351. Aegis of Infinity (I)

The murals on the sixth floor's walls were sketched in simple gold lines. They depicted a pagoda towering into the clouds, out of sight.

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕗𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕤, said the Spirit, 𝕀𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔸𝕖𝕘𝕚𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕪. 𝕀𝕥'𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕦𝕝 𝕕𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 ℙ𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕕𝕒 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕠𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕣—𝕒𝕟𝕕, 𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕕, 𝕚𝕥 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕣𝕖𝕡𝕖𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕒 𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕜 𝕋𝕣𝕦𝕖 𝔾𝕠𝕕!

It squinted at Zane, as though daring Zane to say something.

"Nice," he said.

ℍ𝕞𝕡𝕙. 𝕋𝕠 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕥, 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕚𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝕕𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕕𝕒. 𝔹𝕖𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕕!

It held up an arm, and up shimmered a vision. Two figures stood on a mountain's peak.

The Red Moon Emperor faced a two-headed wolf. Enormous batlike wings spread from a back writhing with muscles, and a crown made of white fur dappled its brows. Smoke hissed from its fangs as it growled.

Its aura was a bonfire in the Astral Plane.

That thing was a True God.

𝕆𝕣𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕦𝕤, 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕊𝕜𝕪 𝕋𝕪𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥 (𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘)

𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟞𝟘𝟛

The Red Moon Emperor stared it down calmly.

The wolf's heads howled. Its throats blazed in the Astral Plane—and in both throats, Zane felt the presence of a Monstrous Bone.

A torrent of shadow and gunk rushed out of its mouth, laced with arcs of jagged black lightning. Crashing down the Astral Plane.

But the Red Moon Pagoda flared around the Emperor—far larger than Zane had ever seen it go.

And though it faintly shimmered in the physical realm, it vanished into the skies in the Astral Plane, towering into the heavens—it gave an impression of endlessness. Layer on layer on layer of majestic red and gold.

The blast struck—and somewhere high up, a layer shattered. Then another. Then another—Zane felt the shockwaves in the Astral Plane; the attack kept crashing through—but with each layer, it weakened more and more.

Until it was halted in its tracks—dissipated utterly.

The Emperor stood there, proud and untouched. His Pagoda stood tall. Its aura of endlessness stayed strong.

The wolf hissed.

𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥, intoned the Spirit, 𝕀𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔸𝕖𝕘𝕚𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕪! 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕚𝕥, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕝𝕒𝕪𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕚𝕥 𝕠𝕓𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕤. 𝕀𝕥𝕤 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕙 𝕚𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕝𝕒𝕪𝕖𝕣 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕡 𝕒𝕟 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜. 𝔹𝕦𝕥 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕝𝕒𝕪𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕤𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕝𝕪, 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕒𝕥𝕠𝕡 𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣, 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕥 𝕗𝕖𝕖𝕝𝕤 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕜 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘!

This pleased some deep-down part of Zane. It was simply too big to fall.

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔸𝕖𝕘𝕚𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕤 𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕨𝕖𝕒𝕜, said the Spirit. 𝔸𝕥 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥, 𝕚𝕥 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕠𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕠𝕗 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕜 𝕄𝕚𝕟𝕠𝕣 𝔾𝕠𝕕. 𝔹𝕦𝕥 𝕚𝕥 𝕓𝕦𝕚𝕝𝕕𝕤 𝕗𝕒𝕤𝕥—𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙 𝕝𝕒𝕪𝕖𝕣 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕗𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕥, 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕖… 𝕞𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕚𝕥, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕥 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕤 𝕟𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕪 𝕦𝕟𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔻𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕖 𝔾𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕩𝕪. 𝕆𝕟 𝕡𝕒𝕣 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕋𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕠𝕚𝕤𝕖'𝕤 𝕊𝕒𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕊𝕙𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕖𝕔𝕙𝕟𝕚𝕢𝕦𝕖, 𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℕ𝕒𝕞𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘'𝕤 𝕋𝕖𝕟 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔽𝕒𝕔𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝔾𝕠𝕕!

Its nostrils flared as it looked at Zane.

𝕊𝕠! 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕕𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥?

Zane shrugged. "Pretty cool."

The Spirit sagged, relieved.

…𝔾𝕠𝕠𝕕. 𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕜 𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤.

He cracked his knuckles. "Let's begin."

***

𝔹𝕖𝕔𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℝ𝕖𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟 ℙ𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕕𝕒 𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕝𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕪 𝕒 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝, 𝕀 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕕𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕝𝕪, said the Spirit. ℍ𝕠𝕨 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕤𝕡 𝕠𝕗 𝕚𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕕𝕖𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕚𝕟𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕡𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤. 𝕆𝕡𝕖𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕕.

