System Access

The Halls of Enes

    Videa gently shook Xakep awake, gesturing her free hand at the window, opening the curtain and bathing his room in light.  He'd decorated it with grays and whites, saying the more neutral tones were comforting, but his meditation corner was painted black, a single tone that helped him focus his energy to begin mastering their powers.

    She genuinely enjoyed watching him learn the different aspects of what they could do, but soon they would need to begin taking the steps toward their goals.  

    He mumbled as he rose, "Videa, you know I've got an alarm clock right?"

    She looked over at the trash where she'd dropped it and said, "Yes...it must have been misplaced or something...I'm happy to wake you up until we find it again."

    The blanket gently wrapped him up and lifted him to his feet and then the bed made itself while he walked toward his wall of monitors, dropping into his chair to start making notes and checking things.  One of the few tendencies he'd kept from his life before was multiple monitors, and while she'd let him know that he could connect to their network and see the data directly, he said that doing it this way helped him keep things in perspective, find flaws and ideas that he would have missed if he didn't have to be more careful while he worked.

    The reasoning was fair, so she didn't make a fuss, but it did slow things down a bit for them since he had to manually notate and check things.  In the grand scheme of things, a slightly longer set up didn't make enough of a difference to argue efficiency, but she knew he'd have to embrace faster skills someday, a fact he'd conceded during a discussion over dinner.

    "Once we get going, Videa, I think our first target should be The Halls of Enes," Xakep said without turning toward her.

    He tapped at his keyboard and the data appeared in front of her, resources, potential magic users, raw energy stored in the town itself.  

    "I'm impressed," she said, "that's a decent first choice."

    "You could probably be more impressed with yourself than me, ever since we joined, I've been feeling some of your knowledge and ideas influencing mine.  It's saved me a lot of time, you don't need to explain as much as the days go on, so we're saving time in little ways," he said, probably aware of her concerns about efficiency.

    Somewhere in the blur, she remembered mentioning that joining with a truly compatible User would change the way she saw the world, but she didn't expect it to be so thorough.  She found herself eating, even though she didn't need to, seeing little details she might have overlooked with her focus on the bigger picture, to name a few changes she'd noticed.

    Xakep didn't talk much about what was different, and really didn't think about it much either.  He'd accepted this as his new reality, and as far as he was concerned, the Xakep of the other world was gone, a bad memory he'd rather forget if possible.  He carried only one scar in his heart, and she knew that the girl, Luna, would probably live in that wound for the rest of his life.  It had been her who had enabled Videa to reach out to him, his despair breaking the strange barrier he'd carried all his life, preventing her from contacting him.

    There was a lot of lost time because of that...a lot of other Users had been brought over and reached incredible heights of power already, although most of the other Systems didn't have the unique problem she had.

    The truth of the matter was, despite how versatile her power was, Videa was actually the weakest of her siblings.  Fights against them would be incredibly dangerous, and she was expecting them all to be life or death affairs...something that seemed to not worry Xakep.

    "Part of why I want to start with the Halls of Enes is because I want to test a theory about our power," he said, answering her thoughts as she had them.

    "Its polite to ask what I'm thinking about," Videa responded, putting her hands to her mouth...that wasn't like her at all...was that him bleeding through?

    He laughed and said, "Who's worried about efficiency now?"

    Videa straightened her suit and stuck her tongue out at him, wondering at what she was feeling while she did it.

    "You're having fun," he said, answering her thoughts again.

    She rolled her eyes and walked to her war room while he worked, double checking numbers and occasionally checking in on her.

    One of the things she seemed to take for granted was the ability to see energy and resources as a quantifiable number, something he made extensive use of whenever he had the chance.  He'd been tracking what he thought was a User over in the Halls, and he was sure that he'd be able to take that person down if it came to it.  In truth, the Halls was actually fairly barren compared to the other towns they could have gone with, but the data readouts had a number registered as "FTH", something that made him incredibly curious.

    The first thing that came to mind was faith, but what did that mean here on Seles?

    Magic was real here, and while some pockets of advanced technology existed, it was magical power that was most widespread.  Magic was used via mana, another quantifiable resource that would be useful in large amounts later on, but faith?  What did faith do for the Halls?

