Lord of the Foresaken
Chapter 77: CONVERGENCE PATH

Chapter 77: CONVERGENCE PATH

Dawn broke across the Ashen Plains in disjointed fragments, as if the sun itself struggled to manifest properly in this warped region. Reed stood atop a jagged outcropping of rock that seemed to pulse beneath his feet, surveying the twisted landscape that separated their expedition from the temple. His crystalline spine straightened with an audible series of clicks as he adjusted his posture, the network of luminous veins beneath his metallic skin pulsing more rapidly than usual.

"The dimensional instability is getting worse," he said, his voice carrying harmonics that hadn’t been present three days ago. "The temple’s location is... fluctuating."

Shia moved beside him with liquid grace, her form briefly rippling into a mirror-like surface that reflected the distorted terrain before resolving back into her humanoid shape. Where Reed had become something mechanical and crystalline, she had evolved into something more organic yet equally inhuman. Her skin now flowed like mercury, occasionally revealing glimpses of the complex energy patterns that had replaced her internal organs.

"I can feel it," she replied, her voice carrying undertones that seemed to originate from multiple sources simultaneously. "It’s as if it exists in several places at once."

Below them, the expedition camp was already being dismantled with practiced efficiency. Twenty elite warriors—the survivors of their original thirty—worked alongside five specialists recruited specifically for their sensitivity to dimensional phenomena. Each member had been chosen not only for their martial prowess or technical expertise but for another quality that had become apparent only after their journey began: a natural resistance to reality distortion.

Commander Vash approached, his scarred face now bearing new marks—silvery fractal patterns that had appeared spontaneously after their confrontation with the watchers. The former royal guard captain had been the first to volunteer for the expedition despite knowing it might be a one-way journey.

"The advance scouts have returned," he reported, his voice steady despite the unnatural way his eyes occasionally shifted color. "The path ahead... it’s not stable. Terrain features appear and disappear without warning. Archivist Lyselle lost her hand when a boulder materialized inside the space she was occupying."

Reed nodded grimly. "Have Kaylin tend to her. We need every sensitive intact for what’s coming."

"Already done," Vash replied. "But there’s more. The scouts reported seeing... echoes. People or things that seemed to be there and not there simultaneously. Some appeared to be us, moving along the same path, but with subtle differences."

Shia’s skin rippled with dark purple patterns of concern. "Dimensional bleed. The temple is pulling versions of reality together as we get closer."

Reed extended his transformed right arm, the metallic surface peeling back like petals to reveal a crystalline core that hummed with energy. The other artifacts embedded throughout his body resonated in response, creating a harmonic that made the air around him shimmer.

"We need to adapt faster," he said, more to himself than to his companions. "These transformations aren’t accidents or side effects. They’re necessary evolutions for what we’re attempting."

He focused his awareness outward, attempting to perceive what his human senses could not. The eight artifacts that had merged with his and Shia’s bodies had been changing them consistently over the years, but in the three days since their confrontation with the watchers, the transformations had accelerated dramatically. Reed could now perceive faint outlines of what appeared to be alternative versions of the landscape superimposed over one another—ghostly mountains where plains should be, forests where only barren rock existed in their reality.

"Gather everyone," he ordered. "It’s time they understand what we’re truly facing."

The expedition members formed a semicircle at the base of the outcropping. Twenty-five faces looked up at Reed and Shia—some determined, others barely concealing their fear. These were the best the Nine Domains had to offer, and even they were struggling to comprehend the nature of their mission.

"The temple we seek doesn’t simply exist in one location," Reed began without preamble. "It exists in several possible locations simultaneously because it serves as a nexus point between dimensional planes. The Ninth Fragment isn’t just another artifact—it’s a breach in reality itself."

He gestured to the rolling landscape ahead where the air shimmered like heat waves despite the chill morning. "As we approach, you’ll experience phenomena that defy conventional understanding. You’ll see versions of yourselves that took different paths in life. You’ll encounter obstacles that seem to violate the laws of nature. This is because the laws themselves are weaker near the nexus."

Kaylin, the expedition’s metaphysical specialist, stepped forward. Blood crusted around her nostrils from her most recent attempt to channel dimensional energies, but her eyes burned with fierce intelligence.

"Those of us with sensitivity need to know—what exactly is happening to us?" she asked, gesturing to the silvery patterns that had begun appearing on her own skin. "These changes... they’re accelerating."

Shia answered, her voice resonating with unusual depth. "The confrontation with the watchers disrupted something fundamental. The artifacts are preparing us for direct dimensional interference. These transformations are... necessary adaptations."

"Will we end up like you?" asked one of the newer recruits, a woman named Sera whose talent for perceiving dimensional anomalies had made her invaluable despite her lack of combat experience.

"No," Reed replied honestly. "Shia and I bear the original artifacts. Your transformations are echoes, reflections of our connection to them. But they will continue, and they will become more pronounced as we approach the temple."

He paused, scanning their faces. "Anyone who wishes to turn back may do so now. Beyond this point, the way home becomes... less certain."

Not a single member stepped away.

