Dark Matter Ascension

Jace walked over to the pool and looked down into the shimmering silver goop. I wonder if there’s anything feeding this water pool, or if it’s just runoff accumulating. He drew the sword and poked it down into the silvery liquid - and almost fell off balance. There’s not a bottom? Looking around for something heavy, he went back into the tunnel and grabbed one of the hunks of rotting carcass.

Keeping his face turned away, he carried it to the water hole, right on the edge, and chucked the hefty cartilage and offal into the liquid. It floated on top for a few seconds before sinking. Ollie flew down, "What are you doing?"

"I think this is a single hole going down," Jace replied. "Can you go into it and check?"

Ollie saluted and flew down into the sludge-like liquid, vanishing from sight without disturbing the surface. He came up a few moments later. "It is a tunnel. The magitech nanite stuff is only on the surface. You can put your face into the water and see what I mean."

Well, I’ve submerged myself in worse. Jace took a deep breath, got on his hands and knees, and pushed his face below the surface. The goop on the surface clung to him until he got his face fully underwater, and he opened his eyes. The water was clean, and he made a mental note to refill his canteens. Thanks to the dark vision, he saw that the tunnel went down a good thirty feet before turning off sharply.

He pulled his head out and shook his hair to wick away some of the moisture. Ollie flew up after him and floated above the surface of the water, "This is the entrance to a Complex."

Jace leaned back on his butt and propped himself up with his arms, "You said this was probably where the magitech nanite things had their hive mind."

Ollie frowned and crossed his arms, "Well, yes, it is a complex in that sense. But I meant a Complex. Proper noun."

Jace stared at him, "That doesn’t tell me a lot."

Ollie smirked, "A challenge for Aspirants and Ascendants. Normally, when you enter the Complex, you get a Quest automatically that the System itself assigns. Like a default program."

Jace nodded, "See that? That makes sense. What causes these Complexes?"

"The Cosmic System might ’tag’ a certain location as having a threat. Any Ascendant or Aspirant can clear out a Complex - normally slaying whatever corrupted monstrosity exist-"

"You said corrupted monstrosity." Jace raised a quizzical eyebrow, "Just what do you mean by that?"

"Well…when Cosmogenic Merging happens, sometimes…creatures get caught up in a System malfunction. Think of it like a glitch. It is rare, but they become a corrupted Aspirant. Part of that, however, causes them to view an area as their territory and they do not leave it. That creates a Complex. It is their territory."

He raised his paw and frowned, "It can also be any creature, not just sapient life. So, there could be a corrupted Vyrknadine down there with a Cosmic Power and Class, just like you."

"Great," Jace replied sarcastically. "Just what I need. One of these things is already a threat, with the added bonus of having Skills. Fun."

Ollie frowned, "Sarcasm doesn’t suit you."

Jace smirked and shook his head, "Do I have to clear this Complex?"

"No, but-"

<<<<<>>>>>

[Quest: Clear the magitech nanite Complex.]

[Time Limit: 6 hours.]

[Reward: Legendary (Equipment) Boon.]

[Sender: The Cosmic System.]

<<<<<>>>>>

"-Xera probably wants them cleared," Ollie finished as the screen flashed across Jace’s vision.

Jace sighed and nodded, "Well, at least the reward is good. Hopefully, I can get some strong, magitech prosthetic feet that are grafted on like the arm."

"Plus! With that fluid in your body, those prosthetics would integrate perfectly! I think. Different world, and tech versus magitech." Ollie shrugged, "We won’t know until we find out!"

"Right. Well, I don’t know how deep I have to go. I can’t take my gear with me." Jace turned around and went to the start of the incline. He used his hands to dig a hole into the crusted goop, into the dirt underneath, and shoved his gear inside the hole. He covered it with the tarp, and then covered that with the excavated dirt. Lastly, he made a small mound of dirt marking the location.

"Oh, one more thing," Ollie said as he hovered behind Jace. "Boons for (Equipment) of the higher rarity might give you a limited number of other Class and Cosmic Power Skill uses each day. It is refreshed when you sleep, since I have to go into the Starlit Sea and pull out some power to recharge them."

"Good to know." Jace walked back to the water’s edge. The silvery surface reminded him of the oil that floated atop the waters of the city’s rivers. The ones he used to paddle across on those small boats that were little more than thrown-and-bolted together metal. The ones that his mentor on the streets taught him to fish from. The polluted water he used to swim in, struggling to get to the bottom to dig through the trash for valuables he could sell.

In through the nose, out through the mouth. Jace took deep breaths as he pushed his chest out and expanded his diaphragm, trying to give his lungs as much space as he could. After two minutes of steady, deep breathing, he sucked in a large lungful of air and dove beneath the surface.

The muck atop the water parted and he began to swim down. The magitech arm was, surprisingly, not as heavy as Jace expected, and it did not drag him down. Ollie swam next to him, leaving small lines of silver behind him. The two descended thirty feet before sharply turning to the right. The walls of this tunnel were the same smooth metal as that hidden outpost, and there was goop crusted on the walls. Jace made sure to stay at the center of the tunnel.