    The Halls was the home to the Seekers of Enes faith, the source of all the wandering monks and nuns that dotted the country side.  In the two weeks since he'd woken up here, he'd caught signs of more than a dozen of them examining his home and then wandering away, clearly not concerned with whatever was happening in the small building that had literally grown out of the ground.

    Xakep wasn't against killing, a trait from Videa's drive to become the strongest System and make him the strongest user, but he was also aware that a gentle hand when possible would gather them the most followers and build the best army for later efforts.

    An alert popped up on his screen, another energy fluctuation from the far west, and indicated that this one was stronger than the previous ones.  Whatever it was, it was getting stronger by the day and his system couldn't identify what it, or its energy, was.  Their power still needed developing and refining, but even still, that was concerning when he had about two hundred different energy sources labelled and researched scrolling on the same screen.

    Videa seemed to think that the power they had was static, at its max, and considering what she knew about her fellow Systems, that made a reasonable amount of sense to believe that...but he'd felt something when he took the cave.

    It was miniscule, but with the ability to review his details in more detail, he was able to identify it after some time spent studying.

    Taking the cave had increased his willpower by an estimated .001%, a truly tiny growth...but a growth nonetheless...and if taking the cave did that, what else could he take to increase that?  What did an increased willpower mean for their power? 

    He intended to find out.

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    A week later, they approached the Halls, massive mountains with long channels and remarkable caverns carved into them by Enes, a massive dragon believed to be sleeping in the modern day.  Hundreds of societies had tried to settle there, but every time they did, Enes awoke and used his lightning infused fire breath to destroy them all.  

    Most people believed it was a matter of time before he woke up, but Xakep's research showed that at least a portion of the pure faith generated by the Seekers was being absorbed by the dragon, resting high above the town on the tallest mountain, keeping him sated and asleep.

    As they got closer to the town gate, they heard a commotion brewing and hid among the tall grass nearby.  There were about thirty monks pushing what appeared to be a teenager out of the town, shouting something Xakep couldn't quite hear.   

    His eyes and forefinger glowed as he touched the air, connecting sounds from the group directly to his ear and listened in.

    "How dare you bring such blasphemy into our home," the head monk said, his face glistening with sweat and fury.

    "Its not blasphemy," the boy shouted, "I'm telling you, Enes is going to wake up soon!"

    One of the monks stepped forward and kicked the boy in the ribs, dropping him to the ground and sending him into a coughing fit.

    "Please...I'm begging you, we need to kill him while he sleeps, or you're all going to die," the boy said between coughs.

    Xakep focused on the boy and realized that this was the User he'd been tracking...but why wasn't he defending himself?

    He considered testing his theory right then and there, but decided against it...he wanted to try it on someone willing first, unsure of what would happen if he failed against a potentially stronger opponent.

    The monks spat on the boy and turned away from him, walking back into the town and slamming the gates shut.

    So much for an amicable approach...but Xakep wasn't expecting to walk into the town and ask if they could take over.  All of his research had pointed to there being a center, a space that would, if properly taken, give him the town in its entirety without even needing to fight a single person...which was good, since his combat capability was practically zero.

    Videa disappeared in a small shower of sparks and he stood, walking carefully over to the boy, still on the ground.

    "That looked bad," Xakep said gently, offering his hand to the boy, careful not to let any of his energy slip.

    "They're so blind," the boy said, upset, though Xakep had to wonder if it was with the monks...or himself.

    Letting Xakep pull him up, the boy winced as he tried to find a stance that didn't hurt him much.  

    This didn't make sense...Xakep knew the User he was tracking wasn't very powerful...but a few kicks from some monks shouldn't have done this much damage to him.  Something was going on.

    "You said Enes is going to wake up," he asked tentatively.

    "Yeah...that's what I'm told...but I don't really know for sure...just that its better to be safe," the boy said sadly.

    Patting the boy gently on the back, Xakep said, "Well...hey, my name is Xakep...what's yours?"

    Eyes narrowing hard, the boy said, "I know who you are, User.  I could feel your energy earlier...you're not very good at keeping it in check."

