Do not be disappointed. The Masara pods have very specific needs. From my observations, however, I can determine that humankind, if it maintains its current course, should be able to make a living on the surface. It will take time. Longer time than you have as an individual. But your race values passing along gifts to your offspring. If your people continue here, Avery, I have estimated a 70% chance of retaking a livable portion of the surface.
Those were exciting words to hear! Not for my own sake, of course, because I had been determined as possible to reclaim this world. But if Higgins, Verna and the rest of the leadership heard such a calculation, would they be willing to abandon our world so easily?
We will bestow some tools to accelerate the process, the Vessel continued. The first are the extraction tubings we use. A simple process that augments the blood harvesting ritual. Attaching the tubings to a corpse and using the proper techniques will extract all Bloodpoints from it. Not only will this allow your people to gain more power from each body, but you can also now split up harvests.
“What?” I gasped. “You mean it?” This was huge! We could send veterans out and begin harvesting like crazy, giving all the points to the weaker ones…this would effectively triple our growth rate. We wouldn’t have to lose greenhorns every other hunt this way! At least, not to foolish mistakes.
Indeed. The Sogorn taught us how to take Bloodpoints. But we improved the process. I shall infuse these ideas into the minds of your engineers and scientists so that all may know.
Tears welled in my eyes. I knew Trig was wrong about the Masara. They might not be sticking around to help us out, but hot damn, did they just give us a huge tool.
Hold your sodium water leak until I have finished with our offerings, the Vessel instructed. Such a reference made me think of Brain. Perhaps he was still in there, in a way. We have a functional map of your world, with current standings of all Titans registered. We shall impress this also upon your cartographers. This will make it easier for your kind to clear Titans in the surrounding region. It will also reduce surprises, as the list of Titans will highlight known attack techniques and affiliations.
A full map of all Titans? With something like that, we could seriously begin planning on taking the world back. Not an entirely breathtaking offering, but still, could anything top the first gift?
And…the last thing we will give you is but a single musical note. It is our greatest weakness, this note, for when played, it shall permanently destroy the bodies of any Masara present, regardless of its strength and power. Few vessels can play such a note, but your race actually has an abundance of them, referred to commonly as flutes. You are to regard all red Masara as permanent enemies and destroy them with this note. Show no mercy as they are corrupt and must be annihilated. If not for your sake, for ours.
I bowed deeply to the Vessel. Giving me such a note was a true sign of cooperation. For granting us the power to destroy any Masara meant that we could use it against this pod as well. But they knew our intentions were noble and good.
“I thank you for these gifts. You are truly an ally to mankind,” I said.
The Overseer blankly looked at me. We are leaving this place, immediately. I have spent a great deal of time procuring a method of returning home. Now that I know of it again, we shall be using it. The trip is one way. Your kind will not see us again. You will escort us back to the mountains, yes?
“Of course,” I said, wiping a tear away. “Let me just check in with my husband.”
Understood. Meet with your brood mate and convey all I have to him, as well as to the rest of the leadership. They must know that there is hope for your race. That much, I know full well. With people like you around, Avery, humanity will certainly survive.
Epilogue
The message of hope had echoed deeply in the halls of both Hunter’s Hope and New Olmstead. Any talk or discussion of leaving this world behind faded as these new gifts gave the leadership a clear idea of just how much faith the Masara had in us. Personally, I did not need the approval of strange foreign beings from afar to know that our world was worth saving. But the rest of the council? They ate the 70% chance up as if it had been spoken by a god.
With the new extraction method, our recruitment numbers would increase. Even if we couldn’t elevate members with these ‘Bloodpoint bags’ as Dette called them, we could still transfer a great deal of power to each individual with ease. Greenhorns would become veterans overnight. And the greedy eyes of the Stonecutter village would turn our way, willing to barter loyalty in exchange for the secrets we had learned. This would give us a tremendous amount of power over them for now. Enough so to dissuade them from trying any foolish power grabs at the Breach.
I was invited to escort the Masara back to their mountain laboratory, not to protect them, but to witness the ‘world traversal’ method they utilized. Bloodpoints, the Overseer had explained, can perform many miracles. Things beyond what any laws of physics could possibly dictate. With Bloodpoints, one can grow a claw to cut open a tree. One can then use that tree to build a door. Or one could simply grow a claw capable of cutting through the air, opening an entirely new kind of door. That is how these monsters travel. And it is how we’ll get home.
Standing within the dark, metal building of the lab, my eyes widened as I watched the Masara begin their ritual. Six