Zane did—relaxing. A moment later—

𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℝ𝕖𝕕 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟 ℙ𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕕𝕒 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕪𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕔+ (ℍ) 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 '𝔸𝕖𝕘𝕚𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕪.' 𝔸𝕔𝕔𝕖𝕡𝕥?

Zane did.

And an impression began to unfurl in his mind. Growing clearer fast. It was a distillation of someone else's memory—the feeling of wielding the Aegis, drawn from the Emperor himself, he realized.

Zane's brow furrowed as he sat with it. Trying to get a good feel for it.

Its core was the Red Moon Pagoda treasure. But he would activate a new function—a little like flexing a muscle he'd never flexed before.

Slowly he eased into the feeling. And as he did, he felt the Pagoda humming, brightening, responding to his will…

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕡, said the spirit,𝕀𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕣. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕦𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕝𝕒𝕪𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕤𝕚𝕥. 𝕀𝕥 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕖𝕔𝕥! 𝕆𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕒𝕥 𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕜 𝕠𝕗 𝕔𝕣𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘.

There was a pause. Zane was still digesting things.

𝕀'𝕝𝕝 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕠 𝕚𝕥, 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕀'𝕝𝕝 𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕗𝕖𝕨—

"Wait," he said, still focusing hard. "One moment."

… The Pagoda looked at him again. …𝔻𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕖.

"I haven't gotten it yet, no," said Zane, brow furrowing. "But I think… I'm close."

About fifteen minutes later, he held out a hand.

A faint image shimmered up around him—lacquered red walls and a roof of blemishless gold. It shone much clearer in the Astral Plane than the physical.

ℝ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥! said the Pagoda, throwing up its hands. 𝕆𝕗 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖. 𝕎𝕖𝕝𝕝, 𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕛𝕠𝕓, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥. 𝔸𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝕞𝕪 𝕝𝕖𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕪 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕒𝕘! 𝕎𝕙𝕪 𝕟𝕠𝕥? 𝔸𝕝𝕝 𝕚𝕟 𝕒𝕟 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕠𝕠𝕟'𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜!

It muttered some more. Something about a 'charmed life.' Zane sat there patiently and let the fellow get it out of its system. It'd become rather grumpy; it seemed to have some things it needed to work through.

In the meantime, he examined his foundation.

"It needs work," he concluded, scratching his chin.

It wasn't nearly as robust as the image in his mind. The outside looked good. It was hard to pinpoint exactly where, but it felt like it had some structural issues. Something internal.

𝕆𝕗 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖 𝕚𝕥 𝕕𝕠𝕖𝕤! cried the Pagoda Spirit. 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥? 𝔻𝕚𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕖𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕚𝕥 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕣𝕪?

Zane began to say something.

𝔻𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕨𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥.

"Okay."

The Pagoda Spirit took a walk around him, frowning at it.

𝕀𝕥'𝕤 𝕒 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕥, 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕𝕤 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕨𝕖𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕔𝕥 𝕚𝕥. 𝔹𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕜 𝕚𝕥 𝕒𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕚𝕥 𝕥𝕠𝕘𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟, 𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣. 𝕌𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕝 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕧𝕖 𝕘𝕠𝕥 𝕚𝕥 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥.

It considered Zane. 𝕀𝕥'𝕕 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕒 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕝𝕖, 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕪 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕦𝕤𝕤 𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕨𝕖𝕒𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕓𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤-𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕚𝕥 𝕕𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕝𝕪.

He nodded. "Bring it on."

𝕀𝕥'𝕤 𝕕𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕤, said the Spirit. 𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕥'𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕦𝕠𝕦𝕤—𝕠𝕙, 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕒𝕞 𝕀 𝕜𝕚𝕕𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘?

It waved a hand.

All the light was sucked out of the room in an instant, stranding Zane in darkness.

He wasn't sure what all that was about. But there wasn't much time to think on it.

A new world was coming to life around him.

Silk threads slicing through the air, each as thick as bridge cables, slick with moonlight. A spun web cascading all around him, weaving together to make some massive nest stretching far into the gloom.

It wove around gnarled trees so giant they seemed to belong to a prehistoric time.

Above, the night sky was empty save for a sickly sickle moon.

ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℂ𝕣𝕒𝕨𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 ℍ𝕦𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕣 𝕤𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕞!

Somewhere in the far distance a wolf howled, long and somber. Then it choked off abruptly—and there was only silence.

Spooky stuff.

He looked around, curious.

Then came the first light besides the moon's weak offering.

Giant eyes opening in the dark. A glaring red not five feet in front of Zane. So bright they illuminated the rest of the beast, and he saw it in full—big as a barn, hairy legs thick as tree trunks.

