The Second Archon War: Superbia Hominum 23 (Patreon)

Superbia Hominum 23: A Hero Rises

His head felt like it was going to split. He reached into his ear, and began to pull. A long stem of wax, and then, an egg. But his head still hurt, so he reached into his nose and pulled out an egg. A third came from his mouth, the fourth and fifth from his eyes. Then he plunged his hand right into his forehead and drew forth the last egg. But his head still hurt. Still pained him.

One more. One more egg of shadow and lies. One more, and you will doom the world. 

This time, David slowly emerged from sleep, feeling disoriented and drained. It took him a few moments to realize he had even been asleep. Groaning, he plucked off the electrodes and monitors that had been on his head and chest and sat up. He looked at his Geo Delusion, sitting on his nightstand, and sighed. He had to keep using it. It was that, or use his Parahuman powers exclusively, and he simply could not keep up with current threats using only those. 

Broken Oaths. Spoken Lies. Taken Lives. 

“Stop it,” Eidolon growled, glaring at the Delusion. He scrubbed at his thinning hair and sighed. “I’m going crazy, aren’t I?” 

“Your mental state is why you are here, Mr. Ward. Please, tell me about your dreams,” Albedo said, stepping into the small room with a clipboard. 

Eidolon laid out what he’d seen in his nightmares as best he could, and Albedo wrote it all down. 

“No ice, no songs, no blue eyes?” Albedo asked. 

Grimacing, David shook his head. If he’d dreamed of the Tsaritsa, at least his sleep would have been peaceful. “The main problem is that I’m having to sleep more and more. It started during the Finland campaign, but it’s getting worse: I’m up to having to sleep five times a week. Shit, maybe even every night. I used to not need sleep at all.”

“That’s the Delusion. It’s taxing you and your powers to the extreme,” Albedo said in his usual bland tones, his expression giving away nothing as he scrawled on the clipboard. “Besides, it’s normal for humans to need sleep, Mr. Ward.”

“Yeah. I guess,” David said, rolling his neck. “Am I cleared?” 

“You’re cleared for active duty. It doesn’t appear that you have any lingering effects of the Tsaritsa’s dream,” Albedo said with a nod, finally looking up and meeting David’s eyes. “If you have repeated dreams of ice, of songs, of blue eyes, or of the Tsaritsa, report it immediately.”

“I did,” David said, feeling rather frustrated. “Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course,” Albedo agreed with a nod. Then he turned around and left. 

David took a quick shower and put on a fresh costume, then headed to the cafeteria. There, he found Doctor Mother sitting by herself in a corner, looking at notes on a tablet and sipping at a cup of tea. On impulse, he sat down across from here with his own plate of bad scrambled eggs, greasy sausage, and mushy hashbrowns. “Morning.”

“Good morning, David,” Dr. Mother said, looking up from her work to smile at him. “How goes the war effort?”

“We’re losing,” David said bluntly. “We need an edge, somehow. Strong as Alex and I are, we just can’t compete with the Dragons and Harbingers. One for one, maybe. But there are too many of them now.”

“That’s what the research into the Abyss is for,” Dr. Mother said with a nod. 

That made David grimace. “I don’t like it. We’re playing with powers we don’t understand, and could be incredibly dangerous. Not could be. Are. Wyatt nearly got himself killed. And we don’t have real weapons, just a bunch of evil fantasy races we put behind enemy lines.”

“It won’t be traced back to us, and we’re working on applications in other technologies, but what we have is crude and primitive at the moment. Since it is so dangerous, we’re not ready to release it for mainstream use,” Dr. Mother said, setting aside her tablet. She regarded David over her cup of tea. “You think this could be the same as what happened to you and Fortuna’s shards.”

“What is Fortuna doing, anyway?” David asked, trying to change the subject. “Still at Disneyland? Wasn’t there a Blasphemy attack in France?”

“She’s…well. She’s on an alternative assignment. She cut out her shard, and we’re trying to get her to go clean from all the drugs she was doing,” Dr. Mother said, making a face. 

David shook his head and prodded at his food. “And you don’t think that having the world’s best Thinker and seer at our disposal would help with this war?”

“She’s not a Thinker 12 anymore. And her supposed visions are the usual sort of prophecies that are vague and cryptic, and only make sense after the fact,” Dr. Mother said dismissively.

