I stand alone in the BDP tent located in Fairy’s Pantry. The clicks, hums, and roars of the machines drown out the sounds of me turning a spigot atop a canister. There’s a hiss, and a cloud of vermillion haze flows through the pipe and into a chamber containing twelve velvet mites. ‘The predators will be for me alone to know. Part of becoming resolute is the ignorance of not knowing what is around the corner.’

Sitting in a chair across from the chamber, I watch the red bugs scurry about in an attempt to avoid the vermillion haze. When they are surrounded, they become agitated and separate into two groups of six and then freeze in place. This is a relationship we have noticed with the velvet mites. When exposed to haze, they split into groups but never more than six or less than three. If they are less than three, then they simply never move again. That odd behavior, along with the fact that their appearance post evolution is somewhat similar to an insect variant of wolves, is why I have named their fully vermillion-evolved counterparts Velvet Bulves.

Watching the velvet mites for another moment, I lean back in the chair and say, {Earl, I have decided upon the cattail adaptation I want.}

With the squeak of a lantern, Earl appears behind me. “Statement: The more the Mistress adds to the cattail, the fewer adaptations that will be compatible with it in the future. This one believes it will be a while before another of any significance is available again. Inquiry: Is the Mistress certain they want to select an adaptation?”

{Aye. All of them could be useful, but I shall take the ‘Independent Cords’ adaptation. As we discussed, it may be the weakest and least useful of the three right now, but since it would improve over time with my stats, it has excellent growth potential. The Shark-Tooth Thorns is perhaps the best in the present, but it would not grow well with me.}

I cross my arms and tap my foot against the floor of the tent, and continue, {The Invasive Copepods adaptation potential is also great. It could improve in conjunction with the scrounger skill, grow in strength with my copepods, and would assuredly become an important asset... but I merely prefer Independent Cords. If I understand everything we discussed, with increases in the Strength and Acuity stats, I could practice techniques to make Independent Cords into something that suits me much better.}

“Acknowledgment: Commencing implementation of Independent Cords adaptation.”

A glow rises from my arc suit, along with an odd, disjointed sense of movement. From my back, there’s a bulge as six thin cords wiggle out of my arc suit’s back and squirm in the air behind me. As if set free after centuries of confinement, the six cords wrap around me, pull at my arms, hit tables, tug at chairs, and attempt to break anything they can manage to reach. One furls around my neck, and I try to control it. Instead of doing what I tell it, another one whips outwards, knocking the side of a metal barrel.

As the metal barrel echoes, I shake my head and say, {This shall require some time to get more familiar with.}

“Statement: The Mistress will naturally learn how to control them with practice, but increases in the Acuity stat will help the Mistress better handle them.” 

Earl watches as I extend one of the cords and attempt to use it to pour water into an empty paper cup. When one cord wraps it, the other five abandon what they are doing and join it. All six cords squeeze and pull the cup in different directions. Littering the room with the ribbons of what formerly was a cup, all six cords return to what they were doing before, looking oddly satisfied for expressionless strings.

Reaching out, Earl snatches one of the cords and begins to inspect it. She pierces it with her nails, causing it to squirm. The other five cords become annoyed that their brethren is limiting their movement. They join together and yank at the Earl’s fingers, endeavoring to pry her fingers away. When this fails, they instead wrap around their entrapped comrade and begin ripping it to pieces.

“Observation: They appear more ‘Independent’ than originally intended.” The five remaining cords celebrate their freedom by sweeping pieces of paper cup into the air, showering them upon Earl and I. “Recommendation: Until such time that the Mistress can properly use it, the Mistress should be wary of making an attempt to utilize it in any hectic situations and instead keep them wound together.”

{Aye, as thou says, I did not think ‘Independent Cords’ was quite so literal… But, the strength behind each cord is only a sixth of the usual, so hitting someone with it would be akin to a slap at best. So it’s not something I would use very often right now anyway.} A line of crystalline red quills burst from the back of the velvet mites. {Ah, by the way, Earl, this would be an excellent time to ask a question I should have asked a long time ago... How do I acquire more sparks?}

“Inquiry: Is the Mistress finally ready to begin embracing a Kiln’s leeching nature?” I hear the rap of Earl’s feet tapping against the ground as she moves closer. “Answer: This one has been waiting for this inquiry and has been saving a very special message for when the Mistress asked.”

{I simply did not think another Kiln would try to expand toward me so quickly... and it was not on the sprout stage commencement wall.}

Behind me, I hear Earl open the lantern door, and a purple wall appears. “Correction: It was in the tasks section.”

