LSRO: Chapter 336 - Predatory (Patreon)

This took a lot longer than I thought. It's the last chapter. But there is an epilogue for the book. This has been the ending for about the

This took a lot longer than I thought.

It's the last chapter. But there is an epilogue for the book.

This has been the ending for about the last 30 chapters where it crystalized in my head. Book 6 will probably have a lot more action in it because of how this ends. Maybe. I Think?

I will post the epilogue sometime tomorrow.

Book 5 is pretty much done.

Don't hate me.

It's a cliffy.

You can hate me a little bit

~~

Chapter 72

Predatory

Lynx and Quinn stood close to the middle of the massive pillar. Or at least, as close as they could get considering the way the platforms were set up. The gravity of the situation with the larger-than-life column she stood beneath truly hit Quinn.

This was it. She could feel some of the surrounding power, emanating from the waves of mana, from the way her friends and mentors gathered around them. The power sang to her, pure energy and mana overflowing from the lake and glancing through her system, welcoming her.

Under the direction of Cadre, the others began to encircle the pillar. They stood on strange little platforms conjured by Cadre, spaced what seemed evenly apart from what Quinn could see so far. She could tell Cadre’s intentions were to form a complete circle around her, Lynx, and the pillar. 

Lynx lowered his voice, and despite him leaning close to speak to her, she could barely hear him over the sound of the other pillars filtration and the lapping of the mana lake against the supports. She concentrated hard, focusing solely on what he said.

“The Journals are confusing, but I think I’m starting to understand why we were given them.”

“Care to enlighten me?” She whispered. 

Lynx smiled, glancing around, as if to make sure that no one could overhear him. But everyone else was busy following directions. “Suffice it to say, the Chronicler’s mysterious reputation is warranted. It’s taken me ages to draw the parallels. Maybe in more detail, once we’re sure the Library won’t explode anymore? If we only have the saboteurs to worry about, there’ll be less pressure.”

Quinn nodded even though she really wanted the information so she could distract herself from her brain trying to convince her there was impending doom. Her gut twisted, and she just had to hope it was nerves. The sensation didn’t feel the same as when she was being forewarned of something. Maybe she should have eaten more earlier. She sighed. The wait was killing her. “Do you understand what we’re doing here?”

Lynx shrugged. “Sort of. Cadre is the most intelligent individual I’ve ever met. His knowledge of dimensional theory and practice is second to none.”

“Speak of the devil...” Quinn murmured, ignoring Lynx’s quizzical look. 

Cadre approached, his mouth spread wide in a huge smile. Glee practically radiated off him as he used levitation to place the cube down in front of her and Lynx. “I will stand behind you to your left, Quinn, and Milaro will be on your right, should we need to step in for any reason?” He poked several areas on the cube, and Quinn heard beeps emanate from it. Soft, like tiny bells ringing. 

“What can I do to help? Or what do I need to do to prepare for the rest of this?” Quinn’s nerves jumped all over the place. She was fairly sure her hands were shaking, so she crossed her arms in an effort to stop them.

Cadre’s smile softened. “As soon as we are all in place and prepared to begin, I will input the coordinates into the cube. It, Milaro, and I will guide you through the process. Essentially, I need to reconfigure the cube to match the containment field, mere seconds before you begin the transfer. Once I’ve done that, you’ll be able to initiate the transfer itself.”

Quinn took a deep breath, willing herself not to panic. “That’s the dangerous part, right?”

Cadre blinked, his eyes closing so briefly in that fascinating lizard like way. “Well, more dangerous anyway. Just standing here is actually quite dangerous as is. After all, the soul bomb is contained only several feet from us at this moment.” It sounded like he was trying to soothe her, but Quinn just gulped.

Milaro spoke from just behind her. “We know you’re capable of pulling this off, Quinn.”

She was glad someone thought she could do it. Because she was going to have to pull on that belief to get this done. 

Milaro rested his hand briefly on her shoulder, in that way which always managed to help her release tension. In that same brief touch, he managed to lend courage, reassurance, and strength. It always helped calm her, let her remember all of her strengths and to breathe. To do what she was good at.

“Thanks.” She said.

He chuckled. “We’ve linked before. This is no different. I will help both you and Lynx through this whole process. We’re all here to help.”

Quinn knew what he wasn’t saying. That if it didn’t work, even their measly attempt at a shield wasn’t going to help the Library or the Universe. But she appreciated the confidence he tried to lend her, anyway. Glancing to her right, she could see Malakai sending her a reassuring grin. When they came out of this, she was going to sit his flirty butt down and talk to him.

Siliqua piped up from her place next to Cadre, and Quinn knew the others were at intervals around the other side of the pillar. “Okay, we’re almost ready here. Are you prepared?”

Quinn felt Milaro brush her mind, and she nodded. “Ready as I can be.” She said.

And then there was a flash in the cube, and it immediately connected to her mind. She could practically feel the countdown ticking away in the corner. It reminded her of those stupid timed standardized tests she’d had to take through school and immediately set her on edge.

Milaro guided her mind gently toward the sealed soul bomb. It was where they’d left it, but if she tried to recall, its previous exact position. She knew it had moved ever so slightly. The realization filled her with a strange sort of existential dread.

The dimensional shift tugged on her mind, swirling in great globs of mist as it sought to pull her with it. But this time she was prepared, and not as lost as she’d been in their initial foray months ago. The bomb felt different, as if it knew its time was approaching and rebelled against it. 

The surrounding barrier hummed, its magical resonance leaking through to her, bolstering her strength while at the same time solidifying the surroundings. 

Time slowed.

The ticking clock continued in slow motion.

Can you hear that?

Quinn listened intently, able to discern the mild buzzing in her mind. It tingled there, as if waiting for her, ready to zap anything that tried to harm her, that came too close to doing so. I hear it.