That wasn’t David’s experience. If anything, Fortuna’s prophecies were eerily accurate and blunt. They just were couched in the religious terms that he understood even better than the probabilities and statistics she’d used previously. Though he supposed a scientific mind like Dr. Mother’s would find her adoptive daughter’s new nomenclature to be off-putting. 

Rather odd, since she had a magical gemstone granted to her by a god. 

I just accept that the Archons are gods now. Do I even still believe in the teachings of the Mormon Church? No. I guess I don’t. Unless Jesus was one of their siblings, I suppose. 

“I’ve found her predictions to be rather accurate,” David said, then winced. He didn’t want to speak her direst prophecy about himself aloud: That he was a traitor, and would turn to their greatest enemy. 

“Have you asked her about the Abyss?” he said instead, which prompted Dr. Mother to sigh heavily.

“She’d just talk about sin and damnation, and we already know the Abyss is corrosive and dangerous. But, it’s a powerful weapon. One Kusinali confirmed can slay an Archon, or Scion himself.”

“It sounded more like it would consume everything, and not even Scion could stop it,” David said, standing up and reaching for his helmet. “Has anyone checked on its progress?” 

“No, satellite doesn’t show anything, and we haven’t been able to get anyone in. Are you volunteering?” 

“Yes. If anyone could get in and out, it’s me. I’ll check on the Kuril Islands: not even the Tsaritsa has much of a military force stationed there,” David said. 

“A good start,” Dr. Mother agreed. “Check to see how much it’s spread, or if it’s even been effective at all. We don’t really know what the churls will do, aside from probably cause some violence.”

“More murder of innocent civilians,” David said in disgust, then shook his head at Dr. Mother’s raised eyebrow. “We’ve done plenty of that, and so has the Tsaritsa. It’s war, after all. I’m just more concerned about the blowback. It’s a strange energy source with corrosive and mutagenic properties. I’m not as much of a nerd as Wyatt, but even I have seen the Andromeda Strain.” 

“It’s a small-scale test that will reveal much, and potentially distract the Tsaritsa when she discovers it enough for us to launch a counteroffensive. But, do check on it. Take some recording equipment with you, and try to find out how far it’s spread. It’s only been a few days, so probably not much,” Dr. Mother said.

David checked out a body camera that was swiftly integrated into his suit, then ordered a door to the Kuril Islands. 

He stepped out onto Urup, a largely uninhabited island in the chain about 150 miles northeast of Kunashir. A brief check of the island showed no activity, aside from indications that someone had recently visited the now inactive mines, and signs that local hunters and fishermen were visiting the island semi-regularly. Eidolon moved on after less than an hour, flying towards Urup. 

As he approached, Eidolon checked the local radio frequencies to see if anything was happening. He soon found a call between two operators in small towns on the Russian mainland. 

-no signal from Yuzhno, still.

Something strange going on, there. There’s something purple around the town.

We sent a boat to check on them, but it didn’t come back, and went radio silent. We’ve called for the Fatui, but they’re busy.

Typical. The Tsaritsa is asleep, and the rest of New Moscow doesn’t give a shit about us. 

Interesting. Well, it was one small and very isolated town. Perhaps it had fallen to the churls, or the churls had cut their communications. That showed a disturbing amount of intelligence, if true. 

Then, he heard a panicked call in Russian.

Someone! Anyone! Please, help us! This is Burevestnik Base! They came out of nowhere, portals just appeared! It has to be the Shogun, she’s the only one who can open- AHHHH!

“Fuck!” Eidolon snarled and put on more speed. He was over the island in moments, and then over Kurilsk. If the Raiden Shogun joined the war that could be a good thing, but in his heart, he knew what this was. 

He soon found himself over a Russian military base, and heard the sounds of small arms fire. There were a few dozen frantic men and women firing guns at portals, out of which poured…monsters. 

Not just churls, though Eidolon recognized those, but hulking masked monstrosities that crackled with elemental power in some cases, and in others, swirled with the dark energy of the abyss. Skeletal wolves like those that had attacked the base in Hawaii flicked in and out of reality, and masked hairy demons that looked like hunched over humanoids wielding clubs and primitive spears streamed forth as well. 

“God help us,” Eidolon breathed. He made an immediate executive decision and radioed for backup before diving in to help the scattered survivors. 

“RALLY TO ME!” Eidolon bellowed, sending out an unencrypted call over the radio as he formed a Geo Barrier with his Delusion, then blasted away with the simplest of powers: waves of flame. 

