Chapter Forty-Four – Truths – Part One

Telling the truth is a lot like riding a bicycle, the more often you do it, the easier it gets. Most of the time. Well, some of the time…

-Former UWO First Sergeant Garlen

I'm feeling uneasy still, not just because of the fact that everyone I care about is potentially being held by UWO suits. That part definitely doesn't help, but with time hopefully stopped, it's not the most pressing thing. What is more pressing is this Chaos Emporium door, Abyss, and…

"Okay, if you're going to take it, just fucking get on with it."

Silence, besides the occasional whisper from the Abyss door, and the flickering of the flames. Weird, Red still hasn't taken it. Maybe they're waiting just to be a dick. Should I feed it to Abyss just in case? What if they can't do anything while I'm in here, but can retroactively take my shit once I leave here? That Epic storage ring I rolled before got sent back when Ulana gave me a divine one instead. Maybe with Ulana seemingly on vacation, Red will start working overtime… what if Ulana is only passive from now on?

Wait… big brain… I can check if she's able to bless me, which will tell me a few things.

"Thank you, Goddess, for being… uh, well, great."

Nothing, which is weird, even with half-ass attempts she always gives at least a sprinkle of a blessing. Is it because her and Red can't access me here? Or because she's become even more passive?

Better lay it on thick just in case. I kneel on the white marble floor, pulling out all the stops.

"Sublime Goddess, one who stands at the pinnacle of beauty and grace, I give thanks, not just for your deeds, but because you allow me to exist in your magnificent presence."

Not even a tingle. Interesting. Which tells me that Red probably can't access me either. Fuck, I should probably feed the items to Abyss then, just in case. Red doesn't seem to care about items that I acquire naturally, however, reward roll items, different story. Can Red take it from Abyss's storage? Do I want to risk it?

I'll leave the boots and have Abyss eat the necklace. Compromise. Okay, enough stalling, let's see what's behind the Chaos Emporium's door.

Standing in front of it, I'm a little astonished as I peer closer. What looked like solid patterns are actually shifting undertones. The more I stare, the more it shifts. Hundreds of shades of colors bloom back and forth in a pattern that can only be described as… chaotic, but when I step back, the pattern appears to have meaning. It's strange and confusing in the same breath. Each time I look at it from a different angle, the pattern changes. Even the flames from the braziers on either side appear to flicker different hues now. Strange.

Whatever.

I move my hand forward and touch the shifting handle. As soon as I do, the same voice from earlier slides into my mind.

One requires Chaos Charges in order to enter the Emporium of Chaos.

"Can you tell me more about it?" I ask.

Silence. Guess it's still a little butthurt.

Okay, what it said makes sense though, so I just need to convert one of my Wither Charges into a Chaos Charge. Simple… right? That Scion of Chaos class base skill, how does it work again? I pull it up on the menu.

[ Skill: Entropic Conversion ]

[ Usage: Allows the user to harness Charges in all their forms and convert them into Chaos Charges. ]

[ Effect: Exchanges any type of Charge into Chaos Charges. ]

[ Activation: Intention. ]

[ Cost: None. ]

[ Unique Passive: Access to the Chaos Emporium. ]

Okay, no cost and based on intention. Right…

"Um, I intend to convert Wither Charges into Chaos Charges."

Nothing.

Closing my ethereal eyes, I focus on the feeling, the tingle of the Wither Charges. I can't tell how many I have, I never can, unless it's full. I think it's just three though, one from the Emperor Dragonfly and two… from people who died after the quest. Carry the torch. Focus. Pressing past the repressed trauma of their memories haunting me, I find the feeling, like spindling lightning traveling up my spine. Change it… make it… I feel a tremor inside me. Wild arcs of energy jump back and forth before coalescing into a singular point.

[ 1 x Chaos Charge Gained ]

That was weird. It feels like a buzzing feeling now. Not bad, just weird, and easily forgotten about if I don't focus on it. Shaking it off, I touch the door again. The same voice enters my head.

Detecting insufficient Chaos Charges to open the door. Pity. I was so looking forward to explaining it in riveting detail. Suggestion, come back when you have 1,000 Chaos Charges… meatsack.

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"Would it help if I said I was sorry?"

Not in the slightest… oxygen thief.

"So, nothing I can do or say?"

Well, perhaps there is one thing…

"Name it," I say, looking around, not sure where I should look though.

You'll need to travel back, to your origins, breaking divine law for it…

My eyes squint, "I can do that?"

It's not impossible, just extremely frowned upon…

"Okay, what's the task?"

Listen carefully…

"Okay, I am."

Really carefully.

I nod.

You need to travel back more than twenty years in the past and tell your mother the greatest truth of all truths.

"Wait, what?" what the fuck is it on about?

The truth. You know the truth…

"What truth? Are you saying I can travel back?"

Focus. You know the truth you must say, there is no truer truth than it.

It's fucking with me, the tone and talking about my mother is making it obvious. I'm fighting an eye roll, but I play along, "What truth?"

If you truly do not know the truth, then you may ask it, but you must do it properly.

Fighting a sigh, I ask, "How does one do it properly?"

You must call me by my title, Grand Sage, and then make your request clear.

For fucks sake, "Grand Sage, what is the truth that I must travel back in time to tell my mother?"

That she should have swallowed you, obviously.

