Isabelle focused again on the Core of the Spire. It was clearly weak, doubtlessly due to her and her party's handiwork in nearly destroying the Clockwork Spire in its entirety. But this Core had to be handled to really get rid of the Spire. This was the root ball of the space, as it were, and Isabelle was ready to fucking nuke it.
[Spire Core - Active]
[Raw Essence detected]
Well, fucking nuke it, or at least fucking drink up all its power. Isabelle thought 'Learn More about Spire Core.'
Item: Spire Core
Description: The Core of the Clockwork Spire was once thriving and hearty, and held within it much more power and Raw Essence than it does now. That said, it is still a Core, and the spiritual energy within it not only warps the nearby fabric of reality, allowing for visitations from gods and the like, but it will also serve to respawn the Clockwork Spire back to its former glory if not destroyed.
Raw Essence Contained: 133
Wow. 133 Raw Essence just from this Core. And from what Isabelle was reading, she was really starting to wish she hadn't fucked shit up in the Clockwork Spire before she got here to its Core. She could only imagine how much Raw Essence that would hold! Surely it would be more than the cauldron had had. After all, if the cauldron was what was facilitating the energy drain, then this Core was doubtlessly where all that power ended up. Oglo A was probably guarding it because that's how he got its power boost. Him and all his scaly little replicants. What a freak, Isabelle thought to herself, as she focused again on the Core.
[Interface with Spire Core?]
[Y/N]
Interface with the Core? What exactly did that mean to Isabelle? Of course, she had an inkling of an idea that it meant she'd somehow interact with the Core via her system. But was that what Isabelle wanted to do? She really wanted to drain the Raw Essence of the Core, not necessarily to 'interface' or grow with the Core or whatever the hell Oglo had been doing. It was against her sensibilities, kind of like becoming a patron had been. Isabelle was not a joiner.
So, she thought no. She did not want to 'Interface with Spire Core.' And then, with a sigh and a roll of her eyes, she focused on the Core again, this time thinking 'Drain Raw Essence from Spire Core.'
[Unable to perform action: 'Drain Raw Essence from Spire Core']
[Core must be destroyed to release Raw Essence]
What a fucking pain in her ass. Of course, she'd have to break the thing open to get at what it held. Well, no matter. Isabelle raised her Overlord's Flaming Yellow Katana high in the air, ready to bring down all her wrath on the Spire Core, to break it open and release its energy to her. She was ready.
"Wait!" said Tahsi Junior, running up to her and putting a scaly hand on her leg. "You can't do that."
Isabelle sighed her trademark sigh. Of course she couldn't. Of course there was a catch. Of course something would get in her way.
"Why not?" said Isabelle, her patience wearing thin. "And it had better be a good reason, or I'm going to use you as a kobold-sized battering ram."
"It's... it's complicated," said Tahsi Junior, his large, draconic eyes filled with a mixture of fear and concern. "The Core, it's not just a source of power. It's a... a stabilizer. It keeps this whole dimension, this... this 'in-between' place, from collapsing in on itself." He gestured around at the wide, white expanse around them. They weren't just within the Core, they were within its own dimension.
"So?" said Isabelle, rolling her eyes. "Let it collapse. What do I care? I'll just be transported back to Beaubinte, right?"
"No," said Tahsi Senior, who was now also standing beside her, a half-eaten baguette in one hand and a look of genuine alarm on his face. "You won't. You'll be... gone. Erased. Deleted. Scattered across the cosmos like dust in the wind. We all will, if you destroy it in here. It's not a dimension, it's a buffer. A space between spaces. And without the Core to hold it together, it will... well, it won't be good. For anyone. You really never learned about Cores?"
Isabelle stared at them, her mind racing. This was another one of those impossible choices, another one of those damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situations that seemed to define her existence in this world. She could destroy the Core, absorb the Raw Essence, and get a bunch of points to use next time she leveled up, but she would risk being erased from existence. Or she could leave the Core alone, remain in this stupid dimension, walk out of it, tail between her legs, and... what? Cry about being so lame? It just... it just sucked. Isabelle was pissed.
"Isabelle, it's no big deal," said Tahsi Junior. "We should just get back out into the main room. Cores have layers, kind of like onions, and we're in the deep tissue here. If we just walk back out of here, I'm sure you can destroy the Core and asborb it without us all disintegrating immediately. It's okay, you're just a dumbass human and you don't understand the metaphysics of Cores."