“Eidolon?!” one of the Fatui gasped, but they didn’t attack him. Instead, desperate men and women flocked to him, battling against waves of the monsters. Some didn’t make it to David in time, and he saw them dragged away into the portals, or devoured by wolves, or swarmed to death by the masked creatures. 

“GANG GANG WOO!” 

There was a flash of elemental power, and three floating…mages? They had to be mages, appeared. There was one each of Cryo, Hydro, and Electro, and they wore beaked white masks like plague doctors, floating in elemental bubble shields. They cackled and hooted in an alien tongue, and began to launch elemental attacks. David snarled in frustration as the Cryo and Hydro froze him briefly, but he managed to break free. His fire melted the ice mage’s defense and caused the electro one to explode, but the hydro snickered at him and sent more attacks at him and his few surviving Fatui. He did manage to use fists of Geo to finally shatter the creature's shield.

That had cost him time though, and the rest of the base was being rapidly overwhelmed. David had only a dozen survivors with them, and they had already run through the little ammo they’d had on them. All they had now were knives, wrenches, and some spears they’d picked up from their foes. 

Then, a door appeared, and out of it charged a squad of Protectorate capes. 

“SIR!” Grenadine cried, shooting forth a barrage of the glowing red hard-light orbs she could create. They exploded with concussive force, then re-formed into an orbiting halo that could absorb and reflect kinetic energy. 

“Good to see you, kid,” David grunted, even as the rest of Grenedine’s squad quickly reinforced them, blasting away at the monsters. She had a Roach, a Newt, and thankfully, three blaster capes with enough firepower to clear the area, plus a blessed Anemo Vision holder to heal the wounded. 

“Not a kid anymore, sir,” Grenadine grunted, falling in beside Eidolon. “I fought with you in Riga and Finland.”

“True enough, Lieutenant,” David agreed grimly. 

“Just Marisa, sir. What the fuck are these things? They’ve slaughtered an entire Fatui base!” Grenadine panted. “Can we clear them out?”

“Keep the survivors safe. I’ll handle it,” David promised Grenadine, shit, was she really 19 now? Then called upon a new set of powers. He hated doing that, knowing what it involved now, but he was desperate. He needed durability, mobility, and overwhelming firepower. And a new Thinker ability, one that could analyze this alien menace. That could comprehend the Abyss. 

 Instinctively, Eidolon knew how to use his powers best, his Thinker power showing him the best route. He soon flashed across the battlefield, growing a set of six silver bladed limbs to scythe through his foes, and blasting them with waves of glowing liquid light that incinerated all it touched. Firing enough of the burning liquid into the portals caused them to snap shut, and Eidolon panted, looking around at the devastation.

There were throbbing purple obelisks in several places, and no matter how much firepower he poured into them, they didn’t shatter, only absorbing the energy and using it to grow.

“What the fuck,” David growled, then shook his head. “Marisa!” 

“Yes, sir?” Grenadine said, floating up next to him. 

“Get to the town. Get the civilians out. I don’t care that they’re Russian. Those…things…we fought…they used to be human,” Eidolon said, bending down to remove the cracked and burned mask from one of the creatures. 

“Oh my gods,” Grenadin gasped, her expression going pale. The face under the mask was remarkably human, and Eidolon’s power told him this was the fate of anyone exposed to the Abyss for too long. Well. The less fortunate ones. 

“Don’t let someone else hear that, or you’ll be accused of Archonism,” David said quietly. “But yes. Go. Get to the town. Arm the Fatui with whatever you can and work with them. I’ll find the source.”

“Sir, can we really trust the Ruskies?” Grenadin asked. 

“This is an existential threat to humanity, Grenadine. If heat comes, let it all fall on me. I’m giving you a direct order as your superior officer,” David told her. Then he put a hand on her shoulder. “Besides. This is the right thing to do. Why you became a Ward, isn’t it? To save lives.”

“Yes, sir!” Grenadin said enthusiastically and snapped off a salute. She turned back to her squad and started barking orders, while Eidolon headed for Kunashir.

Before he could even see the island, Eidolon knew something was wrong. The water was discolored, and he could see what looked like a miasma of dark purple fog spreading. He focused his power, then charged through to the island. 

He didn’t even make it to shore. A dozen skeletal wolves, some as large as trucks, appeared around him in the air, snapping and snarling. He fought them off, but more kept coming. From the island, all he could see was an ominous purple glow.

Then, two glowing purple things, exactly like the mimics Wyatt’s report described appeared. They shimmered, then took on the form of Eidolon. 