The ‘very special’ wall that Earl mentioned appears before me.

I slump further into my chair. {...I believe I understand thy point.} The velvet mites begin to grow a red carapace around their legs. {Prithee, Earl, enlighten this capricious Kiln and show me the tasks section.}

“Declaration: Enlightenment is this Interface’s specialty.”

One purple wall vanishes only to be quickly replaced by another.

Looking over the tasks, I notice the last thing on the tasks list. {...Art thou finally willing to tell me anything more about this ‘beast spirit’ out of curiosity? I still do not even know what type of ‘beast’ we have been searching for.}

“Response: The beast spirit is annoying, a stowaway, a freeloader, and good at hiding… but it’s also irreplaceable.”

I glance at the grinning Earl. {...Well, the ‘good at hiding’ is a ‘new’ tidbit of information, except it’s also the most self-evident.} 

“Statement: Enlightenment is oftentimes self-evident, Mistress.”

Sinking so low in my chair that I am essentially lying down, I reply, {Earl, thou art a skilled sophist, and like most sophists, thou say much while clarifying naught.} [1] The arc suit grinds against the seat of the chair as I slide out of it and onto the ground. {How about we just search for the beast spirit while discussing the node sparks further?} 

Earl hugs her lantern and nods.

With another shake of my head, I stand and then walk over to a pair of clear plastic enclosures. One contains butterflies and the other moths—butterflies and moths of my own personal creation. The butterflies were monarch butterflies I introduced to sable. They are black as night and have opportunistic eating habits, meaning they will eat meat if they spot weakness. My name for these ‘beasts’ is Tenebrous Monarchs.

The moths, on the other hand, were rosy maple moths also introduced to sable. They took on a gleaming pinkish-silver and have a taste for fruit and sugar. However, they are oddly protective of the silvery silk they spin and are not afraid to fight to the bitter end over it. That’s why I have named these Empyrean Silk Keepers. Fortunately, all of these creature names are being recorded into a BDP logbook, so they should all be accepted by the Cosmic System as their official names when the names spread.

Earl narrows her eyes, inspecting the two specimens. “Inquiry: Does the Mistress intend to release those fleshlings?”

{Aye, they may not look like much now, but their children shall be beautiful additions, and according to Byron, they are already pregnant.} I watch one of the Tenebrous Monarchs lift a pill bug and fling it against the side of the enclosure with a thunk. When the injured pill bug hits the ground, leaking blue blood, three Tenebrous Monarchs extend their mouths and begin to eat it from the inside out. {...It should not be long before they are moving about Fairy’s Pantry at their proper size.} 

Gesturing for Earl to follow, we exit the tent and into Fairy’s Pantry violet light. The BDP camp is made up of two large tents and then numerous small tents. The two big tents are for creature creation and for medical awakenings. Creature creation is only known to Byron, Shriek, Doctor Jager, and me. Everyone else believes that the Mistress is making the haze insects. They have their suspicions, but that does not matter too much. I merely prefer it not be an undisputed fact that the haze mutates monsters—suspicions are unavoidable.

While rewinding my new tendrils together and drawing them back into the arc suit, I ask, {So Earl, how do I create the Node spark?}

Earl tosses some of her blue blood in the lantern flame, and the purple wall appears.

Reading the list, I tilt my head. {Most of this really does not seem so complicated. I presume the issue is ‘spiritual realm attunement,’ and that’s why I must ask directly?}

“Answer: The Mistress is correct. Spiritual attunement is, as the name implies, the sparks connection to the spiritual realm. Which is done using high purity ‘Traces of Tenebrous.’ Note: This one calls it ‘Traces of Tenebrous’ because this one has been filtering it from Tenebrous’s atmosphere. In reality, it’s high purity spirit residue.”

Walking toward the gate that exits the BDP camp, I hear the fence vibrate and then the skitter of insects moving through the grass. Shrieks, barks, buzzes, creaks, Fairy’s Pantry is coming to life, and all of those sounds can now be heard from time to time. The reason they are so close is that some have developed the habit of scavenging the same area outside the camp every day.

As we exit the protection of the camp, I nod. {I believe I recall thee mentioning spiritual attunement once in the past. The attunement is what shields the Tower, Domain, and my kiln from leaking Essence while also allowing spirits to inhabit it safely.}

Earl raises her lantern and starts swinging it back and forth as if she is searching the path ahead. “Response: Again, that’s correct, but it also makes the Nodes compatible with the Mistress and is what’s responsible for creating the pull that allows the Mistress to leech Essence. Clarification: Since Tenebrous is a realm constantly starved of Essence, having them attuned to the spiritual realm creates a vacuum that draws in Essence from sources of abundance. That is part of the reason the firmament walls in Fairy’s Pantry are so thick; they shield organic creatures from that vacuum effect.”