He felt his lungs beginning to burn and let out a little bit of air to stave off the feeling of tension. A slow, steady stream of bubbles to keep his breath held a bit longer. He saw a curve in the tunnel that bent upward and following that he came to a spot where the water did not reach. A small lip that he was able to get his hands up onto and hoist himself on top of. He sucked in a deep lungful of air as he broke the surface.

A square tunnel descended deeper, and his purple-hue vision pulsed for a moment before a warning appeared in the corner of his vision.

<<<<<>>>>>

[Warning! You are about to enter a Complex!]

[This location has been marked by The Cosmic System as Tier 2.]

[Number of foes to clear out: 3.]

<<<<<>>>>>

Ollie floated in the air next to Jace, "Welp, only three. But they are Tier 2."

That’s dangerous, Jace thought. It means I won’t be able to hurt them as easily, and they can do more harm to me. "Could we come back and revisit this place?"

"We could, but the unique items at the end that give Skills from other Classes are unbelievably valuable. Especially to Ascendants."

"Because they can’t keep leveling," Jace muttered.

"Yup! You could get lucky and even get one that lets you heal yourself in some way."

I needed three more Vyrknadine’s for the other quest. What are the odds… "One more question before we go in. Do you think that Xera knew this was here, and knew that we would come here?"

"I do not think she is omniscient. She is smart, but she is not a goddess."

Jace nodded and turned to face the square corridor. He drew the sword and focused on drawing up his new Skills. Dark Matter Blade (Rank 3), Dark Matter Shield (Rank 3). The purple aura popped into existence around him before adhering to his body, and the sword in his hand was completely engulfed in the purple hue that was much richer and darker.

Last, he put the blade between his teeth, pulled out the flechette pistol, and cranked the shaft to charge it. He held that in his right hand, sword in his left, and descended into the darkness with only a floating river otter by his side.

Ollie followed behind Jace, looking down at the Aspirant. He is good, Ollie thought. Finally, I got a good one.

Ollie had been a Wayfarer for a little over a thousand years. He was young in Wayfarer terms, but that also meant he was less risk-averse than some of the older Wayfarers when it came to overseeing Aspirants. Sure, he had pushed Jace to make some rash decisions. But in the end, everything had turned out well enough.

And as of right now, he was the only Signer for a secret, hidden faction. Sure, Xera would be trying to add more Aspirants to her faction…but the lack of agents meant that she would be giving lots of high-rank reward Quests to Jace and Ollie. Jace did not have to complete a Quest that was assigned - and Xera would not exile him from Dark Between Stars for doing so. She was too desperate for Signers to do that.

But it was Ollie’s job to try and keep him not just informed, but also on the right path. A path that helped The Cosmic System. I have to keep pushing him toward helping Xera and taking every one of her Quests. That wa-

<<<<<>>>>>

A message from Xera that only Ollie could see popped into the otter’s vision. [How is he doing?.]

[Good. We are going after a Complex.] Ollie replied, willing the words into the reply box.

[I did some digging. Those Vyrknadines up on the surface were the original apex predator of Velenar Prime. They are equally acclimated to on land or underwater. Keep that in mind.]

Ollie smirked, [Will do. Any information you could dig up on this person who is hunting Jace?.]

[No. Her Wayfinder is obfuscating my attempts.]

Ollie frowned, [Keep me in the loop.]

[Will do. Keep my Signer safe.]

[Of course.]

<<<<<>>>>>

Ollie refocused and bobbed in air above Jace as the two continued down a square corridor that turned a few times, dipping into watery passages that the Aspirant swam through. Ollie swam alongside his new companion; not really swimming in the water but appearing as if he was.

His whole goal is to bring back his sister. It is noble, but I wonder if he’ll do anything to get her back, or if he will set boundaries.

Xera would doubtless task Jace with killing Ascendants who had crossed her or were causing The Cosmic System to experience issues. Would the young man be able to accomplish her tasks? Or would he push back against certain actions?

Ollie hoped it was the former. Xera was smart, the smartest person Ollie knew. If she needed a Quest completed, then Ollie had to push Jace to complete it. Even if it meant compromising morality.

The signs were there that Jace would do what needed to be done. Killing the Black Hole Conclave member was proof enough. Ollie had not detected any sense of remorse from the action. It was quick and efficient. I think he is the perfect Dark Between Stars Signer, Ollie thought. You made a good call, Xera.

Ollie just had to keep building their friendship. He had felt the moments of brusque standoffish behavior from Jace and knew that he would have to really work to show he was an asset and a true ally. After all, they were bound together now. At least…until Jace achieved his goal of becoming an Ascendant.

Then he could choose to cast aside his Wayfinder as so many did. I am not going to start over from scratch again, Ollie thought. I need to make him want to keep me around forever. I have to become invaluable. His best friend.

He wanted a friend. Not just an acquaintance, but someone who actually cared about him. An equal. Plus, being a Wayfinder to a Tier 10 Ascendant meant that everyone would respect him. No more being made fun of for the loss of Aspirants in the past. No more being the butt of jokes from those who had also lost their assigned individual.

We will get you there, Jace. Then I will show them all!