Published at 5th of February 2026 8:32 am

Chapter 329: Soul Scouting

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He wasn’t used to speaking this language of ripples, that’s what he’d say. Of course he couldn’t tell Serrin about the Dark, so a story had to be created. But the Mask was grabbing at him, holding him back.

It was saying that he could end up working closely with Serrin. That he shouldn’t start things off with lies. That Serrin was a Better Man. That it was sure (somehow, in spite of only knowing the creature for a few hours) that Serrin could be trusted.

Perhaps it was right. And in truth, he had told others, in the past. Kleos and Maric, Jo and Beth. The cat was out of the bag, and telling those individuals had, actually, ultimately… not been a bad thing. There were times where being a Better Man was beneficial.

But for all of them he had waited until he knew them well enough to soothe his paranoia. As to Serrin… the Mask was convinced he was a Better Man, but that didn’t change the fact he’d only met Serrin today, and exchanged no more than a hundred words with the Hornet.

Though he felt the Mask was likely right about Serrin, and he had become aware that in some instances, a level of trust could be extended, he was ever wary of the times where being a Better Man might cross into being a fool.

But he’d been standing here silently for some time, now. Serrin was staring at him, suspicion rising, and he knew that the lie about being unused to the language would not land so well. And the Mask had a point that, in the event he did ultimately find Serrin worthy of some amount of trust, it would be better not to start things off with a lie.

‘Occasionally,’ Nicolai began, haltingly, as always hating the weakness of the admission, ‘I become overly… emotional. I was angry. I lashed out. It took me some time to calm myself. That was what you saw.’

Serrin gazed back, doubtful. ‘That seems quite an understatement. You boiled with rage and murderous intent. I’ve never felt something like that, not even from the Queen. No. There is something unusual about you. Are you fully in control of yourself?’

A strange croaking noise. Nicolai realised he was laughing and cut it off. This Hornet had seen through him so easily! He had to end this, but he also had to put Serrin’s concerns at least somewhat to rest.

He stared intently at the wall. ‘You are safe from me. If you don’t turn on me, I won’t turn on you. And if I become… like that… I will recover. I will control myself.’ He spoke these last with a weight of cold certainty. Control. ‘For now, that is all I will say on it.’

For one final act he decided he might as well soothe Serrin’s concern that he wasn’t even human. ‘Here,’ he added, and he had his helmet’s visor unhinge. It slid out the way with a hiss of gas.

Fleshy human features regarded flat Hornet features. He felt oddly naked without the covering.

‘You are human,’ murmured Serrin. The Hornet stared at him, strangely intent and thoughtful. His manner softened. ‘If you say you will not attack me, I believe you.’ He nodded sharply, resolute.

Nicolai’s helmet snapped closed. ‘Good.’ He was rallied by a mental jab from Threat Analysis. He had much to do. Closing the tunnels that led from his base to the Greybug’s warrens. Killing the Scoundrels.

The first wasn’t something he had to handle himself. He connected briefly with Legal and it shepherded the Assembler Bots around, seizing components and explosives to take to the tunnels.

As to the Scoundrels, there were two methods to track them. One definite, the other uncertain. The Treasure Finder might be able to get a lock on them. They had his polearm, which it should be able to track. But that would use up its charge for the day. Ideally, he would track them through the other method, which merely required the mastery of a skill.

He’d only learned of that skill earlier that day, at the Information Guild. But that would be no barrier.

He dug Memory Discs from his storage, found the correct one and accessed it. This went into detail on how to peer into the Spiritual Realm. A place distinct from the Interior—which he certainly was able to see into. Supposedly, someone with the Black Gift should be capable of seeing into both the Spiritual Realm and the Interior, but where he could see into the Interior easily, almost instinctively, it would require diligent practise to gain the knack of peering into the Spiritual.

The information given to him, as he rapidly downloaded the data, digitised it and sorted through it along with the Modules, was far from encouraging and pulled a hiss of frustration from him.

To develop the skill to peer into the Spiritual Realm, he was first supposed to perform a Ritual. One similar to what he had performed with the Reckoning, though much less dangerous and simpler in nature. Still, it took time and would require some resources. He possessed the resources, but not the time. He needed the skill now. The disc suggested it would likely take him multiple tries to grow used to the method before he might then be able to use it properly without a ritual.

He ignored all of these steps one was supposed to take and skipped directly to the method. Holding it in his mind and aided by the Modules and the Mask, he allowed his Soul Sense to turn placid and relaxed. He tried then to focus on the idea of a world below. A world, another world, which he should be able to view.

When he opened his eyes, the world looked different and at first his heart leapt. But he realised after a moment this was the wrong world. He saw familiar beings, demonic and twisted, all around him. Some were clustered around Serrin, snarling at the Hornet. The whole world was a swirling, broken mirror of reality. This was the Interior.

He let the focus and the vision fall, and tried again. The Modules ran hotter, working with him. But once more he was met by demonic faces and an unwholesome landscape. The only real difference was the abrupt pounding in his skull, just behind his left eye.

‘What are you trying to do?’ asked Serrin.

Nicolai mumbled something about spirits in reply. His thoughts were elsewhere, trusting in Threat Analysis to monitor Serrin.

Should he go for the Scoundrels right now? Could he risk that? Was the Queen still busy subduing the Greybugs? He supposed he had to, regardless.

The longer those Scoundrels remained at large, the greater the odds were that his possession of the Assembler and its location would be spilled.

One point in his favour was that the Phantom City was closed for the day. In fact, its time had come to an end while he’d been stabbing that Highspawn to death.

