86 – Limb

Lysander’s first instinct was to [Inspect] the strange object placed onto his desk. He almost regretted doing so.

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Severed Arm of Voidgod Anaxtharras

No description.

***

His gaze stayed locked on the carapace-covered arm for a long moment. He fought the urge to rub his eyes to clear them, since the action would be too undignified for his current company. For that matter, it might have been the Sorceress’s presence itself that prepared him for something so absurd, because while he was floored, he was less so than he should have been.

“Voidgod,” he said. “That’s an… ominous title.”

Even as he spoke the words, his mind was hurtling forward. It’s clearly from a higher-evolved monster than the Greater Voidbeasts. The next stage up. The pinnacle of their kind? One can only hope it’s the pinnacle. He shuddered to imagine that they might face an enemy stronger than what the Grand System labeled a god.

Yet the Sorceress had confronted one of these creatures and killed it. He couldn’t say he was surprised. She had ripped apart several voidbeasts on an equal footing with the Cataclysms. That she might have struggled against the next tier but nevertheless come out the victor was entirely logical.

Something could be logical yet disturbing. He didn’t enjoy feeling small. Much less as if, despite his hundred years pursuing progress, he was nothing more than an insect scurrying between the feet of giants. If he himself felt like that, how would others, seeing this severed limb and making the same conclusions?

Then a more sobering thought hit him. What did Vivisari think of them? A gnat and a beetle might differentiate between themselves, but do the beasts that crush them underfoot? Did Lysander hold any special status in this woman’s eyes, or was he the same as an initiate so far as she cared? He suspected he knew the answer, and that terrified him.

“It is,” Vivisari agreed in her usual disinterested tone. “And for the record, I didn’t harvest it myself. I’m not sure how powerful the creature was, and I can’t speak on its strength or abilities. But the limb is clearly worth studying, which is why I brought it to you. It’s the strongest of the void—” She hesitated. “Creatures I’ve seen.”

Did she expect him to take those statements at face value? To not analyze the obvious implications? She hadn’t harvested it herself. Then who had? This new Sorceress was already more powerful than he could imagine, and yet she was saying she had peers—someone who had aided her in killing the voidgod. Beyond the Dragon King and other immortals of deep lore, he couldn’t fathom who.

Also, that hesitation. ‘Void… creatures.’ She was unsure if they could truly be classified as ‘creatures.’ Which meant the owner of this severed limb must have been intelligent.

Intelligent void-monsters that approached the Sorceress in strength? How did he even begin digesting the earth-shattering ramifications implied by that?

He didn’t try. He homed in on what had been asked of him: the nature of the material and how they might circumvent its otherworldly resistances, so that humanity could defend itself. The rest he stored away for later.

“Does it present the usual properties?” Lysander asked, voice much calmer than his turbulent mind.

“Yes. But amplified. More potent than the Greater Voidbeasts by far, despite being inert.”

“But nothing unique to its elevated status?”

“No. More of the same, simply stronger.”

“Interesting.” He hadn’t necessarily expected special interactions since all of the other energy-resistance material increased in potency at a steady rate, but a never-before-seen tier of void carapace harvested by the Sorceress could have easily broken the rule. “Further context would aid greatly in producing meaningful analysis,” he said mildly. “If you are willing, Lady Vivisari.”

Her blank mask met him, not shifting in the slightest, as it had in the moments of higher emotion when they’d discussed her apprentice. “I’m afraid I’m still deciding how to convey that information,” she finally said. “My steward has advised me to remain silent for now. The High King called for a conference, and I believe you’ll be attending?”

Ah. That did explain the summons. His assumption had been that Prismarche’s breach had prompted it. Instead, it appeared Guildmaster Rafael had whispered into the High King’s ear and arranged for the various polities of the Central Kingdom to gather. For Vivisari’s re-entrance into the world at large.

The Sorceress’s reluctance to speak plainly frustrated him. He expected a certain kinship between mages aligned in purpose—and they certainly were aligned, because how could any two people not be so when the threat at hand was world-erasing? But Guildmaster Rafael had advised her to remain silent for now, and as old allies, her faith lay in him far more than in Lysander.

Irritated though he shouldn’t be, he controlled his tone as he responded. “I see. That is wise, Lady Vivisari. I was indeed invited to that gathering. Seeing how you wish me to provide insight into this material, and its fundamental properties, however, I do hope you can provide a more thorough response than that.”

The woman hesitated—a reaction he could only glean through careful study. He didn’t like how difficult this woman was to read. “I don’t necessarily expect your help, to be honest,” she said with a bluntness that was like a slap to Lysander’s face. “I wanted to invite you to study it, and I was wondering if you’d made any breakthroughs, but if you haven’t, that’s not a problem. I also meant to share what I myself have learned, and would like for you to spread it through the Institute so everyone can defend themselves, and perhaps build off the groundwork I laid. I’m no researcher.”

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