Isabelle stared at the kobold-dragon. She was about to say something incredibly mean. But then she stopped. She thought about it. He was right. She didn't understand the metaphysics of Cores. But she was a fast learner. And she was not one to back down from a challenge.
"You know what?" said Isabelle. "Fuck this shit. Fine. Let's turn around."
And so Isabelle and her party headed out, away from the glowing shape and out through the tear in the cold, white space. In a flash, they all stood back in the large, circular chamber. Before them stood the center of the chamber, and there was the pulsing, swirling vortex of energy and light. The Core Proper, as it were.
"Time to fuck shit up," said Isabelle.
"Wait, Isabelle," said Ignis.
"WHAT, IGNIS?" said Isabelle with a sigh. Obviously, she was a little angry to be held back for even another second. "What the fuckedy fuck is it?"
"I just wanted to say, are you sure that you want to destroy the Core?" said the dragon. "After all, if you assumed ownership, you'd then have ownership over the Clockwork Spire when it grows back to what it once was."
Isabelle was still getting used to this strange logic of Core-based locational growth. It made static things seem almost plantlike, which was absurd and frustrating to no end. It infuriated her. And yet, Isabelle relented, and asked Ignis for clarification.
"Ignis, what the fuck do you mean?" said Isabelle.
"You could have systemic control of the Clockwork Spire! You'd get... Spire powers! Whatever those are. Just like how the Choxian System was integrated with the Spire, so too could your system. It's exactly how the Overlord managed to seize power of the Eastern hemisphere of Beaubinte! He got all the Cores under his system, and with that all those cauldrons absorbing peoples' power into his own. He became inevitable," said Ignis. "Until those Overqueens backstabbed him, of course, but that's another thing entirely."
"See, that is why I don't want to do this," said Isabelle. "That, right there. I don't want people coming after me due to systemic power or inevitability or whatever the fuckedy fuck you're talking about."
Ignis stammered and huffed. "But, Isabelle-"
"No, Ignis, I've made up my mind. I don't want this weird, metaphysical location-based ownership bullshit right now. I'm not here for that crazy abstract nonsense. I'm here to make the numbers fucking go up," said Isabelle.
"The what?" said Ignis.
"The numbers, Ignis, the fucking numbers," said Isabelle, rolling her eyes with a sigh. "I want them to go up. I see the numbers on my character sheet go up, and it makes me feel fucking amazing. And I want it to keep happening. I need it to. And this fucking Core has Raw Essence, which I can use to level up my abilities. I can create XP out of thin fucking air, Ignis. Hell, I bet I could use Raw Essence to force level myself up. But one thing is for certain, Ignis, you foolish little dragon. The numbers must go the fuck up!"
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"You're fucking with Raw Essence and you've decided the best use of it is to increase your XP?" said Ignis, genuine shock in her voice.
"Fuck yea it is," said Isabelle. She looked at the Core. "Time to die, motherfucker!"
She lifted her Overlord's Flaming Yellow Katana. It hummed with a hungry fire, its light casting long, dancing shadows across the ruined gears and shattered pistons of the chamber. This was it. The final act of destruction in a tower built on the logic of machines, an act of pure, chaotic will against a symbol of sterile, clockwork order.
She brought the blade down.
[Critical hit]
[Spire Core is dead]
It struck the Core not with the clang of metal, but with a sickening, resonant CRACK, like a glacier calving or a continent splitting. A sound that was felt more than heard, a vibration that shook the very foundations of their being.
For a moment, nothing happened. The Core just hung there, a single, hairline fracture marring its perfect surface.
Then, it exploded.
It wasn't an explosion of fire and shrapnel, but of pure, unadulterated energy. A silent, blinding wave of white light blasted outwards, washing over them, through them. Isabelle felt her own system interface flare to life, a cascading waterfall of text flooding her vision.
[Raw Essence Absorbed: 133]
[The Clockwork Spire has been neutralized]
[You have defied the will of the Great Builder]
[Notice: You're ready to level up]
A giddy, triumphant laugh escaped Isabelle's lips. The rush was immense, a pure shot of cosmic power directly into her soul. The numbers were going up. Her will was being done. The world was bending to her chaotic whims.
"See?" she said, turning to Ignis with a manic grin. "The numbers. They're going the fuck up!"
