Chapter 4 of 89 · Book 7, This Inevitable Ruin

Chapter 4 — Gloom Wraith Phase

Book: This Inevitable Ruin · Part: The Ceasefire · Previous: Chapter 3 — The Tiara of a Thousand Lights · Next: Chapter 5 — Dante; Sir Rendlegore · Floor: Floor 9 — Faction Wars · Series: the series

Opening

“Hey!” Donut said as all the boxes lined up behind me.

Summary

Carl's boxes. A fan box gives 2,000 rounds of ammunition and a shoulder holster with 'Carl' pressed into the leather — they know he still has his father's Glock, and he has no intention of ever wearing it. The Conch box gives surefires for missiles; the Loot Punch Card is a paper with five spots and one punched in the shape of a foot; a Gold Pet Box gives biscuits and a coupon for a store called PetScapes that nobody has heard of. The XL Tserendolgor box has parts for the automaton fabricator he has wanted since the manual; the Hell in a Handbasket box a small patch of a travelling Reaper Spider Minion merchant that grants access to the Midnight Market — 'a place you need to stay out of', says Mordecai, which Donut says is the surest way to send Carl there; the Hell Comes to Crawler Town box unenchanted bagpipes, three third-tier personal-space coupons and a town upgrade coupon for the castle. The Legendary Spicy Box, a sizzling strawberry, holds a silver toe ring for the left pinky: Heart Balance stores an auto-trigger potion (Carl sets a gold healing potion at 2%), Mind Balance protects from Enslavement and Conscription — and reads 'currently triggered' the moment it is on — and Physical Balance grants Extra Steady Balance and Walk on Air, '(already obtained)'. Carl has never had Walk on Air. It is Li Jun's skill, and the taste of Li Jun's eye comes back with Shi Maria's promise that he might gain some of his skills; he messages an apology and gets no answer. The Celestial Heavy Metal Box is a drum kit with Amayon's face on both bass drums, played by a demon, that explodes into a smoke '666' and leaves a horned-skull bottle labelled 'Drink Me': the Hell-Kissed Celestial Skill Potion of the Prince of Woe, a random level 10–15 combat skill from any Sheol mob of level 200 or higher. Mordecai, shaking, takes it to his table — he can make these now, with more upgrades and rare ingredients — and brings it back; the bottle itself says 'Put me inside of you.' A flash of Sheol, sulphur and worms, and Carl has Gloom Wraith Phase, level 13: a non-corporeal lunge that scrambles unarmoured flesh and passes through obstacles, halving his mana per burst. Mordecai takes off the raccoon hat: they are now the most powerful crawlers he has ever worked with, including some who passed the eleventh. 'Good […] because we have eight whole armies to kill.' Donut vogues in her champion shawl and insists on Carl's hair before anything else; the tonic's instructions are a fold-out of warnings. Katia is delayed carrying Tran, who has lost his wheelchair; Louis reports that the guards at the college say Juice Box is in the castle, still underwater, and that Samantha has rolled off screaming that she will kill a woman named Tish, with Katia in pursuit. Samantha, caught: 'I AM A WOMAN SCORNED.' And she wants to know whether Carl has shown Donut his pet tummy acher yet.

Characters

• Carl — A toe ring that says Mind Balance is already triggered; Walk on Air 'already obtained'; a demon's skill.
• Mordecai — Shaking over a potion he could brew; 'some seriously scary bastards now'.
• Princess Donut — 'You have to have me do it'; a champion shawl in the mirror.
• Li Jun and Zhang — Li Jun's Walk on Air is on Carl's list; an apology unanswered.
• Samantha — Off after Tish, rolling not floating, until Katia corners her.
• Louis and Firas — Louis at the college, filling out a visitor pass, with a celestial box unopened.
• Katia Grim — Carrying Tran; chasing a head through a college.

Locations

• Larracos — The college's guards are sluggish and Despondent; the castle is still underwater.
• The Midnight Market — A patch grants access; 'Safety or Sanity not guaranteed.'

Motifs

• Carl's family — A holster with his name on it, for the Glock he will not draw.
• The Eye of the Bedlam Bride — A closed eye moving under his shirt in REM sleep.
• Sheol — A flash of the hellscape as the potion goes down.
• Loot boxes — A drum kit with Amayon's face; a talking bottle.
• The Scavenger's Daughter — Every patch raises every stat, so the spider patch goes on now.