    Tensing up in preparation for a fight, Xakep took a single step back to as much of a ready stance as he knew to use.

    The boy sighed and relaxed as he said, "Its fine...I'm not really great at fighting.  Even if I knew what your power was, I'm not really cut out for combat."

    Unsure of the proper etiquette in this situation, Xakep opted for the direct approach and asked, "What's your power?"

    The boy softly floated off the ground and bounced back down gently and said, "I can control gravity or something...I didn't really learn much about it in school, so I'm not really sure how to use it, to be honest."

    Xakep's eyes widened as he said, "That's pretty incredible."

    Smiling back at him, the boy said, "Well I'm glad someone thinks so...the last few Users I came across just ignored me when I challenged them.  I'm David, by the way."

    Making a note of it, Xakep smiled when Videa laughed.  A little floating name appeared over David's head and followed him around...another little quirk of their power.

    "So what's your power," David asked innocently.

    Before Xakep could answer, a crow dropped from the sky and landed on David's shoulder, speaking in a deep voice, "I'd recognize that energy anywhere.  That's R03...her power is hacking...we could probably beat them, her power is weak."

    Xakep smirked at the crow and said, "Cheeky, huh?"

    Videa's voice emanated from around them, "You know, Corix, you don't have to be rude."

    Before the two of them could start arguing, Xakep said, "I have an idea...it might keep you safe and maybe we can both get a little stronger."

    David c****d his head and said, "Oh?"

    Taking a deep breath, Xakep said, "Basically, what I want to do is use my power on you."

    Raising an eyebrow, "Are you legit just asking me to let you kill me?"

    Waving his hand, Xakep said, "I don't want to kill you.  I want you to join me."

    "Why would we join you," Corix asked.

    "Well for one, you'd have a safe place to stay instead of running with your head down all the time," Xakep answered, crossing his arms.

    "What are you talking about," Videa asked in his head.

    He directed his thoughts to her, "I've been studying what we can do...I think we can use our power to connect them to us and get stronger."

    "What makes you think that," she asked curiously.

    "I'll tell you later...lets focus on this right now," he thought at her.

    Corix seemed to be in deep thought while David looked at him.  They were probably having a conversation the same way.

    After a few moments, Corix said, "We've decided to trust you on this...but if you do anything dangerous to us, I will peck your eyes out."

    Nodding, Xakep took a step toward them and his eyes and fingers glowed white as he reached out for the two of them, hoping this would work.

    They meant it...there was almost no resistance, just the understandable mental flinch of someone being touched in a way they'd not been touched before.

    Strands of light formed between the two of them and Xakep felt a rush of something, energy yes, but something else as well.  He closed his eyes to try and isolate the thing he was feeling, focusing on it as hard as he could while his power worked.

    He felt David gain access to his and Videa's private network, the mental lines of energy, thoughts and data that made up much of their communication.  He was there, like a separate server he could ask to access, and could do the same in return, but he still couldn't find the thing.  The thing that was in him, part of the two of them now, and it was bothering him.

    David's energy flooded the network, changing and growing the power they all had as their energy intermingled and changed, glowing a gentle blue in his mind now.

    "Xakep," David said.

    Waving him away, he kept trying to focus on finding the thing.

    "Xakep," Corix said, louder.

    "I'm trying to focus guys."

    "Xakep...open your eyes," Videa said quietly.

    Sighing hard, Xakep opened his eyes as he said, "What?"

    Expecting to see the three of them in front of him, he was shocked to see that he was surrounded by sky.  The three of them had been speaking to him via the network and he hadn't even realized it, and he had floated straight up into the air.

    "What?"

    His mind raced at this, blasting from theory to theory, finally landing at the most acceptable one.

    When he used their power to add David to the network, he must have received a small portion of their power as well!

    This was something new to consider for sure...and storing this information away to address later, Xakep willed his gravity closer to normal and he gently floated down.

    Landing gently, Xakep was breathless for a moment, blown away still by this new application of their power and what it meant for them, and he could feel Videa doing everything in her power to stay calm as well.

