Jackal Among Snakes

The Alchemist ran his hand along a wall of the black metal comprising most of this vault. Even with his advanced perception, he could sense nothing out of the ordinary about it. But he connection to Hause pricked at him, drew at him, and he knew what he sought was beyond there.

His mind shifted, twisted, until it settled upon what he needed to be. He would need thirty arms to brandish the weapons to cut down this wall. And as he thought it, so it became. They burst free from his being, containing some of the many weapons they’d stolen from Erlebnis’ vault. He braced himself, digging into the ground… and then became a whirlwind of destruction.

Hammers, blades, spears, and picks rained down upon this seemingly unremarkable wall. The sheer power of the unrelenting artifacts made it buckle and bend, shattering in wake of his power. The wall was deep, and hid many enchanted contraptions, but the Alchemist burst through them all. He fought with feverish hunger for a past left abandoned. And in time, he saw light beyond. The Alchemist walked through, briefly glancing back at the destruction that he’d caused. But when he walked beyond, his eyes raised upward, beholding a sight that brought him unimaginable anguish.

A gargantuan fat raven, easily weighing one hundred tons, had been propped up on the wall by its wings. Two giant stakes kept them spread out, and its head slumped over its chest in death. Its chest had a patch of flesh on it, where a vague lump of flesh resembling a face stared forth in a wicked, twisted smile. And in the raven’s beak, a purple bauble perhaps the size of a normal person shone brilliantly.

The Alchemist stepped forth, recalling the weapons within himself. This was his past—this was the Smiling Raven. And in its beak rested Hause and all her court. He had endeavored all too hard to forget this past, what he had done… but it was inescapable. He had not known Erlebnis had preserved this body of his. Even the Annals did not record this.

His hand clenched tighter around the dimmed spear crafted of Ingo’s blessing. In time, he looked up once more. He raised his hand, and it stretched out to grasp the purple bauble. Despite millennia of hardening, and all the knowledge in his body telling him that the Smiling Raven would not again move, he could not help but feel some twinge of unease, as though it might wake up and end all he’d worked for. The sensation was palpable enough to delude himself that he might still be human, even after all of this.

His thumb and pinky lifted up the Smiling Raven’s beak, and the bauble fell into his palm. He felt it resonate with his being. He had been the one to design this protective sphere, isolating Hause and her servants within it. If he willed it, they would awaken. They would be ignorant, having seen nothing of the past millennia. And the last sight they would remember… it would be the Smiling Raven, his body surging with power, as he imprisoned them.

At the back of his mind, some strange inkling persisted. Perhaps Erlebnis had wanted the Alchemist to come here, to free Hause. Perhaps that had been his goal from the beginning. After all, he had endeavored to free Hause ever since he captured her. No method succeeded. If he did this… if he unleashed her… perhaps this foul deity’s scheme would come to fruition, and Hause would be enslaved in truth.

The thought brought him greater hesitation than he’d felt in many centuries. But… seeing Argrave, witnessing his struggles… to defy beings far beyond his ken consistently, and still live another day… these beings called gods were not infallible. And perhaps, just perhaps, the whole of this terrible cycle could end. But he felt one thing was certain—Hause would need to be a part of that journey.

The Alchemist pulled the orb back down to his body, and placed both of his hands around it. Within, he saw fleeting glimpses of faces he’d tried to forget. As he willed the intangible power that allowed his body freedom within the orb, it twisted and churned. The inanimate faces once again resumed motion. And the orb burst into light, sending scattering flakes that shone like platinum in sunlight.

coalescing in this gargantuan room hidden away in this vault. The Alchemist stepped away, putting his hands behind his back so as to appear non-threatening. He spotted many people, and names he’d suppressed rose to his head. At the front of all of them stood a woman wearing a pink

had always been small, but in this monstrous form of his, she was puny. Her short dark hair slightly concealed her green eyes—eyes that looked at him with pure caution and confusion. Once, he had loved

been doing so when last they were conscious, after all.

around to peer up at the looming Smiling Raven. She turned

what have you done?” she

it felt like a bucket of cold water, and at once he was distanced from this reunion. It was as he told Argrave—indeed, told

and we now stand in the heart of Erlebnis’ vault,” the Alchemist said, coldly and dispassionately. He forced the numbness into his tone, into his being. These people could not recognize him. It would only make things worse. “This is our only opportunity of escape from this place. Erlebnis returns to this place, and he is aware

him like he was an abomination… and he

follow. If you do not, Erlebnis will capture and enslave all of you he does not kill. I

was best for them all that Raven wither away into nothingness. Let the rotting carcass staked above them remain trapped in this vault. His

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king called upon all of his powers to relentlessly rain attacks upon it. A-rank spells flew from his hands like they were as cheap as bronze coins… but they dissipated against

to vaporize this entire corridor. The portal girl’s spatial distortions will matter not if I simply get rid of everything. My own attacks cannot hurt me, so it matters

his body in this realm. It was only inside his body that it enhanced his defense—the more that was outside of him, the weaker his flesh grew. But the king… barring that staff that reflected power, his attacks remained weak. It was only

ceased, and Mozzahr caught glimpses of the king. King Argrave stood there, alarm on his face and a bow of blood in his hands. His black blood danced out of his body, fueling this attack. Those maroon doubles of his conjured those foul electric

grew excited and curious—the king was preparing a single devastating attack the same as he was. His companions gathered behind him, trembling like newborns. The golden-armored knight rose to his feet and tried to stand guard with Argrave,

weapon the king prepared. His Emptiness swirled faster as some foul mirror into his

now… but the king released his arrow. It moved terrifyingly fast, destroying everything even remotely near it. The eels trailed it as though following a