The Oracle Paths

"It seems that these monsters are able to sense when their ship is sinking." Cekt stroked his goatee wistfully. "I might have underestimated them."

"Aren't they subordinate to the Dungeon Digestor?" Will inquired uneasily. "I thought it could control them like it did with the grey orc archer on the First Floor when they ambushed us."

The old alien tutted at him ungraciously before kindly pointing out his mistake,

"That's where you're wrong. The Dungeon doesn't actually breed these Digestors. Digestors can spawn from nothing by accumulating ambient Aether because they are already there from the start. You can think of these unborn Digestors as eggs, spores or even a dormant computer virus waiting to activate. The Dungeon Digestor simply centralizes these stray spores in the Mirror Universe and voluntarily supplies them with the Aether, and the genetic and Aetheric data required to guide their evolution. Without the Dungeon, these Digestors would have spawned sooner or later, but in the wild, and with random appearances. Their Aether levels would also have been at their lowest, slightly below the local Aether density.

"Because of this shaky start, their cognitive faculties would have been too limited and their evolution completely random depending on what they devoured or experienced. It is only after having developed a brain capable of feeling and questioning that they would have taken their evolution in hand, but often at this stage it is already too late and most of them would remain failures. Stupid and farcical abominations doomed to be controlled by their more evolved peers.

"By directing The Digestors' development, the Dungeon is undoubtedly bestowing a great boon upon them. The fact that this Dungeon used intelligent Evolvers as a reference to solidify its Nexus made it more dangerous. Even the goblins of the Second Floor have the potential to become devastating Digestors if given the time and opportunity."

The Nosk, listening intently from the side, had regained his color and his frigid aura was quickly regaining its vigor. His dendrites were beginning to light up again one by one, emitting a bright white flicker.

"In other words, the Dungeon Digestor does not control the Digestors it creates, it only hosts them and gives them orders. The warrior grunted matter-of-factly with no respect for the demon creator who had almost sent him to his death. "In the end, this Dungeon is just a higher-rank Digestor."

"Yeah... But a Rank 13, so please know your place." Jake rolled his eyes, blown away by the Nosk's quiet arrogance. "By the way, what's your name? Can't call you, you or hey all the time."

The Nosk Warrior took no offense and replied proudly, exposing the many striations on his right forearm after removing his gauntlet. There were 27 in total, 27 scars.

"My name is Khug' Kagamai, Master Hunter of the Khug' order. If I had defeated this demon, I could have received my 28th mark."

As he spoke these last words, the alien was clearly dejected, but he immediately felt better as he thought back to the spear he had just obtained. Although Cekt had finished the job, the Aetherist had left him to pick up the loot.

Jake and Will felt nothing as they heard him talk about his 28th mark. What did that mean? That he had only killed 28 enemies so far? It didn't matter. There were more pressing matters at the moment.

As with the White Drake, they questioned the Nosk, who despite his taciturn and solitary nature was willing to cooperate. The alien probably didn't converse very often, and his lamprey mouth wasn't really adapted to produce this kind of sound. The result sounded guttural and slurred, more like a stomach growl than a human voice.

Still, Cekt remained all smiles, obviously used to dealing with all types of individuals. The Nosk had regrettably not crossed anyone. He was one of the few, who had passed the Fourth Floor Boss head-on without using any tricks, but had deemed it too weak to become his 28th mark. The Floor Boss also knew how to recognize a deadly enemy and had turned a blind eye, just like for Crygo and the Taotie.

"Did you kill the Fifth Floor Boss?" Jake asked.

"No. I heard from Crygo that Darkplume took care of him, but it managed to escape. Crygo and the Taotie preferred to stay farming on the Fifth Floor, but she pressed on. She should have been the first to reach the Sixth Floor."

Jake and Will thought back to the beautiful giant female peacock that had chatted with the whale as an equal, raising a hurricane with a flap of her wing. That bird did have what it took to survive here.

"A giant peacock you said? What did it look like?"

Cekt's brow furrowed at her physical description and he scanned the floor again with his senses but found no sign of the female peacock.