{Oh, that’s all rather fascinating!} Together, we move toward the edge of Knights Respite and the Ancient Forest; this is where Earl has narrowed down the beast spirits location. As we dip beneath a fallen oak tree, I glance at Earl and then say, {Then, I suppose I should simply ask, how do I spiritually attune a spark faster?}

“Answer: When a fleshie or fleshling that qualifies as ‘wise’ perishes, their spirit will be drawn into Tenebrous. This is true of everything, even the worshipers of True Gods who are generally plucked away and taken to wherever it is they go.”

{True Gods! There are actual Gods!} I glance toward the colossal firmament walls. {They do not seem to be involved with the afterlife, or at least Tenebrous it seems… Or are they? The idea of them being involved is far scarier. Are… are there any of these ‘True Gods’ in Tenebrous?}

Earl’s smile disappears, her eyes narrow, and she gazes at the ground. “Response: ...The Mistress’s soul believed there once was, but they’ve not been seen for so long that it’s uncertain. It was far before even the Cosmic System’s absence began, so it’s not something that requires rumination.” 

{Oh. I was once told that the Cosmic System has been missing for tens of thousands of years, and that’s already unfathomable, so longer than that is… Well, it’s hard to even find the right words for something that long ago.}

Shaking her head, she purses her lips and huffs. “Statement: This one has also mentioned them in messages before. The Mistress must not be reading this one’s hard work!”

{Thou wouldst’ve ignored my questions! Do not pretend thou wouldst’ve responded!}

With a grin, she shrugs and continues, “Answer Continued: But when a sapient fleshie or fleshling perishes, the spirit is drawn into Tenebrous; this process leaves a trace of Tenebrous behind. So if the Mistress wishes to attune a spark quickly, the Mistress will need to gather these residual traces from a sufficient number of different corpses.” Earl pauses and thinks for a moment. “Revelation: Perhaps the Kiln Mithridates is using the entrapped spirits to expedite the process somehow. That could be very useful to us if the Mistress could investigate further.” 

{I will begin by saying I am not interested in entrapping someone’s eternal spirit just so I may have a node develop a tad faster.} We stop near a plum tree and observe a beetle with a glowing shell, raise itself onto its legs and start crunching figs from the branches of a tree. {As for ‘sufficient number of different corpses,’ does that mean it’s not related to the number of corpses I consume, but rather the number I sample?}

Earl nods in acknowledgment. {Answer: This one has found the majority of the Traces reside in the fleshie’s major organs, with the brain being the one of most significance. The heart was second.}

{Brains and hearts…} I glance at the ground and shake my head. {Just… Anyway, if we need mere traces, can we not simply use the sprout or gates that connect the material realm to Fairy’s Pantry?}

“Response: That’s how the other sparks were attuned, and if the Mistress waits, the future ones can be attuned in the same way, though it will be a slower process than in the past.”

Setting the enclosure of moths on the ground, I ask, {Why is it slow? Why do we need traces when we are in the spiritual realm itself?}

“Subsequent Response: Filtering traces of sufficient purity is not a fast process regardless, but it’s even slower now because the sprout only connects to one place, the spiritual interior of the Tower. Which this one would guess is amongst the least spiritual locations in the spiritual realm. It’s a clear disadvantage of having a spiritual interior. If this one had to guess, the Kiln Mithradities doesn’t have any sort of spiritual interior at all.”

{Can it or a gate not be swapped to another location away from Fairy’s Pantry while I do not require its use?}

“Answer: The gates are bound to the sprout and cannot stray too far from it at this time. As for the sprout, it connects to a portion of Tenebrous that the Mistress, and consequently this one, is ‘harmonized’ with. Although the Mistress may not be aware, the location on which Fairy’s Pantry sits is the exact spot the Mistress was sent after the heretics of Roanoke did what they did. Even if there was some convoluted way to make the sprout harmonize with another spot, this one would still highly advise against it due to unanticipated consequences.”