Traitor! You’ve betrayed humanity!

Father of monsters! You spawned the Endbringers, now this!

DIE!

“Shit, shit, shit!” Eidolon gasped, and lashed out with all the firepower he had. He vaporized the two false Eidolons, but more were coming. He was a liability here. “DOOR ME!” 

A door appeared in midair, and he dashed through, then took another immediately back to Kazakhstan, on the front lines. 

Alexandria was leading a battle against the Witch, dozens of Protectorate capes and Iraqis on flying dendrosaurs clashed in the air against Fatui, while on the ground, Tyranosaurus Rex mounted with cannons fought against Fatui Tinker tanks and ground troops. The air was rife with elemental reactions and parahuman powers, and flocks of flaming butterflies swirled through it all, gathering up the souls of the fallen. 

“Eidolon! Good to see you, we could use the backup,” Alexandria shouted, breaking off to fly up to him. “No sign of the Tsaritsa’s Mastery on you?”

“YOU DAMNED FOOL!” Eidolon snarled, and grabbed Alexandria by her shoulder pauldrons and shook her roughly. “IT KILLED THEM ALL!” 

A punch to his gut sent Eidolon crashing to the ground, and Alexandria had her sword out, hovering over him. “David. Explain yourself.”

Coughing, David sat up and glared at her, though she couldn’t see it through his mask. “The Abyss, you moron! It killed every living soul on Kunashir! And I don’t just mean the humans, everything! It’s spreading! Opening portals and attacking the other islands! It will strike Japan soon!” 

“Not here!” Alexandria hissed, then landed next to him. “But if it is, good. We need a third column opened up.”

“You have to stop this, Rebecca!” David ragged, getting to his feet and clutching his ribs as they healed. “We’ve unleashed more monsters! This isn’t a weapon, it’s suicide, for all mankind!” 

“If it distracts the Tsaritsa, then we have a chance to win. I’m placing you on-”

“Fuck you,” David snarled. “Door me! Kusinali!” 

He sprinted through the door and slammed it shut behind him before Alexandria could react. To his astonishment, he found himself flying above the Aral Sea. A mile away, the Simurgh battled the Prince. Well. Good for Ziz. But no time. There. He saw Nahida, and- wait. That was the Princess, and even…the Tsaritsa.

It appeared that the Tsaritsa was about to fight Kusinali, and David could not let that happen. He rushed forward, slamming into the ground and bellowing, “STOP!” 

The Tsaritsa turned to him, obviously shocked. Her flawless features seemed somehow worn and wan, and there were dark circles under her eyes. “My Hero, now is not the time to-”

Ripping off his mask, David desperately grabbed the god. “The Abyss! How dangerous is the Abyss?!”

That took the Tsaritsa aback, and she frowned at him. “I, what? My Hero, you speak of something so foul, so vile, that I forbid you to speak of it again.”

“It is Forbidden Knowledge. Even to say its name brings evil,” Nahida agreed, and David groaned. Now he knew. He should have known. This was his curse. 

Turning to Nahida, David begged, “And what if I told you that, right now, it was running rampant in Volograd and four other places?!”

“What?! Impossible, this world is free of that taint, how-” The Tsaritsa babbled. David saw her call out to the land with her powers, and felt the wave of dread and horror as he sensed what he already knew. “NO! M-my children! My people! I can feel it now!” 

“I’m sorry. I told them not to. I tried to stop it, but I couldn’t,” David said, feeling helpless, powerless. “But it’s out of control. We have to stop it, NOW!”

To his relief, the Tsaritsa and Nahida made peace on the spot. Alexandria was calling David on his radio, but he took it off and crushed it. He didn’t care. This had to stop. 

“They’re in Volograd, the Kuril Islands, the Crimea, Helsinki, and New Moscow,” David said, and used his Delusion to create a 3D map in the air. They soon split up, with David going with Tsaritsa to New Moscow. She still seemed weak and pale, but she summoned her great blade before Eidolon summoned a door. Thank the gods he still had Doormaker clearance, for however long it would last. 

They stepped into New Moscow, and David half feared he’d find the same death and destruction here. But instead…there was nothing.  The city was calm and lively. They stood in the Imperial Square, with cars and bikes passing them by, the statue of the Tsaritsa seated upon her throne towering above them at the center of the square. The vehicles swerved to a stop, even as the Tsaritsa sagged against Eidolon in relief. 

“Then the city is safe, yet,” the Tsaristsa sighed, even as cars screeched to a halt, and random passersby paused. 

