Rise of the Living Forge

“The answer to that question is precious little,” Koyu said, blowing out a long breath as he held Arwin’s gaze. “There aren’t many beings that can claim to know much about the Mesh at all.”

“Precious little is more than nothing. You said there was a time before it.”

“And I said that I didn’t care to remember it.” Koyu’s eyes narrowed. “Much of that time is lost to me. All I truly remember of it is that the Mesh did not always exist. There was a day it came into being, and things changed. As to what changed… can anyone ever remember what the boulder looked like before it was eroded away by the sea?”

“What’s that meant to mean?”

“It means the change has been so gradual that my already fragmented memory can barely tell the difference between what was and what is. I have not left this street in centuries. My view is narrow.”

“You have to remember something. With everything you were just going on about, it seems pretty ridiculous to be completely and utterly clueless.”

Koyu’s lips pursed. The old man stood in silence for a long second. Then he let his hands unclench. “It has a motive. The Mesh plays impartial, but it is not.”

Arwin’s eyes widened. Out of everything he’d been expecting to be told, that was probably at the bottom of the list. There was basically only one thing that everyone agreed on about the Mesh.

It was impartial. It treated everyone the same. It didn’t care who you were or what you did. All that mattered was challenge. If you sought it, you grew stronger. If you didn’t, you were weaker.

“You’re telling me it favors people?” Arwin demanded.

“No,” Koyu said with a firm shake of his head. “Not that.”

Well, thank god for that. That would have been just about the worst news he could have given us. If the game is completely rigged from the start, then everything is well and truly fucked.

“What is it, then?”

“It has an agenda,” Koyu replied. He chewed his lower lip and cracked his fingers one after the other, digging through ancient memories. “It is fair… but pushes the world in directions it desires.”

“To what?”

The Lich shook his head. “I don’t remember. It evades me. This isn’t something that I can just dig free from my head, Arwin. Do you know what happens when you exist as long as I have? When you witness what my eyes have witnessed? The world breaks. Your memory starts to crumble. Things lose meaning.”

“You’re claiming to be insane.”

“Not insane. I’m not that far gone. But… less than I was. Perhaps the Mesh itself chose to remove some of those memories. But I think you are taking your questioning in the wrong direction.”

“What do you mean? What could be more important than figuring out what’s going on with the Hungering Maw? You just told me the world seems like it has the same damn issue!”

“Do you always try to run before you can walk?” Koyu walked over to Arwin and prodded him in the chest. His finger felt as real as anyone else’s would have been.

Arwin paused. Then his nose wrinkled in annoyance. “Don’t get philosophical with me.”

“I am saying that—”

“I know what you’re saying. I can’t even control my own Maw yet. There’s no point worrying about the world when I can’t fix myself, and that there’s a good chance I’ll find out more about the bigger problem when I can solve mine.”

I’m on the last step of the Challenge as far as the Mesh has told me. That means getting the Hungering Maw under control can’t be too far away. I already knew I was going to have to find a way to get this solved sooner rather than later ever since the Hungering Maw grew stronger.

It’s quite fortunate making this Core gave me so much power that it managed to satiate the Maw. I’d have had to make a bunch of items or eat some of my other ones if I wanted to avoid it consuming me. ɽ

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Your expression tells me that you aren’t too far from that goal.” The corners of Koyu’s lips pulled upward. “So you aren’t a complete meathead after all. You may not have always seen me, but I have been watching you for some time. Ever since you arrived on my street, I felt something about you.”

“My charming personality?”

“Hardly. I thought that we were simply kindred spirits, but I realize now that I must have felt you had the same hunger that I feel building deep within me. A hunger that is not my own.”

“You don’t leave the street. That might entirely be on you.”

“Perhaps so. But you are what I have to work with. My memories of the past may be lacking, but I still have enough power to aid you in the present. I believe there was a pressing task you spent a fair amount of effort on. Don’t you at least want to take a proper look at it?”

He turned to the Soul Guardian. Arwin followed his gaze.

“You know how to see its information?”