"She's gone." The Aetherist sighed regretfully.

"What's the big deal?" Jake asked with a startled look. He had never seen the little alien so frustrated.

"Nothing." Cekt shook off his tumultuous thoughts with a deep exhale. "This peacock is nothing, but her powers are interesting. It's a rare bloodline to get. I'm curious what opportunities she encountered in her Ordeals to evolve like this...

The Aetherist said no more, but as the Nosk knows nothing more about the matter, it was time to get back on the road. Unlike the White Drake, Khug' Kagamai insisted on accompanying them. His warrior's instinct compelled him to confront the entity at the bottom of this Dungeon.

The quartet, therefore, set off again, wisely letting Cekt's mobile shield carry them. Spinning like a shooting star, they searched the dark sea up and down for the entrance to the Seventh and final floor. Based on the distance of the explosion they had felt on the Fourth Floor, that was the conclusion the Aetherist had reached.

This time, the little alien did not settle for a global mental scan, but a focused investigation of small areas. When Cekt concentrated his vast consciousness into a single beam, his mental power could literally see through the most opaque of materials and the Dungeon Digestor walls were no exception.

About a minute later, they found the entrance sealed by Hecate to the bottom floor.

It was ironic that like the Fifth Floor, the entrance was at the very bottom of a liquid expanse. The only catch was that unlike the Fifth Floor, where drowning was relatively easy, this black sea was filled with a substance so thick and dense that although drowning was possible, the drowning person would be stuck like a prehistoric mosquito in amber just a few feet beneath the surface.

This sea was as deep as the one on the Fifth Floor and without an inordinate amount of power, it was illusory to even dream of reaching the seabed. Without going through the dedicated path, reaching the Nexus was simply impossible. Now that the entrance was sealed, it would take at least the power of an Oracle Guardian to force the passage.

Cekt obviously knew about the traitor Kokoon, but neither White Drake nor Khug' Kagamai had come across him. If he had passed by, he had been as stealthy as a ghost. This was of course not surprising for an Evolver of his caliber.

As soon as the Aetherist found the entrance, he impatiently waved his cane and the vortex was restored, a wormhole forming once again in the heart of the dark sea. The little alien's consciousness shot through the tunnel unimpeded and he finally got a clear view of the situation on the Seventh Floor.

His wrinkled face immediately showed a deep weariness, as if he had not expected to find anything else there all along. Turning to the two humans, he warned them,

"There's nothing to see down there. The one you are looking for is long gone. Kokoon is gone too."

Jake and Will's hearts sank and they became livid but they had already mentally prepared for it.

"What about the Nexus?" The Nosk asked impassively, not caring about their grief.

"Gone." Cekt replied flatly. Addressing the two humans again, he asked, "You still want to go down there?"

Jake and Will exchanged a look, then nodded resolutely. So much for going all the way down. As long as Hecate was alive, all hope was not lost for Kyle's soul.

"Is it possible to check if someone's soul still exists? Or even locate it?" Will asked nervously. He was apprehensive about the answer.

Cekt, expecting a much more serious question, burst out laughing loudly.

"Is it the worry that has made you dumb? He teased gently. "You have an Oracle Device. Use it."

The businessman bugged for a brief moment, then realized the idiocy of his question. Because their bracelet was malfunctioning in Digestor territory, they had forgotten the omniscience of the Oracle System. As long as an Evolver was wearing their bracelet, there were no everlasting secrets.

Jake had other considerations. Cekt hadn't said he would help them find Kyle. If Hecate was as formidable as she had made herself out to be, then her Oracle Rank was obviously far above his. If she really did hold Kyle's soul, then to find him they would have to surpass her.

By then, would Kyle still be able to be saved? Jake didn't have much hope. He was making fast progress, but at the risk of his life. Hecate was obviously progressing even faster or her starting point was much higher.

Worst of all, not having found Bhuzkoc and not knowing if he had been killed, they couldn't even free Maeve from her Slave Contract. All Jake could promise himself was to prevent her from falling back into the hands of such a master.