Crimsoncrest (The Weirkey Chronicles Book 10), page 15
"What if I gave you another Stronghold?"
Dhan's eyes narrowed sharply. "You think you can pull it off again? But Janne isn't ready, and Karchibol will likely never ascend..."
"I'm talking about myself." Theo tapped his chest with a wry smile. "I know how that sounds, but haven't I proven our commitment? I don't need any massive resources from you, just a promise of support. In return, I'll actually serve as a proper Stronghold for House Blacksilver."
"Sometimes it's very hard to tell the difference between your promises and your threats."
"You think I want your position? Absolutely not. But I pledge that we'll stay here and help, however we can. Through the conflict with the Asplundat Movement, and even against Tymetron if it comes down to that. We don't want to take over Blacksilver, but we'll stay long enough that you'll be glad you agreed."
After a long stare, Dhan gave a low chuckle. "I suppose I should be glad you're on our side. How much do you actually need to ascend?"
"Nothing expensive, just some materials I don't want to gather for myself." Theo grinned and cracked his knuckles as he finally made his decision. "I'll be ready before you are."
Chapter 14
Nauda honestly wasn't sure what to think about everything Theo had done between the convocation of souls and the current day. At the last moment on Deuxan, she had been convinced that he was willing to ascend to Stronghold regardless of the consequences. After that, however, he'd entered a cycle of refinement, polishing, and crafting in his basement.
Maybe he was delaying, maybe he wasn't, and the scary thing was that maybe neither of them really knew.
When she got back from the Dustwind Plateaus, Nauda carried a giant block of stone on a leash. It seemed to want to get away from everything else, so it ran the risk of flying off into the sky if it wasn't contained. All she really knew was that Theo wanted the stone and he needed her to help get it.
Since she was using their Fithan weirkey, it was easy to appear straight above Outpost #127. It was one of the many locations in the Asplundat Movement that had been centrally planned based on identical designs, so it blurred together with all the other small outposts across the wastelands. This one was allegedly for control of demons near the inhabited regions, but the important thing was that Homez had cleared it out so they could work in secret.
She found Theo seated in the central room, soulcrafting intensely. After waiting a second to see if he'd notice her arrival, she trapped the rock leash under one foot and used her telescope to peer into his soulhome. When her spirit appeared she could feel the air thrumming with potential, almost vibrating as she drifted down into the basement.
"I saw you, this is just a delicate operation." Theo was bent over a pedestal in one of his workrooms, trying to affix some sort of seal over a great bowl. "One second."
"Is that the skyvenom?" Nauda asked as she looked over his shoulder.
"Yes, so I absolutely don't want it getting out during the ascension. I don't know what that would do, but I'm pretty confident it would be bad."
"But you do want it to be integrated with your soulhome so it's strengthened in ascension. Truly, your precautions are boundless."
"No, my humility is deficient. Just let me make sure."
Since the seal was occupying his attention, Nauda looked through the rest of his chambers. He had definitely been busy lately, building a multitude of tools. What struck her was that almost everything was strapped down: it made sense for the tools to be attached, but why did everything else need sublime ropes, or even bolts attaching them to the walls in places?
When she turned back, Nauda saw that Theo was done, so she gestured at an anvil-looking thing. "Even if you expect the cantae rush to get down here, is it going to move an anvil?"
"Normally, no." Theo wiped off his hands with a rag as he approached. "But the Stronghold ascension adds an earthquake to all the other tribulations and I'm not sure how much damage it will do to the basement."
"Couldn't you ask Guchiro?"
"I did, and he just suggested that no level of precaution was too much." Theo blurred away for a moment and she was aware of his physical body taking the stone from her, but she waited for him to return to his soulhome. "This is great," he said as he reverse-hefted the stone. "Thank Blacksilver for me."
"I think they'll be grateful enough if you do this and it doesn't blow up in our faces." Nauda stepped closer and tried to lay a spiritual hand on his shoulder, though their bodies overlapped slightly. "Let me know if there's anything else I can do. I said I'd help, but now I feel like I can't actually contribute much..."
"A soulhome isn't built in a day. If you really want to help us, keep focusing on that garden."
"I have. The crestflower seed is growing, though not according to what Homez says should happen."
"That's good, I'm curious what will happen." Theo was clearly eager to work with his floating rock, but he paused and shifted closer to her. "Actually, more than me, figure out what Fiyu needs. My ascension will strengthen our position, but hers would absolutely end the argument. And once we get there, it won't take long for you to join us."
Nauda wasn't so confident it would be that easy, but she smiled at him and finally stepped away. As she looked down at Theo, wrapped in his soulcrafting haze, she found herself smiling more fondly than she had anticipated. Even obsessive like this, he was thinking about them in a way he never had before.
In a strange way, that enthusiasm was infectious. She was looking forward to this ascension.
~ ~ ~
Theo realized that, contrary to all logic or reason, he wasn't looking forward to this ascension.
Up to this point, everything had been dedicated to fixing the mistakes of his first life, becoming a new person and taking the right steps on his way back to Stronghold. Once he finally reached that point, his advanced knowledge would run out and he would be in new territory.