There are moments in life, ones where you can't get to the person or thing you wish to choke the shit out of… this is one of those moments. The strange monotone troll laughter that follows definitely isn't helping either. This entity, it wouldn't surprise me if it was Red's cousin or something similar. It won this round, but I'm pretty stubborn.

"Grand Sage you surprise me, with your keen insight, I thought that surely you would know the greatest truth of all."

There is no greater truth that I do not know.

"Then you surely must know about Ligma?"

Ligma?

"Ligma balls, bitch."

Silence. As it should be. Alright, fuck him or her, or whatever it is. I can't access the Chaos Emporium yet. But, I think I can get into Abyss. The whispers are growing louder from it, telling me that it's eager to have me open the door. Whether that's a good thing or not, I don't know, but I need something more. Not getting healing or a constitution boost kind of throws a wrench in my plans.

Approaching the swirling door of darkness, I can't help but hope there's something good in here. Something that can turn the tide of my predicament. Deep ethereal breaths restore the calm. I place my hand on the door. The whispers become a roar. A single pop-up.

[ Entering the Abyss ]

I try to remove my hand, but it pulls into the swirling darkness, dragging me behind it. The whispers are quieter the deeper I am pulled into… well, the Abyss of Abyss. I'll work on that. It drags me deeper until it slows. Hot and cold, mixing in a disorienting way, until lights flicker on. Silver-black fire dances from a thousand torches that swirl around me. Three shadow-dipped doors, hewn from silver light flicker in black flames. As I look at each, black text pops up in my vision over them.

[ Abyssal Reliquary ]

[ Abyssal Skill Refinery ]

[ Abyssal Item Forge ]

Holy fuck… this looks promising. I don't know why, maybe it's the ebbing pulses of shadow fire and power that this place emanates, but this feels like I've stepped into a place where broken begins, and the unknown continues.

I move toward the Reliquary because it's the closest to me. Based on the name, it should hold holy items, but I think it's just Abyss's storage. Every item is probably holy to that hungry fucker, except tissue boxes apparently. The flames are neither warm nor cold as I step past them, entering a new chamber. Hundreds of items dance in the periphery. Each one is illuminated by different shades of colors. Wait… where the fuck did Abyss get all these items? I remember it took some from slain soldiers inside the Emperor Dragonfly's belly, but not this many… wait a minute.

Thinking back, we had a formation a couple of weeks ago. Apparently, a bunch of people reported inexpensive quest item rewards going missing. Trinkets mostly, when Cortez asked, I said it wasn't me. We just figured it was a kleptomaniac trying to get some extra beer money… has Abyss been passively stealing shit? I pull one of the green items near me closer, my eyes widening. It's the dagger that I gave Dorliac, this little fucker Abyss stole it. What the fuck? Do I not get pop-ups when it steals?

Looking around most of the items are common, I don't think anyone will be seriously pissed, but there are a few greens and one blue, squinting at it, the blue item seems to move forward, like it's drawn by my gaze. As it approaches, I recognize it, the Mace of the Ardent Flame. Okay, so this is definitely Abyss's storage… my eyes look upwards, further in the distance. A massive purple longsword, that's Bregan's, it's hovering near his purple Aegis armor. Past that though, there's a bright yellow curved line. It moves toward me, the item becoming brighter as it does. That's the stringless bow. The one I stole from Mira Storm-something, born? Whatever, crazy chick with the horns, the bow I stole from her.

Wait… if it's yellow… holy shit fuck balls. Her bow, I think it's a legendary item. No wonder I haven't been able to use it. Those are bound until the owners are dead, which means she's still alive, right? Presumably at least. That explains why her Lich friend said everyone feared the bow. I wonder what it does.

If I can't use it… maybe I can just feed it to Abyss? A new popup appears in my vision.

[ Items Detected in Temporary System Storage ]

[ Transfer items to Abyss? ]

[ Yes / No ]

That must be the Featherfall boots and the Siphoning necklace. I hit yes, and almost instantly both items appear in front of me. I get the normal pop-ups for whether I want to store the items or feed them to Abyss.

[ Armor Learned ]

[ Type: Rogue ]

[ Armor Name Logged ]

[ Featherfall Boots ]

[ Consume to Evolve Abyss or Store? ]

[ Evolve / Store ]

The boots are silly looking, with little wings on the side of them like Nike made Hermes a custom shoe. The boots are Rare quality, so I don't mind testing to see if Red will steal it… on second thought, better safe than sorry. It is a rare item after all. I click evolve.

[ Consuming… Success ]

[ Rolling for Evolution… Failure ]

It failed? So, it can fail. Fuck, that sucks. Should I use the necklace? What if it fails too? Red will probably take it. No sense in potentially letting Red have it, besides siphoning is probably life-steal, which isn't practical for my class that's more of a single target killer. I look at the pop-ups for it.

[ Accessory Learned ]

[ Type: Vampiric ]

[ Accessory Name Logged ]

[ Necklace of Siphoning ]

[ Consume to Evolve Abyss or Store? ]

[ Evolve / Store ]

Vampiric? Definitely sounds like a life-steal item. Looking closer at it, the necklace has a fang on the end of the chord. Might as well… I hit the evolve option.

[ Consuming… Success ]

[ Rolling for Evolution… Success ]

[ Evolving… ]

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