{Aye… I had not realized it was the same place. It’s something I do not like to think about.} Opening the enclosures of Tenebrous Monarchs, I watch them flutter away and disappear into the violet darkness. {Oh, Earl, I was curious if ‘Traces of Tenebrous’ might be useful for other things?}

“Response: Traces of Tenebrous has many magical properties and a connection to the spiritual realm. One thing that might make it useful is its natural uptake of Mana… But it would be difficult for a human fleshie to store and consolidate it into anything quantitative. It’s no simple task.”

I set down the empty enclosure and lift the enclosure of moths with a nod. {I have been thinking about what Shriek said a few days ago, about needing more incentive to enter the Tower… We have been making strides toward that with our creature choices, but is it possible for us to consolidate the Traces of Tenebrous for people to have? As something valuable for them to find?}

“Inquiry: More incentive for the fleshies? Is that necessary? Assertion: The Mistress will already be capable of offering rare magical supermaterials in the future, like unrefined Vitrum, Nebula, Hot Flint, and more. Those are resources that a humble fleshie race, like humans, wouldn’t have access to. They should be praising the Mistress’s name for such luxuries.”

Her words cause me to tilt my head, but I try not to let myself get distracted for once. {Perhaps that is true, but I cannot offer any of those resources yet, and I am curious to see if they may find other uses for things like Traces of Tenebrous…} Opening the enclosure of moths, I thump against the side to get them to take flight. {...Or Unrefined Vitrum, Nebula, and Hot Flint for that matter. I cannot test and learn everything alone, at least not in any reasonable amount of time. That’s why I think it’s best to give some of these things I can make to the commoners and then use what they discover or craft with them.}

Earl ponders my answer and then shrugs. “Speculative Answer: It might be a feasible endeavor inside the Tower. This one could perhaps automate it with the ‘Mistress’s Interface.’ It wouldn’t be capable of drawing it out, but it could consolidate it so the fleshies could scoop it out themselves… ‘The Mistress’s Interface’ might strain our consciousnesses to consolidate so much...“ Earl is about to continue, but the lantern starts to blink, and she pauses. “Notice: The Gate of the Rich and Destitute has been opened by the Acolyte.”

{Terra?} Thinking for a moment, I ponder anything I might have neglected, like my meeting with General Riddick. {Nay, I was not anticipating her, and it’s fairly late… I have a feeling this might not be good.}

---

Together, Terra, Lorcan, a man in white frocks, and I stand in front of a young woman by the name, Scarlett Kennicott. She was the same young missionary woman from the Church in Light, the same one I denied a greater token around a fortnight ago.

The cold wind blows as I stare at the blotches of icy red snow. All around me are the torn remnants of blood-spattered tents amongst the scattered pieces of insects. Placed side-by-side under a thicket of trees, nineteen unfortunate victims are each covered by a single sheet of cloth. The spent casings of bullet shells lay scattered about, partially submerged in the snow from the heat of their fleeting purpose.

Scarlett kneels in the snow, wearing a white coat and blue trousers stained in blood. In her hand, she clutches the shattered remnants of a necklace so hard that it has sliced into her palm.

“Scarlett, you’ve been sitting here too long. Let’s have this discussion somewhere warmer,” Terra says, reaching out to help the woman up.

“The Speaker is right, Scarlett. Let’s change your clothes, and then we’ll talk elsewhere.”

Scarlett shakes her head. “No, Preacher. I’m not ready to leave,” she says in a small voice. “I need to talk about it here, or...” Scarlett chokes back tears. “...Or I might forget something.”

“Scarlett, lis—”

Raising a hand, Lorcan stops the Preacher. “Sometimes people just gotta do what they gotta do. If she needs to tell us here, she can tell us here.” Lorcan gestures to the men who stand around the area carrying rifles and wearing jackets that display the image of a silver eye with inky rings around the iris. They nod, and one of them walks off to fetch something. “No one’s gonna bother us.”

The Preacher hesitates but inevitably nods and backs away.

“Okay, Scarlett,” Terra says. “Everyone’s here, including the Fairy; we’re listening if you’re ready.”

Things remain quiet for some time; all that can be heard is the whistle of the wind and the shuffling of the Syndicate guards.

She sniffs, tears drop from her eyes as she begins to speak.

-------------------

“The night started the same as every night had since the capture quest was announced two weeks ago. Twelve of us from the Church in Light gathered to meet with twelve people from the Hex Church. Our Churches don’t generally get along, but both of us felt the tokens were… It doesn’t matter; I don’t care anymore.

We had been going out at night to trap bugs near ‘50 Street Subway Station.’ They seemed more active at night when there were fewer people around… Things had been going so well too; there hadn’t been any problems aside from the occasional butting of heads and the random broken cage door… But when we arrived outside the subway station, it was different.”