That should have excited him, and there was a part of him that was exhilarated to learn new soulcrafting, but other fragments of himself differed. And that made it easy to fall into a cycle of concern. If his exceptional soulhome growth was solely based on his unfair advantages, that would feel like it cheapened all his progress. If part of him would miss those advantages, did that mean he hadn't let go of his old weaknesses as much as he'd believed?
He tried to hammer all those doubts away, throwing himself into finishing the anti-mass anvil. It was a bit tricky, but once he had it bolted down, repeating the process was simple. That had been the last major ingredient, making each and every room of his basement into a workshop that also strengthened the chamber above it. He didn't think he could do better than this.
Actually, that reminder soothed his mind a little. His previous soulhome hadn't opened its basement and he'd only just been learning about them before, so he was already in new territory. Truthfully he was breaking new ground every time he really invested in the Nine Worlds instead of skimming over the surface on Vistgil's pre-approved path.
It had been one week since his decision to ascend and Theo thought that any more time would just be delaying. There were other projects, of course, but there were always other projects. The most interesting was getting a ghostworm tooth from Fiyu and trying to fashion it into a pick or chisel. Since tools weren't directly integrated into a soulhome, getting every detail right before the ascension wasn't so important, so he would have to finish those projects as a Stronghold.
Not much time left. He hadn't told Fiyu and Nauda yet, but he'd committed to this deadline, so it had to be soon. Theo walked through his soulhome one more time, checking the seal on the skyvenom and all his other precautions.
He'd double-checked that his soulhome was in good condition, but there wasn't much that could be done to reinforce against an earthquake. Even if he used modern techniques from Earth, he wasn't sure that the benefits would be substantial. From his previous ascension to Stronghold, he remembered it all coming down to the integrity of his soulhome itself, more design than willpower. There had been a little damage last time and he could only hope his redesign was far stronger.
Aside from the ascension itself, Theo was attempting two additional challenges. One was the pieces for his Immortality Conduit, which he had partially assembled in his basement before tying down. He had almost all the pieces now, so in theory they were growing more deeply integrated with his soulhome, preparing for eventual immortality.
The other challenge sat on his soulhome lawn in the form of the giant boulder.
It was difficult to pinpoint how strong the mountainheart was, but it was at least a Dominion-tier material. Incorporating a single piece of it before had been challenging enough and the whole thing would still strain his soulhome if he tried to incorporate it. He hoped that it would be possible during the ascension, but to do that he needed to carry the thing up to the cauldron atop his roof.
Theo touched the side and focused on his gravity, which should have floated them both skyward. But here in this spiritual realm, the mountainheart had formidable inertia, resisting his efforts. By the time Theo manage to get it to slightly rise off the ground, sweat was rolling down the side of his face.
As they inched upward, the hand he was using to touch the boulder began to ache, like he'd been holding it up for hours. Theo gritted his teeth and kept going, adding a second gravitational field to nudge them sideways. That was marginally easier, sending them on a diagonal path toward the roof.
When he touched the bricks his control lapsed and the mountainheart slammed down. Theo winced, imagining it tearing through his soulhome, but the roof held - just a crack on a couple of bricks in his pyramid. He gathered himself again and began pulling the mountainheart up again, this time using his physical strength as well as gravity. By the time he reached the top his entire body ached, but he managed to drop it into the cauldron.
The irony was that this wasn't even an immediate priority: he didn't plan to integrate the mountainheart into his Stronghold floor right away, so it wouldn't benefit him much. But the ascension was the only time he thought it was possible to gain the material and he really wanted it for his Corporeal Floor, so it had to be now.
For a while Theo just flopped against the bricks, recovering. Even though he was confident about this one, no ascension was trivial and he wanted to be at his best before he attempted it. After catching his spiritual breath, he left his soulhome and went to find the others.
"Finally ready?" Nauda shook her head in faux mockery. "I was sure that you'd come up with an excuse to wait even longer."
"You are ready, Theo." Fiyu nodded to him seriously. "I will be watching your example closely."
"No Guchiro?" Theo asked.
"He is investigating for the Asplundat Movement again."
"That's fine, this is for the three of us anyway. Wish me luck."
Theo stepped back into his soulhome and climbed to the roof. There was one last detail: he strapped a sublime tarp over the cauldron, to keep out the acid rain. He didn't think that something as powerful as the mountainheart would be damaged, but there was no sense taking chances.
Then he began walking up the side of the pyramid, casting his will to the heavens. The instant he did so, he felt the force flooding down toward him, but he could handle that. Even as he took another step, it felt more like a heavy rain than an avalanche.
This was what he had hoped would happen: after all, he had been refining his willpower for years and now that he had passed Authority, he should be able to handle ascensions. The rain began to fall, stinging against his skin, but it didn't harm him and the tarp held. In theory everything was ready this time, he just had to keep going.
If Theo had vaulted up the pyramid right then, he might have been able to force the ascension. But that would rush the earthquake, and according to Occoire Court, drawing it out could actually be more effective. So he continued taking deliberate steps until the heavens cracked and the earth rumbled.
