew what he was going to do before he did it.

[Combat Mastery 88 → Combat Mastery 89]

Still, it just wasn’t enough time.

The phoenix summoned dozens of powerful necromantic minions. The Transcendent vampires were ganging up on W78, and Zaessythra was losing against the half-dragon vampire. All while Vakan Almante, the Lord of Night, simply sat in his chair, goblet of blood in hand.

Ten minutes of battle passed, and W78 shouted out a warning even as his friend was being pounded from all sides and on the verge of defeat.

“Information: dimensional layers being breached.”

“Orodan! We have to go for it now!” Zaessythra shouted. Seemingly on the verge of activating the fail-safe weapon provided by the Conclave.

“Give me… twenty more seconds!” Orodan roared, and he then began focusing on something unexpected.

The necromantic minions summoned by the vampiric Phoenix which had unholy flames emanating from them.

He cast the single most overpowered Time Reversal he could upon them.

[Time Reversal 76 → Time Reversal 77]

[Time Mastery 72 → Time Mastery 73]

“He… he resurrected the minions…!” the lord of House Varachma said.

“The amount of power needed to do such a thing…” muttered the half-dragon fighting Zaessythra.

He hadn’t seen it too clearly before, but when a Phoenix was bringing the dead back and Orodan then reversed the situation and resurrected them… certain things became apparent. Certain insights could be made.

Life and death… death and rebirth… what was the true thing in common between it all?

Time.

Time was what affected the passage of everything.

What Orodan then needed in this situation and the attempts of this moving forward, was more time.

Beating a level 149 Celestial skill bearer in perhaps twenty minutes was just impossible. Not with the number of checkpoint uses he had left.

Yet, just as time could be reversed… might it not also be… compressed?

Sped up?

As Zaessythra activated the fail-safe weapon Vakan Almante looked deathly serious the moment he realized.

“Embodier’s Sacrifice! Stop it at all costs!”

Orodan focused then, with all his might, even as the fail-safe weapon activated.

And just as the final moments of this attempt drew near, as the dimensional layers shattered around him as the Hegemony fired the beam channelled through the shard at him…

…he found it.

[New Skill (Legendary) → Time Compression 1]

Time moved ever-so faster for him rather than everyone else. It was minuscule, and the loop was ending.

Yet, Orodan had a smile on his face.

[C$h@ec(kp*oi#nt R#es%to&red]

[U@ses Re^ma#in@ing - 2197]

“The passage will take you to the wilderness farthest away from any locations of enemy strength. We shall await your return,” Zhou Shan said. “The enemy can normally detect the presence of a Celestial skill bearer, to that end, Lady Sujana and I will be working to weave the ripples you produce and misdirect our foes into thinking you’re elsewhere.”

Immediately, Orodan channelled all his power into his new skill.

Everyone else seemed to move slowly.

[Time Compression 1 → Time Compression 3]

The energy expenditure was massive, the strain on his body, nearly unbearable. And even in the slowed time he could see the concern in Zaessythra and Zhou Shan’s face as they saw what was occurring. Except, to Orodan, it all seemed so slow.

It wasn’t perfect, he wouldn’t suddenly become all-powerful, not when the enormous energy expenditure was a limiter. That and enemy chronomancers who could try to interfere. Yet, as it stood… he’d acquired what he wanted.

The chronomancy scroll he’d been reading, the insights into time he’d gleaned from seeing necromancy…

…it had all come together.

And with this tool, and multiple repeats of grinding, Orodan would strike the Hegemony a fell blow and steal the shard.

Agathor the Crusader would be a hurdle, as would the vampiric half-dragon. And most importantly, the Lord of Night.

Yet, with this ground-breaking new ability, Orodan felt himself more than ready to take on all comers.

After all, when one could accelerate time for themselves and had an endless amount of energy to spend. Besting the enemy was but a matter of time.