Die. Respawn. Repeat.

The Physical skills present a bit of an easier choice than the Astral one, thankfully. I prefer avoiding damage rather than tanking it, and while defending others is a good use of my Body skills, Eternal Moment by itself has defensive capabilities beyond just protecting me. There's an argument to be made for Body helping me die less in these tunnels, but...

Well, right now, those deaths are a good thing. I'm not sure I want to become too durable to die—it's the only thing that actually triggers Hestia's temporal resets, and I've seen what happened to GHO-R7 when he survived past the anomaly. The idea of just floating out in space because I can't die is unpleasant.

Also, I don't want to get another physical change forced on me by the Interface, and Body seems like the more likely Pillar to do that.

Force it is. I decide to get the Rank S skill selected first, in case that impacts my other two picks.

[Choose between:

Impose (Rank S)

Equalize (Rank S)

Ultimatum (Rank S)

Fundament (Rank S)]

I look at my options, brows furrowing slightly. This is... different.

Which isn't that much of a surprise, I suppose. Unlocking the Pillars would change the selection I receive slightly—the same was true for my Energy-related rolls, and like that one, this roll seems to have a theme to it.

Impose is an imposition of will. In simplest terms, it's a telekinetic hammer, though Inspect tells me that it's a direct translation of my willpower into physical force. It can't tell me how much force that will be, but it seems quite certain any application of the skill will be destructive.

To say the least.

It will, however, drain my will somewhat to use it. I frown in thought as I consider that, then move on to the next.

Equalize takes two regions and averages them out. It's a fundamentally destructive skill—there are very few regions of space that can survive an "averaging" of that sort, especially when those regions contain people—but it's also, according to Inspect, excellent for terraforming.

I can't imagine using it, but I catch myself wondering if it might help Ahkelios with the problems on his own world. He'd mentioned something about the majority of it being uninhabitable, hadn't he?

Ultimatum is... I wince. It's a bit like She-Who-Whispers and her Whisper in the Wind, except instead of inflicting pain if the subject doesn't concede to my demands, it just tries to crush them. Technically, this also works on inanimate objects—it just enforces the ultimatum on the "history" of an item, which constitutes its ability to resist. Then it'll either transform the item or destroy it.

Too close to mind control on one axis, too close to Teluwat's abilities on the other. The upper limit on its transformative ability makes it unpredictable, and the control aspect makes it worse than the other skills at actual destruction. It's relatively easy to take that one out of the running. It doesn't give me any utility I don't already have.

And then there's Fundament. It's a reinforcement skill. A defensive one, essentially, unlike the more offensive nature of the other three. It applies Body-like reinforcement to someone or something else. That puzzles me for a moment until I realize that's essentially the dividing line between Force and Body—Body is an Aspect largely applied to the self, and anything else makes more sense as an imposition of Force.

That... might actually be really good. As much as I rolled Force because I didn't want additional defense, that was mostly for myself. Fundament, on top of being a good defensive option, will let me forcibly stabilize things in a way that should allow them to resist Teluwat's skills.

Plus, if I ever get tired of dying in the Sewers, I could use Fundament to reinforce the shape of the tunnels and prevent them from changing rather than fighting against it.

Yeah, I'm taking that one.

[Fundament (Rank S) obtained!]

Two more to go. Just Rank A skills. These don't take nearly as much consideration, and to my delight, there's a clear winner in both cases. One fits in with my existing toolkit, and the other expands my offensive capabilities in directions I don't normally have available.

[Force Construct (Rank A) obtained!]

This is what the Knight's Projector Form can do, but in the form of a skill. It'll give Ahkelios more options in battle—especially since he can create swords with it—but more importantly, I won't have to transform just to make one. If I do transform, then the Projector Form is aligned so perfectly with the skill that it essentially empowers the Inspiration, making it twice as effective at what it does.

[Compressive Pulse (Rank A) obtained!]

And this one just a stealthier means of attack. It takes a designated region, compresses it as much as possible depending on the Firmament I put into the skill, then allows that compressed region to detonate. I can use it at a decent enough range that I'll be able to detonate the insides of an opponent instead of needing to fight through armor.

I can also fling the pulse, which is a little less effective than just creating the pulse inside an opponent, but it does mean it can go farther.

Technically, if I use it on a region of space that's on fire, I can also use it to throw a fireball.

That's not an efficient use of the skill, of course. But who hasn't dreamed of throwing a fireball at least once?

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

By the time I'm done, the scirix have gone back to talking to one another, only flinching a little bit each time I bank a new skill. A few of them come up to me when they see that I'm done, although it takes me a moment to recognize them.

Novi and her two sons, along with a fourth scirix I don't recognize. I smile at them. "Good to see you again," I greet. "Sorry we haven't had a chance to talk."

"You have not been able to speak to your people in a while," Novi says with a returning smile and a small bow. "I could sense it. I felt it was best to allow you space to reconnect."

"It's been nice," I admit, glancing over at Gheraa talking animatedly to the group of humans. To my surprise, they seem pretty engaged with whatever he's saying.

I hope it isn't about me. I narrow my eyes at me, and when he catches my gaze, he just winks.

I try not to sigh.

