"Another belief of mine: that everyone else my age is an adult, whereas I am merely in disguise."
― Margaret Atwood, Cat's Eye
"Stupid Devil…" Rafe kicked at a stray stone, hard enough to launch it toward the horizon and out of sight. He was forbidden from travelling out of the abyss, monitored by the ever focused Hive like a child. "Are you sure we can't experiment more with that tree?"
"If you attempt to approach any of the gates, I am instructed to restrain you," Hive shook his head and snorted. The Halfling's preoccupation with leaving this floor grew every day, a fixation he suspected involved the silver orb that infected his soul. "Why don't you help the Faithful construct their church?"
"I'd rather watch paint dry…" Rafe released a bellow of a sigh and flopped onto the rough charred ground. He stared into the fathomless abyssal sky and kicked his feet against the stone packed earth. "Why don't you build it for them… you pulled an entire fortified city from the ground, so a single building shouldn't be a problem?"
"The church is different, a symbol of devotion and faith," Hive stood above the petulant Halfling and poked at him with a foot. ""I shall add to its construction, but it should be built by the hands of many believers, not just one… now get up, this area is scheduled for the construction of a roadway, but my drones cannot act until you've moved."
"How many of Ven's believers have joined us anyways?" Rafe ignored the A.I.'s request and gave a lazy stretch. "The sooner he can form an avatar of faith, the sooner he can get this thing out of me…"
"Ten-million souls have entered the labyrinth so far, with more on the way," Hive waved a hand and the ground under the Halfling formed into an oversized stroller. The machine avatar wheeled Rafe aside, before a tide of nano-drones consumed and reformed the earth. "I do not have the data needed to know when an avatar can be formed."
"It depends on how devout the believers are," Rafe settled into the carriage without concern, eyes unfocused. "But once he's got a billion or more in here we should see some progress… now, to the tavern my good babysitter! This infant needs his drink…"
– – – –
"I still can't believe Giant did all this on his own…" Lyra swam through the emptied oceans of the level below the abyss, dissatisfaction in her every movement. "He's snagged all the food and left nothing for us!"
"There's still something down here," Brull squinted into the depths, hand on his sword. "Whatever it is, it's been aware of us since we arrived…"
"Likely the Cthulhu that Ven mentioned," Cain shrugged as he trailed his knife through the water. "Everything here seems safe enough for Hive to begin his scouting, I say we return to the abyss and investigate that sinister door."
"Agreed," Lucifer nodded. This place was empty, save for the brooding menace that lurked far, far below. "But we must be cautious, whatever lies beyond that veil is an ancient evil… it cannot be freed, or every mortal within the abyss shall fall."
"Then why investigate at all?" Brull shook his head as they raced toward the abyssal gate. "If the creature is trapped, we should leave it be and restrict the area even further…"
"We shall only approach the gate, not pass the veil," Lucifer interrupted as the group slipped through the vortex and returned to the abyss as one. They emerged above the plains of tar-black flame and the Devil took a deep breath. "I want to see if that sword of yours can suppress that thing's powers, if not… if not, we'll do as you say and seal the place away."
"But…"
"Come on Brull!" Lyra grabbed the cat-kin's hands and swung him in a circle. "This expedition is about facing challenges and growing beyond our limits… we have to at least try!"
"Alright," Brull sighed as the wolf-kin shattered his resistance with her best puppy eyed expression. "But if I say Excalibur can't handle it, we leave and board that thing up for good."
– – – –
Vicious bursts of multi-coloured lightning ravaged the edge of his aura. Thick bands of purple and green, interspersed with the occasional white or gold. Giant roared in joyous praise as he drank in the dense rush of energy. This world of cloud and storm was a true heaven, a paradise feast.
Groundless, with only the continuous roll of overcast skies and the mighty crackle of electric dragons. Bolts as thick as men filled the sky, while truly massive currents showed their heads with random frequency. Giant's shadows drank them all, a glutinous expansion that competed with the endless storm.
'This is tribulation lightning, I'd recognise the taste no matter how much time has passed,' Ven examined the world through his Giant's eyes and licked his mental lips. This energy was a cultivator's dream… if he could establish a base here, his people could use this place to evolve their bodies and fortify their souls. 'Where is it all coming from?'
The lightning's glare blocked vision between the clouds, and the storm itself was an impassable wall. Ven let his mind focus only on the Giant's aura, the variation in energy from all directions. Above and to the left… that was the highest influx of power. A nudge of his will and the greedy Giant charged forth, headed toward the greatest concentration of the lightning's glow.
'That's…' Ven blinked behind the Giant's eyes. It took only a few minutes, but they'd found something other than the storm.
Between skies that held more lightning than clouds, a vast structure loomed. A cathedral of storms, gothic arches wreathed in electric fog. Tall spires, topped with bells, cried out as they belched thunder into the air. Its massive gates stood half-open, rocked back and forth by the swell and flow of the wind.
'What is that?' Ven squinted as Giant raced for the door. The energy from within shone like a beacon for the hungry creature, a buffet that stood open for all.