World Keeper

Chapter 500: Time Marches On

After I saw Tubrock and Ryone set up Tubrock’s new dimension for his three crafted worlds, I saw Ryone returning to the Admin Room. She all but hobbled to her room, her energy clearly drained as she pushed open the door and collapsed in her bed. From what they had said about Ashley, creating an entirely new dimension had taken her a full month of ‘world time’ to recover. I expected something similar with this situation.

But first… Terra, quick question for you.

Hmm? The catgirl responded mentally, a touch of interest in her tone. I hadn’t really bothered her much lately, since the reveal of James being reborn somewhere within Fyor. But, I felt that this was a conundrum worthy of sharing.

This new world that Tubrock and Ryone made… would it be considered a part of my territory? It was made by one of my gods, and has a Fairy Ring, but otherwise has none of the normal standards that would make it mine. I haven’t purchased it, none of my purchased races inhabit it, nothing like that.

There was a brief pause before Terra answered, as if having to consider her response. This one… I don’t think it will be treated as your world for a while. As Tubrock personally crafted his sentient golems, they are regarded as ‘his’ property, and by extension yours. Once they inhabit the area, the system will recognize the location as part of your territory.

As for the territory itself being created by a god, that doesn’t influence this decision. Otherwise, the worlds inside of Tsubaki’s ‘Reality Gems’ would all be considered as a part of your realm, given that one of them was made by you personally, and a god created the others. It would be too easy of a trap if a Keeper were simply capable of creating thousands of those little gems as potential targets for invasion.

Thinking about that, I offered a small nod. The idea that an invasion could occur within the reality gems never even occurred to me. After all, there was no way in or out that I was aware of. Perhaps, if I used my world sight, I’d be able to peer in and see which world was chosen before destroying that marble. If I look at it that way, it would truly be too easy to set up traps like that.

Still, even if it wasn’t actually part of ‘my’ territory, it was saved. Once Tubrock added the first of his three worlds, which included the Fairy Ring, I noticed the world appearing within my list of available territories as something that I could buy. I assumed that it would simply take a year within the world first, at which point it would automatically enter my hands.

The only concern was… without the universe it was in being under my control, just how would that year pass in the first place? If I was unable to influence its flow of time, then naturally that would be the same with the other gods. Didn’t that mean that it would be forever stuck in this primordial state for… well, essentially forever?

As I was asking myself that, I noticed something within that realm. Its appearance in my interface was blinking rapidly… and then suddenly vanished. Instead, it appeared in my ‘owned’ list, leaving me utterly speechless.

“But… what? I’m sorry, what?” I shook my head in disbelief, opening the map of that world. Inside, I saw not the seas of cosmic dust, but fully formed solar systems and galaxies, rotating at a visible speed before slowing to a halt. “I’m sorry, what!?”

My confusion was, I felt, well deserved. After all, even Terra said that it would be a while before I received this world. And yet, it had happened in mere moments. As such, I began to search through the map of the world, looking for any unusual objects. That’s when I found them. Millions… maybe even billions of comets that had been mixed in with the expanding field of the universe.

Each of these comets were a wardstone, powered by a reality gem. This ward expanded and proliferated to cover the entire cosmos. And, on a close inspection, had the function of accelerating time within its field, with its only other function being to replicate itself after a certain duration.

“How do you even place a ward on an entire universe!?” I asked out loud, knowing that Tsubaki would be very interested in learning that secret as well. Though, perhaps it was only really possible due to it being initiated at the ‘dawn’ of the universe. But still, that was ridiculous. Or should I say that it was as expected of Tubrock?

As I was wondering that, I noticed that the control point of the ward had vanished, rendering the entire thing inoperable. Was Tubrock standing by, watching the growth of the universe and waiting to pluck it away when the time was right? No, that’s not what he did first… time was still accelerating when I saw this world appear.

Scanning back through the world’s history, I soon arrived at my answer. One hundred thousand years prior, Tubrock seeded his three worlds each with one hundred infant golems…

The metal clanging could be heard throughout the large hall as a tall figure appeared. One of his ‘eyes’ was covered by a glass lens, blinking with a brass shudder, while the other was fully encased. He spoke with a firm voice, despite the otherwise complete lack of a mouth. “Lord Geer, I am here to report.”

Sitting before him was a metal giant, chest bared to reveal spinning gears and puffs of steam. He sat upon a brass throne, twenty meters tall in this position and far dwarfing the mechanical figure before him. “Speak.” ‘Lord Geer’ said in a dull, resounding tone.

“The Cog Scouts have discovered three potential mining planets, rich in dimensium and iron ores. However, there appears to be organic life present within one of these worlds. How do you wish to proceed?”

“What level has the organic life reached?” The giant’s voice was emotionless as it asked this question.

“The scouts report that they have begun the understanding of primitive tools, but show no signs of civilization.”

“I see…” After those words, silence fell over the room for several long moments. “Send the Harvester.”

The retainer offered a nod, as if expecting these words, before turning and walking out of the room. Perhaps, if the race had been more advanced, there would have been room for discussion. However, in their present state, there was no such need to do so. Dimensium was far too valuable, capable of creating powerful artifacts that could amplify the ability of magical cards.

The figure held one hand forward, his arm bare and showing a metallic skeleton lined with tubes and pistons. In front of his hand, a geometric magic formula formed. “Lord Geer has spoken. The worlds shall be harvested.”