That’s our signal. When that buzzing speeds up, it means time is running out. Do you understand? If that happens, we must withdraw and allow them to reset the calculations.

Sure. She said, forcing her mind to focus and put away all fear she might have felt. No pressure.

Milaro’s chuckle resonated throughout her mind. None at all.

His typical humor helped ground her, and she clenched her teeth, ready to do this. They’d been right, though. It wasn’t that difficult a thing to do once she let herself.

She could feel Milaro’s guidance reaching through to her, helping her wrap what felt like psychic bands around the bomb, shrinking its dimensional shift. She felt like the work was taking all the time in the world. As if they were bound to run out. But she breathed, calmed herself, and continued.

We’re doing well. You’re doing great.

The words helped. She focused on the bands that held the initial containment, shrinking them slowly, moving them carefully until they fully encased the bomb. At the edges of her perception, she could feel sweat running down her back. Lynx’s power next to her was hot and fed right into her own energy pools, allowing her own power to feel full and strong.

The manifestation’s power next to her bolstered her own, lending her confidence, and allowed her to take Milaro’s guidance calmly.

I think it’s ready? She wasn’t entirely sure it was, but it felt secure.

I agree. Do you think you and Lynx can manage this? He asked gently, but Quinn knew why. Milaro needed to bolster the protections while they transferred the soul bomb. Now came the real challenge.

She nodded and realized he couldn’t see it. Ready.

Milaro gave her one mental squeeze and then his direct presence in her mind was gone.

Just us now. Lynx’s voice held encouragement and a tinge of excitement. 

Quinn understood, even if she couldn’t exactly sympathize. Just us. 

It was far easier to blend her power with Lynx than she’d anticipated. Seamlessly, their power merged, and they began the removal of the bomb, slowly bringing it to rest within the cube. It wasn’t as easy as it sounded. There were constant accommodations for the swell of the vibrations against the pillar base, for the thrum of the magic all around them, for its tangibility. 

When they finally dropped it in the chamber, there was a low rumble as it settled. It lasted a few seconds too long, and Quinn was almost certain the thing was about to explode and take them all with it. 

And then it was done.

She squeezed her eyes shut as Cadre and Siliqua dove on the containment unit, sealing, resealing, double checking the containment values.

Milaro and Malakai had moved to maintain the shields around the pillar. Just in case.

“You can open your eyes,” Lynx whispered.

Quinn peeled one open and glanced at him skeptically. Then both... she watched the others fuss around it. “What do we do now?” She asked when they finally stepped back from it.

Cadre smiled. “We located a nice black hole for its new home. Now it’s not in a pillar... we can transport it with numerous precautions.”

She heaved a sigh of relief and turned to see Malakai, who’d been given the all clear, to let the barrier drop. He grinned at her as he undid his part of the ritual, and Quinn heaved a sigh of relief. “Well, that’s one thing off our plate.” She didn’t add that it had been so much easier than she expected. After all, that was just something one didn’t say out loud.

“Quinn, fly up!” came a sudden call. Cadre’s voice was panicked.

She turned around, expecting the containment field to be failing, but they’d already moved it and from what she could tell in that split second, it was fine.

What wasn’t fine was the strange sludge like mist that rose up from the floor. It reminded her of the sludge that used to sit over the mana lake. The remnants of chaos magic. It hit her foot before she could move.

And then everything went black.

~~

Quinn came to, sitting in a chair. 

A comfortable chair.

Which felt very odd considering she’d just been down in the filtration chamber.

The entire room was black. But it wasn’t. Instead, there were stars everywhere. 

She was somewhere she knew she ought to know. Somewhere she’d spent weeks in.

Things began to brighten for her, slowly revealing themselves in the dim light. 

And that’s when she saw the stack of books lined up along the table. The whole list. From Lohse’s Myriad Dimensional Weaves & Unbindings, through to Chmilenko’s guide to Dimensional Complacency.

She knew she’d seen them before, but she’d been so focused on training. 

The cosmicisodracus vault, where Drevicia kept all the remnants of her species history, everything others would need to know to understand the Library’s weaknesses.

Standing quietly, she was surprised she wasn’t locked in place somehow and she stepped gingerly across the room to look at the books. Ameye’s Mental Drain, The Ashelan Mind Capitulation Device... All there, not missing, and not damaged.

None of it made sense. There were pieces she was missing. A major one being why she’d been sucked in and transported here. She couldn’t feel the Library, couldn’t feel any of the others from where she was. A cold shiver stole down her spine.

“Ah. So good of you to come, Quinn.” 

The voice wasn’t any Quinn had heard before. There was no warmth in it. No recognition. Slowly, she turned to face it.

She’d never seen the dragon who stood there before. Scaled and blue, such a deep ocean blue whose scales rippled across the surface like water lapping at the edges of a beach. Almost translucent, the human shaped dragon had the clearest blue eyes, several shades lighter than its body. And it was there. Tangible. Not a projection. Not a shadow.

Quinn pushed down on the fear. 

She knew who this was. Instinctively. There were qualities of her own inherent in this creature. Things she’d inherited. The only thing was, she didn’t know why.

She knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was Drevicia. Not the Library, but the true dragon version.

“Drevicia...” she stated, knowing it to be the truth. 

The dragon smiled, showing rows of sharp teeth. “Ah. Excellent. Not as dense as I’d feared.”

Quinn wasn’t sure what to make of it. But before she could say anything, a glint entered the dragon’s eye.

“Let’s see what they’ve poisoned you with.” Drevicia’s grin was predatory, and Quinn had but a moment to feel the pressure trying to crush her body before she started screaming.

~~

I'm so mean.

BWAH HAH HAH

Much love

KT