Large chunks of Ruwen’s Overseer armor had been vaporized or ripped away, and the air chilled his skin. As bad as it looked, he knew a few gallons of blood would make it appear brand new.
Are you okay, Rami? Ruwen asked.
I’m fine. That was brilliant. Although your fascination with fire worries me.
Ruwen smiled. The greatest Fireball ever. He grew serious as the Health bars of his friends fluctuated. They were still battling the Naktos army in New Eiru. Can you go help my friends and family?
Yes. Are you going to be okay?
Yeah, I’m just going to hang out here.
Rami crawled through a massive hole in Ruwen’s Overseer’s Cowl of Revelation and leaped into the air. Very funny.
The temple crashed into the lake and cold water soaked him. Fresh Air allowed him to breathe, but it quickly grew dark as the temple sank. Three heartbeats later they came to a jarring stop.
Activating landing protocols, Lir said. Securing new foundation.
The temple vibrated and bubbles rose around Ruwen. The temple sank a few feet and then stopped.
Lir spoke again. Current spatial values are invalid and stream coherence is lost. I require a Navigator to recalibrate.
I could fit you into my schedule, Ruwen said. But I’m a little stuck.
Reconfiguring, Lir said.
The area Ruwen had attached himself to on the hull disappeared and he fell into the temple. A strip along the top of the wall provided light, and he looked around the five-by-five room. It didn’t have a door.
Lir?
I require the spatial coordinates from the Architect pod’s location.
And then you’ll start reviving people again?
Yes.
Okay, what’s the quickest route there. This room doesn’t have a door.
A black oval door appeared in front of Ruwen. It looked like the portals he’d used in Blapy.
Is that a portal?
It is a spatial link between your current location and the Architect pod. I retain full spatial awareness of the temple itself and do not require the Stream for spatial transport. Dimensional or outside locations require valid spatial coordinates.
You can make portals to other places?
If you authorize the terium expenditure, yes. I must caution that spatial transportation outside the temple requires significant terium.
Ruwen stepped through the portal and into the small High Priest room he’d found with Hamma. On the left sat the High Priest’s personal revival tub. On the right, the Architect pod sat with the holy tablet standing next to it, still covered with a sheer cloth.
Ruwen had kissed Hamma here for the first time, right before he’d died and assumed the Architect Role.
The thoughts of Hamma made his chest tighten, and he strode to the Architect pod, opened it, and crawled inside. As his head struck the small pillow, the lid slid shut, leaving him in darkness. Like before, his senses seemed suppressed, and he felt as if he floated in a pond.
Ruwen hadn’t slept since the first time he’d Harvested. He missed it and sometimes closed his eyes and pretended. The stress of his life since Ascendancy, and the insane pressure of almost losing everything he loved, had taken a toll on him. For the first time in months, he almost felt tired.
“Hello, Architect Starfield,” Lir said out loud.
Ruwen cleared his throat. “Hey. Let me get you the coordinates.”
Ruwen opened his Profile and then his hidden Root display. The Worker and Fighter branches of the tree were highlighted and in the roots of the tree he found the Architect Role. Connected to the Architect Role were three Sub Roles: Navigator, Creator, and Annihilator.
Ruwen focused on the Navigator icon and two new icons appeared: Dimensional and Temporal. Between the Dimensional and Temporal, another icon appeared labeled Gravitational. He’d used that on the Elders with impressive results. He concentrated on the Dimensional symbol and three new icons appeared: Pocket, Keys, and Warp.
When Ruwen mentally touched the Keys icon, his Mana dropped to zero, and like before, he felt pressure on his Core as the Architect Role consumed Spirit to power the query. He knew if anyone could see him, the Scarecrow Aspect would have briefly appeared. Five gate runes hovered in his vision.
Ruwen focused on Rami. How is everyone?
Alive. I think the worst is over. The Crazor decimated the enemy, and they are fleeing the city.
That’s a relief. I’m trying to get Lir restored again. Can you pass him these gate runes?
“Keys loaded,” Lir said. “Protocol 143.26.1 is rescinded. Full functionality restored.”
“Is any of the temple above water?”
“Fifty-four feet, three inches, and—"
Ruwen interrupted. “Can you reconfigure again and create an entrance and common rooms up there?”
“I can. The changes require ninety-three seconds.”
“Okay, please do it. We need to offload the people stuck here. I assume portals to shore are expensive?”
“Yes. In addition, transferring so many people would consume an exorbitant number of cycles. It would require pausing all revivals, lowering—"
“No, don’t do that. Just reconfigure. I have another idea on how to get out of here.” Ruwen didn’t want Hamma to wait any longer than necessary.
Ruwen reached out to Elder Vachyl in Chat. The temple is safe, and the enemy army is retreating. Begin moving your troops to the top floors of the temple. There’s a new entrance and we need every Fighter with five levels in Move On to create bridges to the shoreline.
Understood, Warlord Starfield. Leave it to me.
Ruwen spoke out loud to Lir. “Has Hamma started her revival?”
“Yes.”
“Can you show me where, please?”
Ruwen closed his displays and pushed the lid of the Architect pod open. Hamma’s revival bath wasn’t far, and he quickly made his way there. He wanted to feel joy at defeating Naktos and Haffa, but only a numb sadness filled him.
And for the first time, Ruwen truly understood the Cultivators and their deep respect for life. He thought about losing Sift every time they got in danger, and he planned his strategy around keeping his friend safe. The