“Understood, commander.” A voice spoke through the formation. “For the Gears.”

“Shh, shh, it’s okay now.” A figure spoke in a gentle, motherly tone. Her body was sleek, seemingly composed of a single piece as she bent down to lift a smaller form into her arms. She was quite clearly metallic by her lustrous silver skin, her eyes glossy as she looked at the babe in her arms.

“Shar mirran.” She spoke the tongue of magic, the metallic infant calming. “It’s okay. We all take a while to assume a proper form. Don’t worry, you’ll adjust soon.” At a closer look, it could be seen that the baby’s facial features were rippling like an upset pond, unable to settle on a single appearance.

“High Mother.” A voice spoke up in the room, sounding extremely respectful. Along the wall, a string of runes condensed and formed a projection of a male figure, similarly composed of smooth metal.

“Knight Jessin. What is the problem for you to call me at this hour?” The woman asked, never dropping her pleasant tone as she placed the infant back into its crib. She stood within a large room, filled with hundreds of such cribs. And, within each was either a fully formed infant such as she was holding, or a puddle of liquid metal struggling to take shape.

“Our colony ships have reported back, as requested. They arrived at the target world, but found it to be inhabited, and wish for your wisdom.”

“What is their civilization level?” The High Mother asked, walking along the room and inspecting each crib.

“Only one, High Mother, and barely so at that. Scans indicate a lack of manufactured structures within the planet.”

“I see.” She nodded, speaking in a casual tone. “Send in the Speakers to make first contact. If they show promise, we will welcome them into the fold. However, if they initiate hostilities, you have my permission to use the Unspoken Word.” There was a flash of reluctance as she gave that command, but she did so anyways.

The Unspoken Word had another name among their people, the Unraveler. It was capable of erasing its targets so completely that the world itself seemed to forget them. “Are you sure that is necessary, High Mother?”

“Like I said, only if they attack first.” She nodded her head. “You must not underestimate any creature simply due to its apparent simplicity. If they show the willingness to become a threat to our people, we must treat them as one. However, if they accept our guidance, we will find a place for them within the Network.”

“As you wish, High Mother.” The figure within the projection said, before the projection itself shattered into countless runes.

An armored figure stood atop a tall balcony, looking out over the world. The glittering landscape reflected within his black, glass eyes. Spires erected since before time itself shielded their world, while furnaces beneath the surface worked to create products in accordance with the designs fed into them.

Yet, there still existed more, hidden secrets within his domain. Functions of the world itself that he had yet to unlock. As the bearer of the King’s Card, he should have been capable of commanding all of the world’s facilities, but there were certain areas that simply refused to answer him.

“My lord, there has been a change within the third district.” A voice spoke up, seeming to come from the king himself. However, he simply reached into his breast pocket, retrieving a card that depicted a face. Their forms were slim, yet with sharp angles. Such was the aesthetic that they had been created with at the dawn of their history, and such had stayed with them until now.

“Show me.” The king spoke, waving the card in the air. Immediately, it enlarged, becoming a window through which he looked. His subordinate was standing within a high-traffic area, though the traffic was almost entirely in the forms of shadows passing over his head. Only a few figures walked the streets, after all.

There, within a public square at the heart of the third district, a circular plate was letting out a deep hiss of steam. This was but one of the many regions where the King’s Card had yet to grant him control. That alone had made it obvious to him that there was something hidden beneath this square, yet every attempt to probe it, either magically or mechanically, had been repelled.

Soon, the circular plate began rotating, sinking down beneath the surface. And then, sliding off to one side to reveal a pit thirty meters wide. “Sikar, prepare a team.” The king spoke, before realizing that this command was not necessary. A new structure was beginning to rise up from the pit, slowly spinning as it replaced the plate which had once been there.

This structure appeared to be a large, black ring resting atop an elevator platform. “Make that a research team. Look for an Archive Card.” Now that a new structure had appeared, there was a need for the king to understand its purpose. With any luck, the Creator had left behind a guide, as he had with many facilities before. If not, it would simply be a matter of discovering the answer on their own.

“Three worlds, three golems… so that’s the significance of the number.” I muttered to myself as I looked at each of the worlds. “Three systems of magic.” There was the Gear Federation, clockwork golems that specialized in geometric magic. From what I saw, they had a more pragmatic, war-like agenda.

Then there was the Sliphere Network, liquid metal golems that had mastered runic magic. While they seemed more peaceful, this peace was balanced with the constant readiness to do battle. Similar to their clockwork counterparts, they did not hesitate to use their greatest weapons against any threat. The main difference was that they did not jump so quickly to assume that everything was a threat to their race.

And then, finally, the Aquilo March. This was the third race, which was also positioned on the planet where Tubrock installed the Fairy Ring. They did not seem to have any interest in war outside of a means to defend themselves. Their cultural focus leaned heavily towards understanding, and they used their card magic in interesting ways to further their own knowledge.

Even though each race was theoretically capable of using the magic of other races, similar to how the Gear Federation was seeking out dimensium in order to refine more powerful card-based weapons, they maintained a strong focus on their own field. If I had to guess, each planet’s internal workings was based on one of the different types of magic, with Tubrock providing small hints to get them set up.

“That… is going to be interesting to see how it turns out.”