Myth//OS - Chapter 77 (Patreon)

I sipped my coffee and watched a new episode of Glitch Scouts. I’d watched them all over and over, of course. Everytime I watched it through, though, I noticed smaller details that were hidden behind the veil of Friendship Is Power. For instance, although Lana and the gang fought a lot of monsters, they also fought a ton of people in costumes. Costumes whose materials and designs looked quite familiar.

I scrolled through my Glass for other true fans who noticed the detail, and there were surprisingly few of us. So far, it looked like the prevailing theory was that there was a specific villain that made the outfits and costumes of all other villains. They went a little overboard in their analysis, but it seemed like season 4 would dive into that from leaks.

”You look like shit,” Kali greeted me as soon as she opened her door. She didn’t even bother with a second glance and headed to the kitchen to make breakfast. “What do you even see in that show, Aylin? You’re obsessed.”

”Nice to. See you. Too,” I grumbled under my breath and hit pause on my show. “It’s gold.”

”For kids? Totally.” She peaked around the corner of the kitchen and pointed a spoon at me. “If you want true TV, look up Real Chemlords. That shows a riot.”

I hit play on my show and looked away from her. Kali’s taste in TV was… not great. Real Chemlords—I’d seen it a couple times when she watched TV in the living room. If I wanted to be depressed about drug lords ruling over Bastion and a secret elite, I’d just go find a job as Nyx.

Oh, speaking of. I set Nivia and my coffee to the side. A tendril of Ebonshroud whipped out and grabbed a card I’d thrown carelessly onto the table. There was that auction coming up from the Anarch that took an interest in me. I didn’t really want to go, but the auction piqued my attention. 

Before that, though, I needed to go get the Myth Fragment that Throne stole from me. After breakfast and another pot of coffee, of course.

— — —

A vast park stretched out around me. Green grass and trees entwined with flowers and shrubbery in a wash of life that was quite frankly weird to see outside of the Bloom Sector. Unlike the other districts, Throne had a lot of… well, dead space wasn’t quite right considering the vibrant life across it.

The towering buildings seemed even more oppressive with the distances of flat ground between them. I shook my head and slid into one of said towering buildings—Throne’s Warden Bureau. It was the home seat of the Bureau, and the one all others throughout the districts reported too. Given its importance, it was naturally a gargantuan and imposing structure.

I worked my way through the crowd of citizens and arrived at a much, much smaller line leading toward an assistance window for Wardens. Or, at least, it should’ve been just for Wardens. Up near the front, a man was escorted away kicking and screaming. “They killed my daughter! I won’t just take no for an answer! I’ll be back! I swear I’ll be ba—“

”Silence.” One of the escorts sighed and used a Skill. Ether washed over the man, and he instantly went quiet. 

“Next!” The man behind the counter tiredly called. “And you better be a Warden this time, or I’ll have them toss you off the wall!”

They wouldn’t really toss someone off the wall… maybe. Throne had absolute authority as the sole rulers of the last city on this planet, so maybe they would actually throw someone off the wall. Speaking from experience, it was oddly satisfying.

The line thinned out as others came to the same realization that I did. Soon it was just three remaining in front of me. All of them were heavily armored and had on flamboyant costumes as I’d expect of a Warden. 

The three were helped, and soon it was just me. The man waved a tired hand at me. “SIGIL?”

With a thought, the white array of lines and symbols bloomed just over my hand. “Here.”

He lifted a scanner and checked it on a terminal. “Warden Moon… you have a special note. Here for the fragment taken from Sky Skipper?”

”Yep.” Well, never let it be said that Throne was inefficient. That certainly made things easier.

”Got it.” The man leaned forward and pointed to an elevator on the far side of the massive room. “Head over there and go to floor two-O-two.”

”Thanks.” That was easy. I shrugged and headed for the elevator. 

[Nighteye’s ears twitch. What were you expecting?]

To get ambushed or something. Not, well, this… then again, it wasn’t over yet. I hit the button for 202 and sat back while I waited to be lifted up into the skyscraping tower. It was a long ride to the top—made even longer by the music that played and the constant stops for people to get on and off. Eventually, though, the doors opened one final time for me.

I stepped out into a rather grand entrance hall filled with ornate pieces of artwork. At a glance, anything here probably cost upward of my entire life’s salary. Did I get off on the wrong floor?

“Warden Moon?” A creature standing off to the side of the room perked up when I stepped out. She was an insect species of some kind, with six arms and an ant-like head. Her eyes were cybernetic, though, and glowed with the blue of an Overseer. “Oh great joy! You’re finally here.”

”…?” I eyed the insect Overseer curiously. 

“If you’ll come with me, we’ll get you sorted out shortly.” She bowed her head to me politely, and her six arms splayed out around her. I recognized the pose from something I read not that long ago.

”Vl’Akyeen?” That weird insect-person smut book I wrote down for OuroSec seemed to be right in line with the being before me.

”You know the Great Mother?!” The creature’s entire face lit up. I think. It was kind of hard to read her emotions. “Oh wonderous, friend. How did you hear of my species? Not many know of the Great Mother of the Vl’Ak!”

“Reproductive. History.” I shrugged lightly and motioned to her. “Guide?”