"Then let’s proceed," Reed said with a nod of acknowledgment. "Formation delta. Sensitives in the center, combat specialists on the perimeter. Move only when I give the signal, and do not—under any circumstances—interact with any ’echoes’ you may encounter."

They moved across the Ashen Plains in tight formation, crossing terrain that grew increasingly unstable with each passing hour. Twice they were forced to halt when sections of ground simply ceased to exist, revealing yawning abysses that closed again minutes later. The sky above them fractured into kaleidoscopic patterns that cast disorienting, shifting shadows.

Reed walked at the front, his transformed senses extended to their limits. The metallic portions of his body had begun to reconfigure themselves, developing new geometries that better processed the dimensional inconsistencies surrounding them. His crystalline components pulsed with increasing brightness, occasionally emitting beams of coherent energy that seemed to stabilize reality in their immediate vicinity.

Beside him, Shia had partially abandoned her humanoid form. Her lower body now resembled a flowing pillar of mercury-like substance that moved across the ground with uncanny speed and precision, while her upper torso and head remained recognizably her own—save for the fact that her eyes now glowed with prismatic light, and her hair had become a crown of writhing energy tendrils.

"Reed," she said suddenly, her voice tight. "Look ahead. Three hundred paces."

He followed her gaze and felt his transformed heart skip a beat. Where the horizon should have been, a massive structure phased in and out of existence—a temple constructed of impossible geometries, its architecture defying three-dimensional constraints. It appeared and disappeared in a rhythm that matched no natural cycle, each manifestation placing it in a slightly different location.

"It’s beautiful," whispered Sera from behind them.

"It’s wrong," countered Kaylin, blood now streaming freely from her eyes as well as her nose. "That structure violates every natural law."

Reed raised his hand, signaling the expedition to halt. "The temple isn’t fully anchored in our reality. We’re seeing it phase between dimensional planes."

He turned to address the group, but the words died in his throat as he caught sight of something moving on a parallel path about fifty yards to their right. It was another expedition team—identical to their own in almost every detail, except for one crucial difference: Reed himself walked among them with both arms made of ordinary flesh, no sign of artifact transformation evident.

"Don’t look at them," he ordered sharply, but it was too late. Several expedition members had already spotted their doppelgängers.

"Is that... us?" Vash asked, his hand instinctively moving to his weapon.

"A version of us," Shia explained, her voice unnaturally calm. "A path not taken. In their reality, perhaps we never found the artifacts, or never activated them."

Reed watched as the parallel expedition suddenly halted, their version of him pointing directly at Reed’s group. For a moment, reality seemed to hold its breath as the two Reeds stared at each other across the dimensional divide.

Then the other Reed screamed—a sound of pure horror that carried across the barrier between realities. The parallel expedition turned to flee, but too late. The ground beneath them erupted, and massive crystalline structures burst from the earth, impaling several members instantly. The structures weren’t random growths; they moved with purpose, hunting down the fleeing figures with terrible precision.

"Don’t move," Reed ordered his own people, who stood frozen in horror at the slaughter they were witnessing. "Any reaction could draw attention to our reality."

They watched in stunned silence as the parallel expedition was systematically destroyed. When it was over, only the other Reed remained, held aloft by a crystalline spear that had pierced his abdomen. A tall figure moved into view—humanoid but clearly not human, its body composed of shifting geometric patterns that hurt the eyes to observe directly.

A guardian.

It approached the impaled Reed and placed what might have been a hand against his forehead. There was a pulse of energy, and the parallel Reed simply dissolved, his body collapsing into constituent particles that the guardian seemed to absorb.

Then, with deliberate slowness, the guardian turned its head—if the upper portion of its geometrical mass could be called that—and looked directly at Reed’s expedition. Across the dimensional barrier, despite having no discernible eyes, it saw them.

"Don’t run," Reed said quietly as the guardian began moving in their direction, phasing in and out of reality with each step. "Running won’t save you from what exists in multiple dimensions simultaneously."

"What will?" Vash asked, his voice steady despite the terror evident on his face.

Reed’s arm transformed again, this time extending into something that resembled a weapon of pure crystalline energy. Beside him, Shia’s entire form began to glow with accumulated power.

"We will," Reed replied as the guardian crossed the threshold between realities, its impossible form solidifying into their dimension with a sound like reality itself tearing. "Remember your training. Target the points where its geometries intersect. Disrupt its dimensional cohesion."

The guardian towered over them, standing nearly fifteen feet tall. Up close, its body was revealed to be composed of countless crystalline shards that constantly shifted position, creating a form that existed partially in their reality and partially elsewhere. Where a face might have been, there was only a swirling vortex of energy that pulled at the senses in nauseating ways.

It raised an appendage that morphed from a blade to a whip to a claw in the space of seconds, and brought it down toward Reed with devastating force.

Reed raised his transformed arm to block the attack.

The two artifacts—Reed’s merged relics and the guardian’s dimensional appendage—collided with a sound like a thunderclap. Reality itself seemed to buckle around the point of impact, ripples of distortion expanding outward. The guardian paused, as if surprised.