Ignis just stared, her draconic face a mask of disbelief. The kobolds were huddled together, whimpering.
The blinding light began to recede, but something was wrong. The fractured pieces of the Core weren't dissipating. They were hovering in the air, trembling. And with them, the entire chamber began to tremble. The walls, once stone and metal, flickered and glitched like a bad projection. The ticking of the cosmic clock, which had faded, returned with a vengeance, no longer a steady rhythm but a chaotic, arrhythmic chattering that set their teeth on edge.
A deep, grinding groan echoed from above.
"Uh, Isabelle," Tahsi Junior squeaked, pointing a clawed finger upward. "I don't think that's supposed to happen."
Isabelle looked up. The domed ceiling of the chamber was dissolving. Not crumbling, not falling, but unwriting itself. Sections of it were simply vanishing, revealing not the sky, but a swirling vortex of black and static, like a television tuned to a dead channel. The same thing was happening to the walls. The Clockwork Spire wasn't just being destroyed; it was being unmade. The buffer dimension Tahsi had spoken of was collapsing.
The ground beneath them lurched violently. A massive gear, twice the size of a carriage, tore free from the floor and spun into the void, vanishing into the chaotic static. The floor they stood on was now a small, precarious island of stable reality in an ocean of unraveling spacetime.
"I thought you said this wouldn't happen if we were out here!" Isabelle yelled at the kobolds, her earlier euphoria turning to a cold, sharp panic.
"I said I was sure!" Tahsi Senior shrieked back, dropping his baguette. "Sure is not the same as certain! There are degrees of metaphysical confidence!"
A massive crack spiderwebbed across their platform. The chattering clock grew louder, a deafening symphony of paradoxes. The space around them twisted, a nauseating folding of dimensions that showed them multiple, overlapping versions of their own terrified faces. She saw herself, Ignis, the kobolds, all reflected in a fractured kaleidoscope of dread.
This was it. This was oblivion.
"Ignis!" Isabelle said with a sigh. "Fly! Get us out of here!"
The dragon needed no further encouragement. She leaped into the air, her wings beating furiously, and quickly Isabelle and her party members were watching the chaos of the Spire unravel from below them. It was bizarre, like a blank scar was growing over reality. What would replace the Clockwork Spire was a mystery to them all, although it was hard for Isabelle to care in the moment. She had, after all, just gotten a ton of Raw Essaence to make use of, and she was ready to level up too! She was just as thrilled as she was terrified.
[Congratulations, you've reached level 73!]
[Notice: You have attribute and skill points to spend]
[Would you like to spend your points now?]
[Y/N]
Isabelle thought yes. She wanted more power, and she wanted more power now.
Attribute Points to Spend: 73
Hp: 938
H-Regen: 2.4/5sec
Mana: 570
M-Regen: 4/1sec
Stm: 845
S-Regen: 0.7/sec
Isabelle knew what she wanted: to hit 600 mana. She dumped all 73 points into mana.
Skill Points to Spend: 80
Str: 523 Int: 369
Dx: 434 Wis: 400
Const: 448 Char: 300
Isabelle thought carefully about her skills, then she dumped them all into her stats. 40 to strength, because the ability to hit things was never to be underestimated. And the remaining 40? She split them between her int and her wis, 20 points each. It seemed like a nice, even, respectable distribution. A decision that felt balanced. Balanced. Ugh, what a gross thought.
[Notice: You have Raw Essence to spend. Spend on your Abilities now?]
[Y/N]
Isabelle had to think yes. She'd been waiting for this!
Raw Essence: 133
Magic Ability Levels
Enchant: 3 Summon: 2
Heal: 3 Destroy: 13
Transmute: 3 Confuse: 3
Shadow: 4
Normal Ability Levels
Crafting: 8 Sneak: 12
Archery: 11 Lockpick: 5
Armed Combat: 18 Melee Combat: 4
Speech: 17 Sleight Of Hand: 6
Nice. Isabelle was thrilled she had such granular control over this now! She decided to try and get shadow magic leveled up one more time, and then Isabelle decided to try and increase her sleight of hand a bit.
[Congratulations, you've finished leveling up!]