”Oh, right!” The Vl’Ak composed herself and stretched out one arm. Her other five folded neatly behind her back. “Right this way, Warden.”

I followed her down several halls. The decorations and people scattered about made me feel like I stepped into the wrong section of the city, but the Overseer standing waiting for me ensured I didn’t. It was a weird dichotomy that made me more than a little unsettled.

The Overseer stopped in front of a door and took a step back. “She awaits you. Peaceful tidings, friend.”

“She?” I eyed the Vl’Ak curiously, but she didn’t let anything else slip. She just stood there to the side of the door without budging. I hesitated for a moment longer and then slid into the room.

A wide, simple office opened up before me. A desk sat off to the far side with a brilliant view looking down onto the parks of Throne and Bastion beyond. Behind it stood a… not so imposing figure. An aged, decrepit woman leaned heavily on a cane while rasping for air. 

A tail swished around behind her, and four horns curled away from her head. Small silver charms of the sun, moon, and stars hung from her curled horns. The tips of which glowed with a faint lavender color. It wasn’t Arbiter purple, but the coat she had on definitely was. A dragon tail swished slowly behind the old woman, and her eyes reflected back at me with a draconian pupil.

She grinned, and her long canines glinted in the window. “Ah, Moon. I’ve been expecting you.”

I eyed the Arbiter. This wasn’t just anyone. Arbiters were the top dogs of Bastion. “Ma’am.”

”No need for that, no need for that.” She turned back toward me and waved a hand. “You’re older than I am.”

“…?” She definitely looked older though. I could still stand without a hunch, at least. Though… well, if I took too many more hits like what the deer hit me with, that’d change quickly.

“Arbiter Coatl.” She held out a hand, and an array of runes floated over her hand. She casually cast a nine ring magic circle, and the papers across her desk blew off and neatly stacked to the side of the desk. “Pardon the mess. My work follows me everywhere.”

9 rings… that was equivalent of 7 string magic. It wasn’t just a casual move, and I caught her warning. “No problem. Fragment?”

“Ah, yes.” She sat down in the chair and opened a drawer. She set down the fragment on her desk, though didn’t lift her hand away from it. “They already tested it. I hope you don’t mind.”

It wouldn’t matter if I did. I took a seat across from her. “What. Want?”

”I like intelligent people.” She tapped her finger on the fragment idly. Then she just pushed it toward me. “I have a job offer for you.”

”Still injured.” I held a hand to my side and let out a small groan to sell the point. The less I had to do with the top dogs of Bastion, the better. I was strong, but I wasn’t that strong anymore. There was a reason they held the top.

”Cathedral gave you a clean bill of health.” She leaned forward and set her cane down on the side of her desk. “I like intelligent people, but hate liars, Nyx.”

Oh… so that’s how she was playing? I created a dagger of Ebonshroud and slid it into my side. “Injured.”

”Ruthless too?” The old woman lifted a wrinkly brow and leaned back. “I figured… It’s an interesting game you're playing. Nyx and Moon—two sides of the same coin. Does your boss know?”

“Gave me. Away?” She wasn’t attacking or arresting me. Was she… okay with me being an Anarch? That shouldn’t happen. Whatever happened to Throne standing for the law?

“Please. Did you really think you could hide something like that? There’s cameras all over this city. It wasn’t hard to put together once I put one of my overseers on it.” Arbiter Coatl crossed her arms and eyed me. “So? The job?”

I hesitated a moment and then sunk into the chair. “What?”

”Good!” The Arbiter’s expression abruptly shifted into a rosy smile. “You’ll like this one too, trust me. It’s a nice chance for some… revenge.”

”Revenge?”

”The Morokai. Should look familiar, no?” She pulled out a holopuck and tossed it onto the table. The hologram popped up a familiar looking figure. It was one of those bark creatures with stretched leather across its body. They were the ones attacking Lucia with rusty weaponry when I found her the first time. 

“Yep.” I wanted to go wipe them out after finding Lucia, but I never headed back out to the Ashlands.

”They’ve become a nuisance, and aren’t a species open to communication.” The dragon lady twirled the hologram around with a finger. “The job—well… how do you feel about genocide?”

“Lot of. Work.” Killing an entire species wasn’t easy. There were always a few stragglers left behind. I think. My memories really are getting hazier by the day. Is old age finally starting to catch up with me?

“You’ll be well rewarded for your efforts by Throne, of course.” The elderly dragon deactivated the puck. “A job position, if you want it.”

”Have a job.” My throat strained, and I rubbed gently at my neck.

”Indeed. We can discuss it at a later date.” Arbiter Coatl tossed me the fragment. It burned slightly in my hand when I caught it. “You in?”

”Why me?” Throne had almost infinite resources

”Talent scouting. Ranks can be raised, and power can be granted. Problem solving, though, that’s hard to learn. ” She waved a hand and stood up from her chair to look out the window once more. “Do your best, Aylin Io.”

I stared at her for a moment and then stood up with the fragment in hand. She was telling the truth. Discerning Allspeech ensured I knew that. There might’ve been other sides to it, but she genuinely wanted to talent scout me. I’d probably start as an Enforcer if I joined Throne, right?

Well, it wasn’t quite an ambush. Definitely strange, though. Not what I was expecting in the slightest. I could figure all of that out after tonight.