Chapter 34 #3
At last, reluctantly, Exeros continued. “It’s that you hew so close to goodness that it’s easy to overlook the dangers of your growth. To rationalize. To take it on faith that you will remain true to your current intentions.”
Harald said nothing.
“You are growing powerful.” Said as a statement of fact. “But are still little more than a human child compared to the warriors who contest the lower depths. And you will never amount to more than that unless you find the means to categorically change your power level.”
“I thought Eclavistra’s Crown was my way to do that.”
Exeros smiled, and the expression was pitying.
“It elevated your powers, yes. But it effectively changed you from a six-year-old to an eight-year-old. A grown warrior, who has trained and fought their whole life, who manifests within themselves the greatest of martial talents and bears the most awesome of Artifacts of war could defeat you with but an idle backhand.”
Harald repressed a pulse of anger. “Sure. I’m only Level 10. So, what’s your point? How does this tie into my ‘hewing so close to goodness’ or whatever?”
“What I saw here, now, was a means—possibly—for you to make that categorical change.” Exeros enunciated each word slowly and carefully, as if doubting the wisdom of completing his sentence even as he spoke it.
“Eclavistra laid her trap for you with the Crown, but she did not foresee every eventuality. In time, it would finish transforming you into her tool, and you would spurn your companions even as you welcomed her as your mistress.”
Harald snorted. “Unlikely. I’ve but one goal, and that’s her destruction.”
Exeros shrugged one frail shoulder, clearly not interested in debating the point. “I have been tasked with watching you, and have, unwillingly, used all of my powers to do so from the moment I was assigned. I see the changes you are blind to. Her trap is working. But.”
“But?”
“But.” Exeros again fell quiet, brow furrowed, clearly wrestling with his impulses. “The nature of your Class, the evolution of your powers, has turned her very means of control into a fatal weakness you can exploit.”
Where before Harald had restrained a pulse of anger, now he mastered excitement. “That so?”
“Hmm.” Exeros eyed him. “Possibly. You were targeted by Soul Needles, were you not? They appeared as Endowments. They are a uniquely lethal attack, bypassing strength, resilience, armor, and even most defensive powers. They adhere to your very essence, and once embedded, give the Essence Stalkers control over your spirit.”
“Sure. But my Well of Starless Dominion consumed them all. My soul isn’t like others. It’s…” Harald took a deep breath. “It’s becoming one with the abyss.”
“Yes.” Exeros’ tone was withering. “I noticed. A truly unique ability. You can consume the very brands laid upon your soul, for it is your soul that has grown hungry.”
“Wait.” Harald’s mind skittered ahead. “You’re saying I can consume my other Endowments?”
Exeros spread his hands to the sides. “It is but a logical extension of what you have done. However. Were you to consume your Demon Seed, I imagine Vorakhar would immediately pay you a visit to vent his displeasure.”
“He’s been absent for so long now,” protested Harald, heart pounding. “Maybe—”
“You are shielded by Eclavistra, but her shielding is one of disinclination. It encourages Vorakhar to not focus on you, building on his other preoccupations. Were you to snap the connection cleanly, her veil would tear, and he would direct his full attention on you.”
“Oh.” Harald’s shoulders slumped. “I see.”
“But it is not the Demon Seed that interests me.”
“Not the Mote of Humility—the Crown itself? You’re saying I should consume it? Free myself of Eclavistra? But then how would it—”
Exeros’ expression was one of scornful impatience.
“Not consume the Crown. Got it. Then…?”
“The Crown is but its form. The form is irrelevant. The true nature of her Endowment is to create a conduit between the two of you. A portal through which you can draw on her strength as a fifth pretend-Throne.”
Harald nodded slowly, eyes narrowed, then froze.
“You see it at last,” said Exeros, voice quiet, eyes blazing. “That was her mistake. She thought to lure you with the promise of a little power to complement your four Thrones, and in doing so open you to her corruption and eventual control.”
“But…” Harald’s eyes widened as understanding seized him by the throat.
“But you have the Well of Starless Dominion embedded in your soul. A direct conduit to the abyss itself. An endless hunger. A voracious ability to consume. And just as you directed that appetite to consume the Soul Needles, so can you—theoretically—direct it at the conduit that is the Crown.”
Harald took a step back, the floor seeming to sway beneath his feet. “You’re saying that I can consume Eclavistra? I can use the Crown as a means of drinking her dry?”
Exeros’ eyes narrowed to slits. “Logically. As an extension of what you have already done, yes. Though there is, of course, one problem with doing so.”
“What?”
The Seraph’s smile was utterly without humor. “The moment she senses you doing so, she will teleport to your side and destroy you utterly with her infinitely greater power.”