Then it spoke—not with sound, but directly into their minds—in a language that felt ancient beyond comprehension yet somehow perfectly understandable:

"FRAGMENT-BEARER. YOU WERE NOT FORESEEN."

Reed smiled grimly, his crystalline components pulsing brighter. "That’s the problem with your masters. They see all possible paths except the ones where they lose control."

The guardian’s form shifted again, becoming more solid, more present in their reality. "THE NINTH AWAITS. BUT YOU WILL NOT CLAIM IT. YOU WILL NOT DISRUPT THE GRAND DESIGN."

"Too late for that," Reed replied, and launched himself forward, his transformed body moving with impossible speed.

The expedition members watched in awe and terror as Reed engaged the dimensional guardian in combat, their forms blurring as they moved partially in and out of conventional reality. Shia joined the fray seconds later, her liquid-metal body wrapping around the guardian’s limbs, attempting to anchor it fully in their dimension.

"Prepare to engage on my mark!" Vash shouted to the fighters, while gesturing for the sensitives to move back.

But the command was cut short as the guardian suddenly multiplied—not duplicating itself, but rather revealing that it existed in multiple locations simultaneously. In an instant, the expedition found themselves surrounded by five identical guardians, each as terrifying as the first.

"Reed!" Shia called out in warning, her voice distorting as her form struggled to maintain cohesion against the dimensional interference.

Reed turned just in time to see one of the guardians phase directly through two of his expedition members. They didn’t scream—there wasn’t time. Their bodies simply came apart at the molecular level, disintegrating into motes of light that the guardian absorbed.

Rage and determination surged through Reed’s transformed body. The artifacts embedded within him responded to his emotions, channeling energy in new patterns. He felt something unlock—a new configuration of power that allowed him to perceive not just the multiple locations of each guardian, but the nexus point that connected them.

"I see you now," he whispered.

Raising both arms toward the sky, Reed channeled power through his crystalline core. The air around him seemed to solidify, reality itself responding to his will. For a brief moment, he could perceive not just the guardians and his expedition, but the watching entities beyond—the three watchers observing from their dimensional fold, their attention now fully focused on this unexpected development.

The guardians froze, sensing the shift in power.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" the primary guardian projected, its mental voice tinged with something Reed had never expected to hear from such a being: fear.

Before Reed could respond, the ground beneath them heaved violently. The temple, previously phasing in and out of existence on the horizon, suddenly snapped into full reality with a shock wave that knocked everyone off their feet. The structure now loomed before them, no longer an impossible mirage but a solid edifice of black stone and crystal, its architecture a bewildering array of angles and curves that seemed to change depending on one’s perspective.

The guardians turned as one toward the temple, their forms becoming increasingly unstable.

"THE NINTH RESPONDS," they projected simultaneously. "THIS IS NOT THE SEQUENCE. THIS IS NOT THE DESIGN."

Reed struggled to his feet, his transformed body recovering faster than the others. He helped Shia up, noting with concern that her liquid-metal form was struggling to maintain consistency.

"What just happened?" she asked, her voice fluctuating between different tonal registers.

"I think..." Reed began, then stopped as he noticed something emerging from the temple entrance. A figure—humanoid but clearly not human—walked with measured steps down the massive staircase that led to the temple doors. Unlike the guardians, this being appeared solid, fully present in their reality. Its body was composed of what looked like black glass, reflecting nothing, absorbing all light that touched it.

The guardians backed away, their forms becoming increasingly erratic.

"THE KEEPER AWAKENS," they projected, and there was unmistakable dread in their mental voice. "THE SEQUENCE IS BROKEN."

The obsidian figure reached the bottom of the stairs and stopped. It raised what might have been a head, revealing not a face but a swirling vortex of stars—an actual window into deep space contained within its form.

When it spoke, its voice was like the death of stars, ancient and final:

"WHO DARES APPROACH THE NINTH WITH INTENT TO CLAIM?"

Reed stepped forward, his transformed body radiating power. "We don’t come to claim. We come to use."

The Keeper tilted its star-filled head. "NONE USE THE NINTH. THE NINTH USES ALL."

It raised an arm, and reality itself bent around the gesture. The guardians shrieked—a psychic sound that brought several expedition members to their knees in agony—as they were pulled toward the Keeper, their forms compressing and distorting until they were nothing but motes of light that the obsidian figure absorbed without ceremony.

Then it turned its celestial gaze back to Reed.

"YOU BEAR EIGHT FRAGMENTS, YET YOU ARE NOT CONSUMED. IMPOSSIBLE."

"We’ve been hearing that word a lot lately," Reed replied, his voice steady despite the cosmic horror standing before them. "Perhaps it’s time for a new perspective on what’s possible."

The Keeper took a step forward, and the ground beneath it transformed into the same black glass as its body.

"YOUR DEFIANCE IS NOTED. YOUR INTERFERENCE IS REJECTED."

It raised both arms this time, and the very fabric of reality began to tear around them.

Reed had just enough time to shout a warning to his expedition before the world dissolved into chaotic light.