“Information.” Koyu let out a chuckle and shook his head. He put a hand on the towering armor and shook his head. “You don’t even understand what it is you made, do you? How much more powerful did you get for creating this? The Mesh would have had to heap rewards on you for making something like this. I certainly hope it did. I spent a lot of power helping you for no reason if I’m wrong.”

“No. You’re right. My rewards were very significant. How did you know? And are you implying you helped me to—”

“To get you the power you need to accomplish those goals you speak of. Wanting to protect your allies. To protect your home.” A smile crossed over Koyu’s lips and his eyes went distant, as if looking straight past Arwin and the wall behind him. “We’re not so different, Arwin. I saw a sea of blood spilled to save my people. I can still hear…”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

He trailed off.

“Hear what?” Arwin asked.

Koyu blinked. “What?”

“A sea of blood?” Arwin prompted.

Not exactly the least ominous reminder. Liches don’t tend to go down without a massive fight. Koyu might be the biggest mass murderer I’ve ever casually spoken with. If his talk about a war even bigger than the one Lillia and I were in… he might have killed even more people than we have.

That’s a sobering thought. I don’t even know if I can hold it against him. If you were a terrible person a thousand years ago but changed in the time since then, are you still a terrible person? If so, does that mean it’s impossible to atone for past sins?

Not the internal dilemma I want to be having right now.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Koyu shook his head, interrupting Arwin’s thoughts. “Never mind it. I gave you a helping hand so you could claim the power you need. If you want real strength, you have to work around the Mesh. Not with it.”

“That’s possible?”

“More than possible. Encouraged. It’s quite the challenge, after all. Tell me, why do you think you can’t see the information of this… what do you call it?”

“A Soul Guardian.”

“Yes, that. Why does it have no stats?” Koyu asked.

“I don’t know. I thought I might have been too slow to check and they were hidden.”

“Wrong. They are not there for the same reason that the Mesh rewarded you so heartily for this creation. Look at it, Arwin. You can feel its power, can you not?”

Arwin nodded. He could. The [Soul Guardian] wasn’t burning with energy like it had been, but there was a mote deep within it. He put a hand on the guardian’s chestplate. It was like a distant sun warmed it from within.

“Yes. I feel it. But I can’t see it.”

“And why could that be?” Koyu asked. “If you can feel power within an object, you should be able to at least sense what it is capable of. The Mesh should reveal the abilities of something you yourself crafted to you. It is not an item for someone else.”

“That’s… true,” Arwin said slowly. A frown crossed his features as he dug through his mind. Koyu was clearly giving him leading questions, but the Lich had a point. The Mesh didn’t arbitrarily hide information.

“What would cause the Mesh to give you such a great reward?” Koyu prompted.

Arwin’s jaw clenched as he tried to dig through his memories of his conversation with the Mesh. It had put just as much stress on the creation of the Core as Koyu did. He’d thought he was just making the equivalent of a magical heart.

But no matter how impressive a heart was, if he had just made a normal magical item, it shouldn’t have given him a jump all the way through the Journeyman tier — especially not one that came with extra rewards like the ability to give mini Challenges out to his allies.

I can’t see the power in the armor, but I can feel it. Koyu was really focusing on that. There had to be a reason.

A thought struck Arwin and his back stiffened. His eyes flicked over to the ghostly apparition.

“There’s no reason the Mesh wouldn’t show me the abilities of an item like this,” Arwin murmured. “It shouldn’t be hidden… and I don’t think any item I could have crafted with ‘just a little help’ would ever get me the amount of energy I earned. The only thing that could do that was if I made something entirely outside of the bounds of the Mesh.”

Koyu smiled. “It’s surprisingly difficult to create new life without knowing exactly what you’re doing, but humans have kept that tradition for quite some time. It seems you’re the latest in line. Congratulations on your new child.”

Arwin and Koyu both turned back to the dormant armor.

“You’re telling me…”

“A lifeforce, born entirely from souls and desires,” Koyu said, his voice reverent. He reached out toward the armor but caught himself before his hand could touch it. “It still rests, but I feel it absorbing power. A being that exists entirely outside of the boundaries of the world. One that exists outside the limitations of the Mesh. Magnificent.”