“I’ve heard of that,” Ruwen said. “They make their own fire to burn away the fuel for the oncoming fire.”
“Exactly. Pen studied the darkness consuming our Universe and realized it used Spirit to propel itself forward. That’s why Pen thinks both Spirit concentration as well as an Axiom are required to flag a universe for destruction. There needs to be enough Spirit to fuel the progression of the darkness.”
“So the poem describes him destroying the Spirit near the darkness?”
Blapy shook her head. “Spirit, like any other energy, can’t be destroyed.”
“Then what did he do?”
“Pen did the unthinkable. Like a surgeon cutting off a limb to save the patient, he removed the Spirit from the vast majority of the Universe,” Blapy stopped and took a deep breath before continuing. “Sacrificing himself in the process. It destroyed countless civilizations, but without Spirit to sustain it, the darkness withered and died. And with the only Axiom in our Universe dead, there was nothing to trigger another attack.”
Ruwen touched his chest. “Did I just trigger it again?”
Blapy shook her head. “If there isn’t much Spirit in a universe, any Axiom born there will never grow strong enough to affect those outside the Universe, and no darkness is sent. We still look like a barren universe, and I’ve detected no incursions.”
“Did he Harvest everything?” Ruwen asked, thinking about the creatures he’d killed in Fractal when camping.
“Not directly. But he removed all the ambient Spirit. It was like transforming a jungle into a desert. Those that depended on the jungle died before their time. Pen knew this cost. Sometimes, the destination vindicates the path.”
“But what did Pen do with all the Spirit?” Ruwen asked.
Blapy flipped the page to the third secret. “This is my secret.”
soil swaddled seeds
despite the sower’s demise
survive the winter
“This one actually makes some sense, although I don’t know what it has to do with Spirit,” Ruwen said.
Blapy’s voice grew serious. “When Pen was young, his Master died, and he discovered a loop-hole in the rules that govern our Universe. Someday, I’ll explain this secret to you in detail. But not today.”
Ruwen nodded, knowing arguing would be useless.
Blapy flipped the page again, to what might have been the last page in the thin book. “Here is the secret that kept you alive, Ruwen Starfield.”
Ruwen leaned down, eager to see what Pen might have written about him.
one ruined scarecrow
protecting its field of stars
ensures our harvest
Oh my, Rami whispered.
Blapy looked up at Ruwen. “When you arrived at the Black Pyramid, this poem is the first thing I thought of. Do you see why?”
Ruwen swallowed hard. “All the pieces of my name are there.”
“Yes, but that wasn’t enough for me to be sure. Then you shocked us all by reaching your center and Harvesting the energy around you. But even that wasn’t enough. When I entered the Spirit Realm and noticed the missing Chaos Storm over Stone Harbor, I began to hope, as only Uru, Izac, or myself had a chance of surviving something like that. Still, I had my doubts. Then you appeared in the Scarecrow Aspect and, unbelievably, when Phoenix asked you near the end of the fight why you had come—” Blapy paused and shook her head. “Do you remember what you told him?”
“I come to protect the harvest,” Ruwen whispered.
Blapy’s eyes were wide. “Yes, just like the fourth secret. That is why I wanted to see your memories in the Spirit Realm. I had to be sure Uru hadn’t somehow seen these secrets and planned all this somehow.” Blapy turned back to the book and read the poem out loud.
one ruined scarecrow
protecting its field of stars
ensures our harvest
Blapy faced Ruwen again. “You will restore the Spirit Pen removed from the Universe. You are the fourth secret.”
Chapter 25
Ruwen felt like the entire pyramid sat on his chest. He tried to breathe, but his lungs wouldn’t expand. Even on Last Breath’s mental island, waves of panic threw him down and threatened to drown him. His heart thudded against his ribs, and he put an arm out to catch his balance.
Blapy slapped Ruwen. The strike barely turned his head, but it cleared his thoughts, and he focused on the small girl.
“Listen,” Blapy said. “You’re not doing this tomorrow, so stop panicking. There will be plenty of time for panic later,” she said with a straight face.
Ruwen took three deep breaths. “How could Pen…I mean, why am I in…” he waved his hand at the Book of Secrets.
“Simple,” Blapy said. “He used his Prophesize Role.”
Ruwen remembered that Architect Role. He had found it by navigating from Temporal to Foresight to Prophesize. That is also how Uru had seen so much of the possible future.
“Are there any more secrets?” Ruwen asked.
“Plenty, but none in this book. The reason for that is in Pen’s Journal.”
Blapy opened the second book and flipped to near the end. The right page remained empty, and the left had a single entry. The date didn’t make any sense to Ruwen, so he read the last journal entry. The handwriting, while not as perfect as the entries in the Book of Secrets, still retained the same beauty.
As the future’s Resonance Offset approaches zero my vision grows opaque. If the second restores the balance, many will find the transition catastrophic, causing destruction and creating Ash. A painful but necessary step, and one more dagger of guilt I’ll carry to my death.
If the second survives, so will the third. A harvest so bountiful it defies comprehension.
Lir had requested the Resonance Offset when Ruwen had first gained the Architect Role. The sentient temple had entered a type of shock when Ruwen had told him the offset was zero. Lir had told Ruwen many things wouldn’t be possible anymore with that value. And it looked like telling the future was one casualty.
“Do you know anyone named Ash?” Blapy asked.
“No, why?”
Blapy shrugged. “Pen rarely did things without