The very foundation of his soulhome shuddered. Theo remembered that, remembered feeling the force sweep through his soul, but he hadn't remembered that it struck him. He flinched, as if his own body was being shaken by a divine hand. This earthquake represented another barrier breaking within his soul, another step that would change him forever.
His will was more than enough, but no amount of willpower could protect an unprepared soulhome. As Theo took another step, he felt the force rumbling through his lower levels. If the walls had been poorly constructed, or he hadn't followed principles of load-bearing design, his soulhome could easily have crumbled, its own power crashing on itself with devastating effect.
Nothing had broken so far. Theo took the next step even slower, drawing out the ascension. The earthquake wasn't an assault, it was his soulhome struggling to grow in a new way. He could feel the soil of his foundation trembling as it grew deeper and more real. It was more of a rush than he had imagined and part of him wanted to run down to glory in it and see what else he could do. But no, his steps were getting heavier, the rain fell fiercer, and he had to trust in his design.
He'd almost reached the top now. Theo smiled, satisfied that all his blueprints had survived the test. Just as he considered taking the final steps, a more powerful shock made him lurch to the side. His neck whipped around, checking to see if anything had been damaged, and breathed a sigh of relief.
His soulhome had survived... but the tarp had partially torn free of its bindings.
Theo groaned as he saw the end flapping free, letting the acid rain flood into the cauldron. As soon as it did, he knew that it was a mistake: he could feel it interfering with the cauldron, fighting against integrating the mountainheart.
Did he really need it? Should he push this hard at the risk of his own foundation? It would be so easy to take the last few steps, surely that would be good enough...
Instead Theo thumped down the side of the pyramid back to his cauldron. He thrust his hand straight into the acidic rain, ignoring the burn as he cast another gravitational field. His abilities couldn't fight the onslaught from above, but they could control his own soulhome, so he forced out the rain and then repaired the tarp with numb fingers.
Now all he had to do was make it back up. He'd spent more than enough time letting the earthquake deepen his foundation, so he only needed to pierce the heavens. Yet somehow while he looked away, the pyramid seemed to have doubled in size.
Taking it at a run, Theo tried to sprint up the side, throw himself into the sky. He almost made it, but on his way up the bricks that had cracked before shattered and he fell against the pyramid. When he hit the side he tasted his own spiritual blood and struggled to force himself back up.
Not so far now. Soon he'd make it back to Stronghold... no, that wasn't true. He would finally leave his old life and memories behind, stepping into unknown territory. Whatever he soulcrafted would be completely new to him.
And in that moment the doubts fell away and Theo realized how happy that made him.
He climbed the final steps almost floating, buoyed by that realization. When he came up against the grinding pressure, he realized that he was actually glad to leave his old advantages behind. Whatever happened from this point on, it would be truly his.
When Theo cast his will against the sky, the power flooded down. He felt the rush of wind rejuvenate him, of course, but more than any previous ascension, he felt cantae flooding into the ground. Power swept through his soulhome and pooled in his basement, saturating the foundation around it and strengthening him in ways he hadn't expected.
Theo emerged from his soulhome with a smile on his face. He should have double-checked everything first, but for the first time he found that he didn't care. Nauda and Fiyu were cheering for him and when they pulled into an embrace he simply welcomed it.
"Congratulations, Theo." Fiyu's voice was muffled by the hug, but she didn't pull away.
"Look at the big bad Stronghold." Despite her words, Nauda smiled fondly.
"Thank you." For a time Theo just smiled back, resisting the urge to say that there was more work to be done.
Once the celebration ended, of course, he went back into his soulhome to assess its exact condition. Happiness and togetherness were all well and good, but there was soulcrafting to be done. More than ever before, which made him grin.
~ ~ ~
The ascension of a dear companion was always a cause for celebration, but Fiyu was especially glad to see that Friend Theo had reached Stronghold. For his own sake, yes, and also for hers. Sometimes one trod the path first and sometimes it was helpful to see someone else walk it. She examined his work closely to see what other wisdom she could glean.
It seemed that his ascension had been quite successful. He was currently busy collecting some tools that had broken free of their places, and a handful of new tables had been damaged, but there were no serious cracks anywhere in his soulhome. Somehow all of the damage had been contained to his foundation, which had been massively overturned and yet burned with new power.
That was just what she wanted, what she hoped that she could achieve. Now that Fiyu had seen it once, the only question was what path she would take herself.
From her observations, it seemed that the intensified cantae from a basement was very useful early on, but the true potential was unlocked only at Stronghold. Relative Guchiro had made similar statements in their conversations and she knew that it had taken him long years to develop his basement to its current state. In that case, she was still interested in opening her own basement, but she no longer considered it essential before her ascension, as she would not be using it in the same way as either companion.
And once she had decided that, the rest of her concerns were greatly simplified. What she needed was not any enhancement of her current chambers, but work toward her future: her Immortality Conduit. Where Friend Theo had walked ahead with his basement, she could explore first with her Conduit, making sure it was as fully entrenched in her soulhome as possible.