    Corix's deep voice rang out in the stunned silence, "Did you know that would happen?"

    Xakep shook his head as he said, "I figured you'd be connected to our network...and maybe we'd all get some extra energy...but I had no idea that was a possibility."

    The crow cawed and said, "I wasn't talking to you."

    Videa appeared from the air and floated next to Xakep as she said, "If I knew that was something I could do, don't you think we'd have been doing something with it?"

    Corix's eyes narrowed, deeply unsettling to see a crow do, and he said, "I can sense you're not lying to me...but when this business with the Halls is done, you and I need to have a serious talk."

    Videa and Xakep both nodded stiffly, very aware now of how powerful Corix actually was, despite his User's inability to put that power to proper use.  

    "I can tell the two of you are practically one being now...there are probably no secrets between the two of you...but keep this in mind.  Be careful what you do here...Enes is going to awaken, and if this town isn't...taken, as you call it, carefully, that will happen much sooner," the crow said darkly.

    David shrugged and said, "I'm going to go to your place now...what should I do when I get there?"

    Videa looked up at a screen that appeared for her, one managing the house and noticed that it had more energy being routed to it, allowing it to grow faster. 

    "I'm growing you a room now, David.  You'll know how to get in when you get there," she said.

    Nodding, David started walking toward the house and Xakep thought at Videa, "We have to reevaluate a lot."

    She nodded and Xakep sat down, quieting his mind and waiting for nightfall.

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    The moon was full in the sky over Seles, casting a cold pale light on the world.  

    Clouds drifted lazily overhead as Xakep took a deep breath and leapt up into the air, willing his gravity to be weaker as he flew upwards over the Halls of Enes.

    Catching the side of a mountain about half a mile above the town, he looked around and when Videa spotted what they thought was the heart of the town, she calculated a protectory for them and within seconds, he was flying downward toward the largest building all the way at the back of the town, nestled in the largest of the caverns Enes had carved out in his furies.

    The building was simply massive, as large as some of the stone channels themselves, incredibly ornate and probably one of the most beautiful buildings Xakep had ever seen, though something about it seemed strange to him.

    Landing almost soundlessly, his fingers glowed gently as he touched the window, taking it and willing it to open as quietly has he had arrived.

    Stepping into the open window, Xakep was shocked to find that this massive, ornate building was entirely hollow.  The windows opened to scaffolding on the inside, and within was an enormous bluish white ball that floated gently in the air of the building.    

    Videa checked her screens and saw that this was the energy source they'd identified as the heart of the town, but she was unsure what it was.

    She thought at Xakep, "Hey...this doesn't look like anything I've seen before."

    The orb was definitely all the faith he'd seen, but he nodded and thought, "It is weird."

    A rumbling sound emanated from the orb and for a split second, the blue white of the faith energy burst outward, revealing a strange figure within, clearly trapped by all that energy.

    Roaring loud inside their heads, a voice thundered, "I CAN HEAR YOU!"

    Xakep and Videa clutched their heads at the sheer volume of the voice and it came back, quieter now, "I am sorry.  It has been so long since I have spoken like this with someone, I have forgotten my manners."

    Videa floated gently toward the orb and asked, "Who are you?"

    "Has it truly been so long that the creatures that walk upon the earth have forgotten the name of the Mountain Shatterer?"

    "E..Enes," Videa asked, looking back at Xakep in shock.

    Xakep shrugged and thought, "It makes sense in a weird way...that would explain why so much energy is just...here...and not doing anything."

    "The monks have had me trapped here for decades...I can feel my poor body decaying without me there with it," the dragon spirit mourned.

    "So...you're dead," Xakep thought to Enes.

    "Hardly.  Rather the opposite.  I wonder if I can truly die now," Enes mused idly.

    "Can you explain," Videa asked.

    "The monks of today were once, long, long ago, a clan of exiled mages.  Exiled for dabbling in wicked and evil arts.  They worked magic to trap one's soul within an object or place, to stay alive against the natural will of Seles.  They caught me unawares and tore my soul from my form and bound me within the vessel below, and thus have I remained," he explained somberly.

    "That's horrible," Videa said, appalled.