Mandables jutted out of its mouth like fat scythes, a milky poison shimmering at its ends. Sacred Bones.

𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝕋𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕠𝕣 𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕣

𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟝𝟟𝟟

Zane blinked at it.

It was pretty sneaky—he hadn't felt it until that moment. It had to have pretty good cloaking.

Then its mandibles opened up. And with a silent shriek it clamped down on him.

But that was no physical attack.

Its force came in the Astral Plane—chomping down on Zane's new Pagoda formation.

CRACK!

White, shining seams split the walls in two.

…That wasn't great.

The spider struggled, frothing at the mouth. Visibly losing power. But the cracks split wider and wider.

Zane noticed where the cracks spread. They seemed to coincide with its weakest points. It was quite illuminating.

He was still studying the walls when the whole thing shattered.

Then the spider's jaws closed over his head, and shredded into his soul. CRACK!

He groaned, head ringing.

Instantly he felt a bit sleepy, a bit wobbly on his feet. Some great unseen weight had descended on his mind… his eyelids wanted to close and weld shut. His thoughts came sluggish, as if they were going through mud. Some dark force tried to drag him under…

He growled.

His heart gave a fierce thump. Then another. And a shot of life blazed through his head. The fog burned away instantly. And he was wide awake again, breathing heavy, flush with sudden vitality.

It was his body, he realized. One of its powers—he couldn't be sedated.

Figures. The scene faded, and there was the Pagoda Spirit, arms crossed.

𝔸 𝕓𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝕋𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕠𝕣 𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕡𝕦𝕥 𝕄𝕚𝕟𝕠𝕣 𝔾𝕠𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕡𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕒 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕒, 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨.

"I do feel a bit sleepy."

'ℂ𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕠. The Spirit sighed. Then it looked at Zane, a bit miffed.

𝔸𝕝𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥, 𝕤𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥'𝕤 𝕨𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕟𝕠𝕨—𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕔𝕠𝕣𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕥! 𝔾𝕠 𝕠𝕟.

"…Are you okay?" said Zane, blinking. The fellow seemed increasingly annoyed with him.

𝕊𝕠𝕣𝕣𝕪, said the Spirit, deflating. 𝕀𝕥'𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟… 𝕚𝕥'𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕒… 𝕨𝕖𝕚𝕣𝕕… 𝕗𝕖𝕨 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕤…

Zane sat down and got to it.

It took an hour to get the shape mostly right, and another half-hour to hammer out all the kinks. By the end, he had a shining layer of Pagoda—totally encasing him in the Astral Plane. A little fortress unto itself.

A sturdy foundation to build on.

𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕!

𝔸𝕖𝕘𝕚𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕪 [𝕄𝕪𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕔+ (ℍ)]

𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕀

The Spirit examined it from every angle before giving a nod of approval. ℝ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥. 𝕃𝕖𝕥'𝕤 𝕣𝕦𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕥, 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕨𝕖?

They tried it against the fangs of the Giant Tormentor Spider. But this time, its mandibles only managed to punch a crack in the walls. The cracks grew to about halfway down the pagoda's walls.

Then the spider's jaw shattered.

Eight massive eyes blinked at him in shock.

Then it shrieked, turned, and vanished into the night.

"That went alright," mused Zane.

𝕐𝕖𝕤, 𝕪𝕖𝕤, said the Spirit. It seemed less miffed now, but still a little over the whole thing. 𝕆𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕕!

***

Now that Zane built the first layer, it only took him another hour or so to make another and weld it under the first. Once he did—

𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕦𝕡!

𝔸𝕖𝕘𝕚𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕀 -> 𝕀𝕀

𝕃𝕖𝕥'𝕤 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕚𝕥 𝕦𝕡 𝕒 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕔𝕙, said the Spirit.

Their next test dropped him into the Tormentor Spider nest again. But this time, two Great Tormentor Spiders came out of the gloom.

They descended on him in a mad rush.

But once more their mandibles shattered before they could touch him. He'd doubled his soul defense in the space of an hour.

Zane nodded. He was pretty pleased with how things were going. They were already getting close to the Pagoda's base soul defenses.

Onto the third layer.

By then he was getting the hang of making it.

This time it only took an hour or so.

𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕦𝕡!

𝔸𝕖𝕘𝕚𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕀𝕀 -> 𝕀𝕀𝕀

The fourth came similarly fast.

𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕦𝕡!

𝔸𝕖𝕘𝕚𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕀𝕀𝕀 -> 𝕀𝕍

By day's end, he'd built out a pretty strong base.