"These days, though, I'm not sure how human I am anymore," I admit. "I think they're afraid of me. They try to hide it, but it's there."

"Power makes friendships difficult," Novi agrees. "But not impossible. It merely takes more effort. You have experienced this with your closest companions, have you not?"

I consider this for a moment, then chuckle. "Suppose you're right," I say. "Though I did that by uplifting them. I don't think I can do that for Adeya and her friends, let alone all of humanity." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"And who made it your responsibility to uplift all around you?" Novi says, her tone gently reproachful. I blink. "Trust in them. They are resourceful, and you have given them the pieces they need. They may not have the same advantages, and their paths will be different... but they will succeed."

I examine her for a moment. "You're a lot wiser than I remember," I say. "No offense."

Novi laughs, a musical sound. "None taken," she says. "I have chosen my Path. I see more than most. That is what you sense."

I tilt my head. "Your Path," I say. "Oh! The Aspects! I never thanked you for how that conversation helped me. I don't think I would have figured out the Pillars without it. What did you pick?"

"I am sure you know already." Novi's antennae flick playfully. I eye her for a moment, then chuckle.

"Mind," I say. She nods.

"The Aspect of the Mind," she says. "But the Truth of Sight. You were right after all; what we choose need not match what was laid out before us."

"Truth of Sight, huh?" I murmur. "I guess that explains a lot. What do you see?"

Novi's expression falls slightly. "The future," she says. "And our role in all this."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." I say, watching her closely. Novi says nothing for a long moment, but when she nods, it's a tight, calculated thing.

"Our place is to elevate those that come after us," she says. "And yours is to grow. I will make sure we play our roles, Ethan Hill. I hope you will remember us, when all is said and done."

I blink at those words. "I'm not sure I follow," I say slowly.

"You will," she says gravely. For some reason, she seems reluctant to speak of this further. "But enough of such things. Tell me what you have witnessed. Tell me of the worlds that come to pass."

I glance at her sons, but all I get from them is a nod and a look that says "do as she says."

It... won't hurt, I suppose. Something about what Novi said troubles me, but I'm not sure what to make of it. I'll keep it in the back of my mind for now.

Instead, I spend the next hour telling her about Earth, about Hestia, and about everything nice I can think of in all the places I've been. The tragedies of the Integration I avoid, and I think she knows, but she never asks me to talk about them—she only asks about the cultures I've seen and the people I've met. She seems fascinated, like it's a joy to learn of those things, and yet...

I can't help but feel like she's grieving something in some way.

Unsure what to make of it, I push on, hopeful that the feeling will pass.

It's about an hour before Firmament saturation has dropped enough that we feel safe to proceed. It's still hovering at a solid 85%, but that's more than enough for me to get this Tear closed and start moving on to the next. It could certainly be worse—at my best guess, I shouldn't let Teluwat regenerate his Firmament for more than two hours at a time.

I step into the Tear and feel its energy wash over me. This time, I locate and crush the embedded Firmament from Teluwat immediately, then grab on to all the Firmament that I can to prevent it from leaking.

Saturation ticks up to 87%, then stops.

After that, all I need to do is wait.

When the world resolves, I find myself in a very familiar room, next to a very familiar body, though I suppose familiar might be a misleading term for it. I've been here only once before, and only in a vision.

It's the vision I experienced when I defeated the Grief of a Lost Sister. The first boss monster I ever faced. The harpy I fought with help from Tarin and Mari. In that vision, an older harpy lay dead on the ground, arm torn off and bleeding, and a younger one—the one that would eventually become a Trialgoer and Remnant—cried next to her body.

This isn't even on Hestia. This must have happened long before the Integration came to the harpy woman's planet. Why would the Tear bring me here?

I'm not the only one wondering, it seems.

"What are you doing here?"

The voice is sharp and cold. The voice of an adult, not a child. I look up to see a near-spitting image of the harpies I fought in the crow village staring at me, eyes narrowed with anger; from the way Firmament sparks from her fingers, I have no doubt she's ready to fight.

This... is going to be a problem.

"I suppose it wouldn't help if I said I don't know?" I say.

Her eyes only narrow further. Firmament extrudes from her hand into the shape of a dagger. "It would not."

I sigh. I really don't want this to turn into a fight. Not only because it's going to push up the Firmament saturation—because whatever skill she just used definitely just made it tick up—but because everything I've seen so far tells me that fighting isn't what I should be doing here.

If the pattern holds, then whatever this moment is, it's some kind of turning point in her loops. I need to find a way to make it turn the other way.

Still... she doesn't look like she's going to listen. Not yet.

"I'm here to help," I try.

The harpy scoffs. "I don't believe you."

She throws the dagger. I grab it out of the air and toss it to the side. The power it holds isn't concentrated enough to hurt me, at this point.

Her eyes widen. She flashes a few steps back, leaving behind a cloud of feathers and crossing some invisible line—

—and the Tear resets.

"What are you doing here?" she asks coldly, without a flicker of recognition in her eyes. She's standing back where she stood in the beginning, a few feet away from me, sparks beginning to emerge from her fingers.

I blink, then realize what's happening.

Great.

Time to use a loop to its fullest potential, I suppose.