    "When they were simply mages, I could fly free around the countryside...but then there was upheaval...bouts of belief growing among them.  Before I had noticed, the mages had all died...their vessels destroyed or aged beyond saving, and their children had found their predecessors abhorrent.  They prayed to the spirit their ancestors and parents had stolen and their faith became shackles, my spiritual form bound by their beliefs and ideals.  Soon, all of their faith formed the sphere you see now, binding and weakening me until I became a shadow of my former self."

    "Do you know why we're here," Xakep asked.   

    "A User and his System.  Yes, I can imagine what you seek..."

    "We'd like to enlist you," Videa asked directly.

    Even knowing what she had decided to do, Xakep was still taken aback by how straightforward she was.  He smiled despite that...it was nice.

    The spirit laughed and said, "If you can remove my shackles and return my freedom, I shall be in your debt...though my power is far from what it was."

    "We don't want your power...we want your wisdom," Videa said, keenly aware of all that the dragon must know.

    Xakep leaned back against the wall, eyes and fingers glowing while he waited for them to finish speaking.

    "Your progenitors would crumble at your audacity, little rogue.  How are you called," Enes asked.

    "I am Videa...that's Xakep," she responded, pointing at her friend.

    "A User and a System...friends.  Truly strange times have come upon us...but maybe you can succeed where so many have failed," he said thoughtfully.

    Xakep stepped forward and leapt at the mass of energy, catching it with his hands and doing something he'd only theorized about.

    He challenged the will of raw energy, the force of pure, unabashed faith.

    Where the cave had been a maw, writhing around him to survive, this energy, this faith was a wall made up of the belief of thousands of monks, nuns, preachers, travelers, made up of raw, unflinching belief.

    For a moment there was nowhere to grab, and he feared he would fall to it, drop to the ground and stopped by the sheer force of their faith, be unable to slow his descent...but there...just to his left.  There was a tiny flaw, a tiny question that had been planted by David earlier, so fresh that paint on the wall hadn't even dried.  

    Within his hand, he took his will and his knowledge, his knowledge of the dragon, Enes, about the true history of the Halls.  He forged that will, that knowledge, into a single spike, and with all the force he could muster, drove that spike deep into the c***k.

    In the city below, dozens of people awoke with a start, with questions in their heart, doubts they'd ignored for their entire lives, completely unaware they'd existed to begin with.

    He removed it and drove the spike into another c***k that had formed, creating more and more cracks until the wall feel under its own weight.

    All that faith, all that energy, spiraled around him and Videa, a vortex of pure power that lit up their network with power and flickered and grew, lines of power stretching from the Halls of Enes all the way to their home, new leylines of faith and power racing from the town along the ground.

    The connection between the town and the corpse of the once infamous Mountain Shatterer Enes dissolved, its body turning to ash without the faith supplied to keep it intact.

    As the leylines formed around the town and ground, the people stood, stronger than they had been and the travelers grew strong as well.

    As the truth of the Dragon Enes spread through the leylines, Xakep sent a message with it, that the Halls of Enes belonged to he and Videa, and that there would be changes and despite their shock, the people of the Halls accepted this decree, allowing the two people who'd taken the town of warrior monks and nuns without a single battle to add them to a growing network, one that would one day be much larger than they.

    The network between Xakep and Videa grew, the Halls forming yet another server within them, the faith bolstering their energy and as it did, the Dragon joined as well, as much a citizen as the people who'd imprisoned them.  

    Occupying its own server, Enes sent the thought to Xakep and Videa, "Truly incredible.  Truly."

    As the faith around him shrank, Enes shook his wings and broke free of ancient shackles, of new imprisoning energy and flew alongside them, shrinking as he did until he was just larger than Corix, resting on Xakep's shoulder.

    The new energy flooded Xakep and Videa and they felt new power within them, mysterious and strong.   

    Gently floating to the ground, Xakep smiled at Videa as they descended, chuckling as she grabbed him and hugged him, tears in her eyes.

    For a moment, for the first time, it dawned on him that she had needed him as badly as he had needed her.  He hugged her back and said, "Videa...we can do this."