Thus the Scoundrels would have to wait a week before they could tell anyone. Assuming they weren’t part of some larger organisation. But the fact there’d been two Cultivators and two from Earth suggested to him that wasn’t the case. He guessed the grouping had come about when they’d all been bidding on the polearm; likely the two pairs had been closer than anyone else to his rough location, thus decided to join funds and forces to bid on it and hunt him. He had yet to see any large groups mixing individuals of both races.

Even so, the longer they remained alive the greater the chance they would tell someone what they’d seen. He was suddenly glad there was no Network on this world, and that Local transmissions had a relatively short range.

He had one week to kill them. Once that time was up the odds of the Assembler being exposed shot up to over 90%.

He reached for his Mark, pulled up the activation UI for the Treasure Finder, considered what to specify. A detailed, accurate description of the polearm and its history should suffice. He plugged it rapidly in and engaged the search function.

And experienced a miserable jolt when, after a short search, it failed. Why? It must be protected from ripples. Which, in truth, wasn’t overly difficult. Presumably the Scoundrels had some kind of ritual-lined box they were keeping it in.

Serrin was blathering, words he barely paid attention to. But something the Hornet said caught at him, snatched at his mind like a hook at a fish. ‘You need to look into the Spirit Realm? Do you want me to have a look?’

Nicolai’s head rose. With a faint popping sensation his mind became fully aware of his surroundings and the Hornet at his side, peering earnestly at him.

‘You can do so?’

‘Since I was a child. What do you need?’

‘Look into the Spirit Realm, where the Blood Hunters appeared. There should be pale lines, known as spirit wire. Those lines lead to the individuals who created them.’

Serrin took a deep breath. His alien features stilled, his body relaxed. His Soul Sense stirred oddly, strangely. Nicolai observed it closely. Then Serrin stiffened and looked around.

‘There,’ he said. ‘I see them. Yes.’ He moved, staring at the ground, his head raised as though tracing something along it. ‘They’re going…’ He pointed out through the blast door, turned and flinched with shock upon seeing Nicolai, who’d sidled up close behind him to stare hungrily at the movements of his Soul.

Nicolai took a step back. ‘Then we follow.’

Stepping between the torn remnants of the security doors, Serrin pointed at an empty stretch of wall to the side of the ridge looking down at the mine. There was a much smaller but still intact security door there. ‘They go straight through that door.’

The door connected to the main corridor which ran from the Assembler room out to the jungle. He’d had this secondary door made for when the small cargo wagons had been tasked with transporting rubble through into the cave, which he’d then had concrete poured over to narrow it into a hallway, in order to shorten their route. It had no ritual lining.

He opened the door via Local command. It, like everything else in his base, was connected to the Assembler which was also acting as temporary generator and power storage. The lines were undamaged and it slid open, which drew a surprised emanation from Serrin.

He darted into the tunnel, Serrin following. As he went he pinged off a flurry of orders to Legal, who replied that it wasn’t an idiot and knew what to do. It was already directing bots, loaded with explosives, out to destroy the tunnels.

At a sudden prod from Threat Analysis, he retrieved the Artifact Ball from a pocket and tossed it. He instructed Legal to retrieve it and put it in his Ritual-lined bed-closet, where it should be safe from most forms of tracking. It wouldn’t do for a Highspawn to see him with the Artifact, and he hadn’t the time to break it in now in any case.

‘Will your people explore this place once Vexira has subjugated the Greybug Queen?’ he rippled to Serrin.

‘My people…’ murmured the Hornet with distaste. ‘Not unless there is reason,’ he said at length. ‘So long as it seems just a bunch of underground tunnels, they will stay no longer than they need to.’ His mandibles clicked angrily. ‘And don’t call them my people.’

Nicolai issued another Local order as they reached the end of the smooth, curving hallway, and the secret entrance hissed open.

They poured out into the sunlight, but Serrin barely seemed to notice. Nicolai hunkered down, looking around, sending out sonar pings. No Hornets that he could see. The door closed behind them. He could hear the reassuring sounds of ongoing battle from the other side of the hill.

‘They are not my people,’ Serrin was continuing, stuck on that point. ‘They are all monstrous and evil. I hate them. I want to be free of them. I—’

‘Do you see the lines?’

Serrin focused, then pointed. ‘Yes. They go that way,’ pointing into the jungle. ‘Huh. They are a little fainter, they might be fading.’

The Hornet seemed to realise the need for stealth, then, as he stopped his bitter murmuring about his kind. Nicolai performed his typical routine of poncho and Lurker, while Serrin engaged the typical Hornet invisibility. Nicolai, seeing him via sonar, grasped him before he could move out from the lee of the cave.

‘Better not use that. Any Hornets using the same effect will see you as a glowing purple form.’

‘No, they won’t. The Queen gives sets with additional functions to some of us. Mine is able to hide me from other Hornets, if I wish it. So that I can kill whoever she wants killed,’ he added, a sneer in his voice.

Nicolai didn’t argue, and they got moving. He made it into the jungle without issue. Serrin remained invisible but stuck close, directing him as they went. Once he’d covered enough ground to ensure ripples wouldn’t be felt by sentries back at the hill, he engaged the Claw and both Pegasi rings.

Serrin said the wire was getting fainter and fainter, guessed that in only a minute it would vanish entirely. But that wasn’t a problem, because of what he said shortly after.

‘We’re getting close. The wires were running close together, but now they’re spreading a little. Like they’re going towards individuals rather than a group.’

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