War For Underworld

The Source of the Bluethorn

Jaymes, two hours later

"You look troubled," Medina says as the three of us make the early-morning trek to the lair of the third Ancient Apostle. Truth be told, I'm more than troubled. After seeing Medina brutally wounded, wondering if she'll make it the last three days, then yesterday's weird phenomenon in which I cannot sense any part of the world beyond the ridge that continues until now... I fear we're entering a trap we can no longer avoid. The latter instance all but confirms it; it stopped me from returning to Medina in her fight against Eydis for just a few minutes. If I cannot fast-travel to any part of the Underworld because of the unseen barrier on my Incarnation, that means something is going on, either here or outside the Windcutter's Ridge. Maybe even both.

Medina getting a look at Eydis' compatriots is good news. A man in gold armor, and a woman in silver, but neither bore the mark of the Order of the Integrity Knights. My immediate hypothesis is that these beings were once captured by the Pontifex. Like Hersyrian, they must've 'heard her voice' after Kirito slew her and woke up from Deep Freeze.

"Just thinking about who the enemy is."

"And?"

"The only explainable origin is that Quinella had them in Deep Freeze like Hersyrian. And like Herysrian..."

Medina makes a face as I mention the Pontifex's son. Well, adopted son, and from what I recall of the moments with them together, "Mother" was not an arbitrary title; it did seem she treated him as her own child, as far as Quinella could in her chilly (but not exactly cold) heart. However, Hersyrian was jealous of the attention Quinella gave the Orthinanos family, so much so that the man betrayed his mother by diluting the pure bloodline himself-in other words, he's Medina's ancestor.

Hersyrian also bears many attributes Medina and I went over in comparison to the characteristics of our enemy. Despite being born at the peak of Administrator's reign, he was born into the wilds of the western kingdom. He told us he killed an elderly couple who found him, then brought him to the ruler of the empire herself. However, Hersyrian had no knowledge of the Taboo Index, which binds the empire's denizens to a certain degree of subjugation like the Law of Power does to the darkworlders. Because of it, he was outside the norm of Quinella's order, but she took him in and made him an enforcer.

That same freedom from the order of the world was his downfall when he raped the fifth head of the Orthinanos family, Miriam Orthinanos, all because the Pontifex was transfixed on the family's ability, the Reserve Forces Module, which directs personality data from the outside world (specifically, gamers playing in VR worlds connected to the Seed Nexus) and molds that data into Medina's wayfarers. Quinella was looking to reverse-engineer the module to escape the Underworld, forcing the Orthinanos bloodline for five generations to remain pure until Herysrian's interference. Ironically, Herysrian used Medina's power to help resurrect Quinella, but the obsession to be seen by Quinella would be his downfall again, this time permanently.

"You think they woke from Deep Freeze just as he did by hearing Administrator's voice. From what I remember, she did call to many, but only Hersyrian answered, right?"

"True, but that doesn't mean others didn't awaken. Herysrian wasn't controlled by the Synthesis Ritual like the knights. So if his servitude to Quinella is natural..."

"So could be someone else's resistance. As long as they have no knowledge of the Taboo Index, or freed themselves from it." Medina makes another face, one less disgusted and annoyed as she looks at her protege who walks ahead of the pair. "Are we almost there?"