Character Status
Name: Isabelle
Gender: Female
Level: 73
Class: Shadow Mage
Race: Human
Alignment: Chaotic-Evil
Affinities
Slots: 2
Shadow Affinity (I)
Predation Affinity (I)
Attributes
Hp: 938
H-Regen: 2.4/5sec
Mana: 643
M-Regen: 4/1sec
Stm: 845
S-Regen: 0.7/sec
Skill Points
Str: 563 Int: 389
Dx: 434 Wis: 420
Const: 448 Char: 300
Magic Ability Levels
Enchant: 3 Summon: 2
Heal: 3 Destroy: 13
Transmute: 3 Confuse: 3
Shadow: 5
Normal Ability Levels
Crafting: 8 Sneak: 12
Archery: 11 Lockpick: 5
Armed Combat: 18 Melee Combat: 4
Speech: 17 Sleight Of Hand: 8
Isabelle looked down at the chaotic unraveling of reality where the Clockwork Spire had just been. She felt the power coursing through her, the thrill of her stats climbing higher and higher. But this victory tasted different. It wasn't a clean conquest; it was a messy, unpredictable act of destruction that had nearly consumed them all.
"We did it," said Tahsi Junior, his voice filled with awe. "We actually did it. We destroyed the Spire."
"No," said Ignis, her voice grim. "You didn't destroy it. You broke it. You broke reality, you foolish, shortsighted human."
"Hey, we're all still here," said Isabelle with a shrug. "That's what matters, right? The numbers went up. That's what matters."
"The numbers?" said Ignis, her tail twitching with agitation. "Is that all you care about? The numbers on your little character sheet? Don't you see what you've done? You've created a void. A wound in the world. And something is going to grow in that wound. Something that is probably far worse than a bunch of clockwork kobolds."
"Oh, cut out the fucking melodrama, you damned dragon," said Isabelle with a sigh, rolling her eyes.
As if on cue, a new sound began to emanate from the void. It wasn't the ticking of a clock or the grinding of gears. It was a low, guttural chanting, a chorus of voices that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. The voices were speaking the same language Oglo A had used for his spells, the Sacred Tongues of the Great Builder.
"Oh, shit," said Tahsi Senior, his eyes wide with terror. "They're coming. The Builder's legion. They're coming through the rift."
[Updated: The Builders Legion]
[Objective: Touch base with Builder's Legion on What Transpired at the Spire]
Isabelle couldn't help but think her system was being awfully cheeky naming her quest objective in such a way. Still, her attention was quickly arrested.
Isabelle looked at the void, her hand instinctively going to her katana. She could feel a strange, cold energy seeping through the rift, an energy that was the polar opposite of the chaotic power she wielded. It was the energy of order, of control, of perfect, unfeeling logic.
"Let them come," said Isabelle, rolling her eyes. "I'll fucking destroy them too."
"No," said a voice, echoing through the chaos. "You won't."
It was Lyra. She appeared before them, her form shimmering and unstable, like a celestial reflection in troubled water.
"This was a foolish, reckless act, Isabelle," Lyra said. "You have unleashed a plague upon this world. A plague of order. A plague of the Great Builder."
"Oh my god, not this fucking cunt again," said Isabelle with a sigh. "Thanks but NO THANKS, Lyra. Not interested in higher powers offering powerups for allegiance! I'm a free agent!"
"Isabelle, seriously?" said Lyra, her ethereal form pulsing with frustration. "I'm not offering a powerup, I'm offering a goddamn parachute! This is a cosmic-level fuck-up, and you've just pulled the ripcord on the wrong one."
"So you're saying I need your help?" said Isabelle. "How cute. But I've already been helped. By myself. Because I'm just that fucking good."
"You're a child playing with a star," Lyra retorted, her voice sharp. "You saw a shiny thing and you smashed it, and now you're surprised that it's burning everything around you. That 'void' isn't empty. It's a gateway. And you've just swung open the front door and laid out a welcome mat for the Architect of Entropy."
"The Architect of what?" said Ignis.
"The Great Builder," said Lyra. "His more... accurate title. He doesn't build worlds, you see. He refines them. He grinds down the chaos, the unpredictability, the life itself, until all that's left is a perfect, sterile, silent crystal. And you've just handed him the biggest grinder he's ever seen."
[Updated: The Great Builder]
[Objective: Avoid the Great Builder at all costs]
"Look, I don't give a shit," said Isabelle. "I've got my power, and I'll deal with the consequences. I always do."
"You won't," said Lyra. "Not this time. This is beyond you. Beyond all of us. This is the endgame. The final battle between chaos and order. And you've just handed the enemy the ultimate weapon."