“The Tsaritsa!” 

“Your Imperial Eminence!" 

“Who’s that with her?!”

“That’s Eidolon!” 

“Unhand the Tsaritsa!”

“Get away from her!” 

Straightening, the Tsaritsa raised a hand. MY BELOVED SUBJECTS. FEAR NOT. THIS HERO HAS COME WITH ME OF MY ACCORD, AND COMES TO RESCUE MY CHILDREN IN TIME OF NEED. 

The angry crowd was instantly calmed, and many knelt or bowed as low as they could for the queen and god. 

“Your Majesty, do you need a car? You may have mine,” a wealthy looking man said, pointing to his own vehicle, which was an imported Mitsubishi.

“No, my Hero will convey me to the palace,” the Tsaritsa said, dismissing her sword and placing her arm around Eidolon’s

Several people looked suspiciously at Eidolon, but none questioned the Tsaritsa. He quickly flew them over to the palace, though once they were in the air he muttered, “You have to quit calling me your Hero. I don’t serve you.”

“And yet, here you are, serving me,” the Tsaritsa said. “We both know what the future holds, David Ward. I will consent to pretend at surprise when you do at last kneel before me, but it is written in the stars already.”

David growled as they descended towards the palace steps. “Fate isn’t set in stone.”

“No,” the Tsaritsa agreed, though her words were like icy water thrown in David’s face. “The stars are far colder, crueler, and less tractable than mere stones.”

Servants and soldiers raced down the palace steps with cries of surprise and adoration, but the Tsaritsa raised her hand. “I am awake only a short time. Soon, Focalors will join us. Make ready a welcome befitting a visiting god. She is fond of cakes and sweet things of the finest make from what I recall. But summon my generals, and bring reports of any strange monsters or disappearances."

All was brought for the Tsaritsa, with maps laid out and reports brought in. It quickly became apparent that a small town near New Moscow had been reporting a new strain of odd monsters, like giant rats that walked on two legs, and been seen. They had been clashing with the Fatui as well, and a hunt was on for their den, but with the war on, resources had been strained, and despite what was now a dozen murders, little attention had been paid to them.

“Skaven,” Eidolon pronounced grimly. 

A nearby aid, a young man with pale blond hair, coughed and spluttered. 

“You know this name?” the Tsaritsa inquired.

The young aid instantly fell to his knees. “Pardon, Majesty. I, I merely…that name is simply from a…game. A fantasy, it is not real.”

“Fantasy all too quickly becomes reality. Tell all you know of these Skaven,” the Tsarista ordered, becoming the man to rise. 

“W-well,” the youth stammered, getting slowly to his feet. “In the game, ah, Warhammer, they are treacherous, cunning creatures. They serve the evil god the Horned Rat, and they live in tunnels and sewers below cities-”

“That is where they will be then. Send troops into the sewers immediately! Full combat squads! My Hero, you will lead this expedition. If only we had Focalors, but I dare not wait,” the Tsaritsa said, biting at her knuckle in an obvious display of worries. 

THEN, DARLING, FEAR NOT! FOR THE STAR HAS ARRIVED! I, FOCALORS, AM READY FOR MY GRAND DEBUT!

There were cries of surprise as a slender woman made of pure hydro energy with a crowned hat on her head swept into the room, posing grandly before making a sweeping bow. Behind her clanked a knight in armor of solid Hydro, though the knight's form was heavily obscured. 

LORD FOCALORS. I AM IN YOUR DEBT FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO COME TO MY AID IN MY HOUR OF NEED, the Tsaritsa said, taking on a more godly aspect of an icy maiden.

“Oh, pish posh, pish posh,” Focalors said, waving a hand dismissively and coming to stand beside the table. “Sir Fontaine and I are merely here to provide what support we can. Now, Darling, you said that there was some trouble in the sewers?”

The situation was laid out for the new Archon, and Eidolon studied Focalors suspiciously. It hadn’t even been an hour, and already, she was here. Just who was this mysterious Archon, and from where exactly had she arrived? She seemed supremely self assured and confident, which was good, at least. It seemed more than mere arrogance, with the Hydro Archon projecting authority and competence, while her stoic knight stood at her side in an at ease pose. Well. At least someone knew what they were doing. 

Author's Note:

I experimented a bit with an AI image for Eidolon here. I'll still be using Froggie to provide real high quality art for major story arcs, but having fun character images to go with a chapter might be something I can do if people like it.