Scarlett begins to shake, but the Syndicate guard that Lorcan sent off earlier arrives carrying a thick wool blanket. Taking it, Terra moves to place it over Scarlett’s shoulders, but Scarlett reaches out and seizes Terra’s wrist with all her might. 

Digging her nails into Terra’s wrist, Scarlett pauses before realizing what’s happening. Scarlett returns to staring at the snow and forces her own hand open, leaving Terra’s sleeve stained red.

“Sorry,” Scarlett whispers.

“It’s fine.” Terra wraps the wool blanket around her. “Don’t worry about it.”

Pulling the blanket close, Scarlett sniffs again and then continues the story, “The first thing we noticed was the smell; it was appalling. At first, we couldn’t figure out where it was coming from until we checked the station itself and found it had been flooded by foul water.

We’d heard about the flies and escort quest, so we decided we’d leave to report it to the Speaker. 

As we were leaving, Jennette stopped us. The water was bubbling, and spinning into a whirlpool. When the water level dropped enough, we found it was all going into a crack in the floor. In only a minute, the entire station had drained into the crack. We couldn’t figure out where so much water could go, so a few people shuffled closer to shine a light down into it. It was so deep we couldn’t see the bottom, just some burst pipes.

A few people used their phones to take pictures, and then we started to leave.

That’s when it all started to spiral out of control. From the crack came what I can only describe as a screech. Everything began to shake, and an uncountable number of bugs stampeded out, completely ignoring us.

They were running.

We should have run too.

But something wrapped around Chris.

It-it yanked him into the crack.” 

Closing her eyes for a second, she gathers her composure and says, “He… he wasn’t even small enough to fit in the crack, but it still pulled him through. The sound it made… God.”

We all stand in silence, the wind blows, and the sound of bombs exploding in the distance echo. The thought of such a thing leaves us all staring at the snow.

“But…” Scarlett coughs. “But then the crack in the floor grew bigger, and the whole floor started to sink. That’s when… That’s when huge legs as big as tree trunks rose from the crack; one of them hit Jennette. Gone. Just like that, two people, gone.

The people from the Hex Church started doing something after that. They tied down the leg, branded it with some kind of symbols, caused its leg to catch fire... I-I’m not even sure what all did or what they were doing; they had never done anything like that around us before. They somehow managed to sever it, but it didn’t matter. More legs rose and stabbed into the walls, sending the station’s support columns exploding apart. The roof collapsed, and two of the Hex Church, crushed by concrete. Their books slid into the crack, and then everyone ran.

When we escaped outside, it burst through the station’s roof—a  spider, bigger than a house. Over its body, it wore some kind of… sand on the outside of its body. The monster was covered in the foul water that had drained into the crack, and the sand was falling off its body in clumps… I-I think the water ruining its sand made it mad because it tried to put the sand back; I-I-I don’t know. It-it just kept screeching.”

“It’s okay, Scarlett,” The Preacher says in a soft voice. “You can stop.”

Scarletts shakes her head vigorously and pushes herself to continue. “The monster didn’t chase us; it didn’t seem that interested in pursuing us at all actually… It was what came up with it. Mosquitos, I think. Except they had turned into something closer to a scorpion, without the claws or stinger, and they didn’t have wings either; they just had needles on their faces.

They flooded from the building, spreading out in every direction. Some chased us all the way back here. I’m not sure how… how close they got to me, but it was close enough I could hear their feet hitting the asphalt. I never looked back, not once. The whole thing, it was like one of those dreams… The dreams where your feet feel like they have anvils strapped to the bottom of yours, and the monsters are running with the help of a treadmill.”

She puts her hand to her mouth; her face turns green.

“The worst part was… was when I would catch up to someone else and pass them, I’d always hear them scream or… or sometimes just a quick yelp. Knowing that those sounds will be the last thing I’ll ever remember about some of them makes me want to vomit…”

With a pause, I can hear Scarlett swallow some stomach acid that has worked its way up her throat. 

She grits her teeth and takes a shallow breath.

“...There were no Hex Churcher members left by the time we made it back into the park; maybe they saw them as more threatening and targeted them. ...The few of us that made it back were exhausted, and the snow of the park was hard to run through. Eventually, we came across a camp full of people who were all sleeping. We had accidentally led the monsters right to more people… We couldn’t run anymore. So we tried to instead wake the sleeping campers; again, it didn’t matter.

By the time the others arrived…

I was left.

Just me.

Alone.”