The New Chimera

Chapter 10: The King in Yellow



Lilith opened the book and began to read. The second she did, Judy saw her eyes glaze over as she entered some sort of trance.

“How are you doing, Lilith?” Tunem asked. There was a long pause, and when it became clear Lilith wasn’t going to answer, Tunem’s eyes hardened. “We’re aborting this test.” He said, slamming his fist against his chair. A series of glowing lines spiraled out from his chair and towards Lilith, but, in response, a series of lines spread out from the book, down Lilith’s arms, and into the circle.

They weren’t like the glowing lines that filled the circle before. Instead they sucked in the light, a sort of bubble of darkness growing around them as they moved and intercepted Tunem’s lines. There was a brilliant flash of light and then Tunem’s lines were overwhelmed, the book’s lines rapidly beginning to take over more and more of the circle.


Along the shore the cloud waves break,
The twin suns sink behind the lake,
The shadows lengthen
In Carcosa.


Assimilation
Xshbgip
Prerequisite: YPRSAU
The user is able to absorb any non-living biological entity, or any parts completely severed from a biological entity and gain all abilities the entity had or has. User must Assimilate at least half of the entity to gain this effect. If the user fully consumes a creature, the user is able to transform into a perfect duplicate of that creature, costing a small amount of Mana. User may also transform into a “personal” form of a race they have previously consumed. User is considered to have consumed their base form for the purpose of transformation and transforming into base form does not cost Mana. This effect is not magical in origin.

Another one of the council members, the angel who had given Lilith instructions, began to chant. A soft white light began to fill the room, and the progress of the lines’ conversion was slowed…until the white suddenly shifted to darkness with streaks of light resembling lightning bolts running through it, speeding the conversion of the lines even more.

Do not interrupt. We welcome another into our circle.


Strange is the night where black stars rise,
And strange moons circle through the skies,
But stranger still is
Lost Carcosa.


The woman quickly ceased her chant, and the darkness it had created faded. Two other Council members stood up, one unleashing a barrage of uncountable magical bullets towards Lilith while the other began to chant a spell.

The bullets were stopped in their tracks as the lines, which had finished corrupting the circle, sprung up and intercepted, swallowing the bullets whole before wrapping themselves around Lilith, writhing and lashing out against any stray shot.

Space seemed to distort as the other Council member finished his chant, and several of the lines that were intercepting bullets were cut off, teleported out of sight. Seconds later, they oozed down from the ceiling and in through the walls and door, having grown in number.

I believe we instructed you to stop. We do not wish to interfere with our new sibling’s playthings, but we will if we must.


“You, sir, should unmask.”
“Indeed?”
“Indeed it’s time. We have all laid aside disguise but you.”
“I wear no mask.”
“No mask? No mask!”


The Mask
Xshbgip
Prerequisite: ZPR
The user is able to freely adopt any alternate personalities that they have been subject to. The user may specify a duration for the alternate personality to be in effect and will revert to the original personality after the duration is over. This effect is not magical in origin.

Vithi shared a hug with Judy, uttering words of assurance which were more for herself than for Judy. Alex, however, was focused on Tunem, who was focusing incredibly hard if the beads of sweat running down his temple were any indication.

As one, all the seated Council members stood and began to channel nauseatingly thick waves of magic into one of their fellows, an elvish woman who was reciting a banishment spell.

While amusing, it won’t work. Sleep now and pray our new sibling will be lenient.

And then the magical energy they were pooling went haywire, and, one by one, the Council members collapsed back into their chairs, unconscious.


Songs that the Hyades shall sing,
Where flap the tatters of the King,
Must die unheard in
Dim Carcosa


Avatar
Xshbgip
Prerequisite: IMYR
The user is able to create a separate body with 10% of the magic capacity of the original. An amount of Mana equal to the avatar’s maximum capacity is spent upon creating the avatar, and any Mana remaining in the avatar upon destruction or dismissal is returned to the user, discarding any that would cause the user to go over maximum capacity. While Avatar is active, the user’s Mana capacity is capped at 90%. The avatar replenishes its Mana at a rate equal to 10% of the user’s rate. The body may be operated at any distance, but while operated the user is unable to move their main body. The user is aware of the location of the avatar if they are currently in the main body and are aware of the location of the main body if in the avatar. The user is forcibly pulled back into the main body if the main body is attacked. This effect is not magical in origin. This Skill(?) cannot be stripped from the user.

The Mask and Avatar have combined, forming My Other Self.

My other self
Skill???
Prerequisite: ???
The user is able to instill an avatar with one or more of the user’s alternate personalities upon creation. The user’s alternate personality will control the avatar, essentially granting the personality autonomy. If the avatar has multiple personalities within it, it may benefit from The Mask. The user cannot manually control an Avatar controlled by a personality. The avatar will sync memories with the main consciousness upon being dismissed, or whenever the avatar deems necessary, and the main consciousness can sync memories with the avatar whenever the main consciousness deems necessary. The avatar or main consciousness can choose to only sync certain memories with the other, although when the Avatar disappears all memories are always synced. Avatars piloted by an alternate personality may contain 20% of the magic capacity of the original and regain Mana at 20% the speed of the original. The user’s Mana cap remains at 90% while Avatar is active, and avatars are created using 10% of the user’s maximum Mana. Avatars with a personality will start with half the avatar’s capacity of Mana already stored unless the user chooses to use more Mana to create the avatar. The user may not access personalities currently in an Avatar. This effect is not magical in nature


Judy, Alex, and Vithi huddled together in terror, watching as Lilith robotically flipped the pages of the book. All sound save for the book’s pages was gone, and the lights had faded to the point where they could barely see, further stimulating the group’s anxieties.

Fear not, young ones. Should you not interfere, we will not harm you. We wish to be on good terms with our new sibling and harming you would ruin that.


Notuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponusnotuponus


Unknowable Entity
Xshbgip
Prerequisite: WJ
Attempting to read the mind of the user will result in weak-willed entities going insane. The type of insanity varies depending on the strength of will of the entity. The user may forcefully suppress this ability temporarily. The user is able to communicate telepathically with any being within sensory perception of the user or the user’s avatar. When communicating in this manner, the user may apply the same maddening effect to the entity being communicated with. User cannot go mindlessly insane but is still susceptible to other forms of insanity. This effect is not magical in origin. This skill(?) cannot be stripped from the user.

Song of my soul, my voice is dead,
Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed
Shall dry and die in
Lost Carcosa


King’s Knowledge
Xshbgip
Prerequisite: RLPVWJ
May combine with parts of the host and grant additional effects. Upon losing King’s Knowledge (due to fusing with another skill or being stripped by any sort of effect or magic), the user is instantly granted another copy of King’s Knowledge. If the user ever would have more than one copy of King’s Knowledge at once, extra copies are discarded. This effect is not magical in origin. This Skill(?) cannot be stripped from the user.

King’s Knowledge and Instinct (Knowledge) have combined to form Help Yourself

Help Yourself
Combination
Origin: Eldritch
Grants the ability to read a “help” screen about a concept or object. The more the user knows about the subject, the more detailed the text in the help is. This ability will update information given by Instinct on abilities outside of Instinct’s magical system, letting it provide better information. This ability and all components cannot be stripped from the user.

Help: Combined Skills
Certain abilities originating from outside the “conventional” system of magic, such as those gained from an elder god “Domain” (for why the user has access to these sorts of “Domains” see the relevant section of Perfect Chimera opened below) can provoke changes in Skills or Traits the user already has. The ability triggering the change and any affected abilities are combined into one ability, retaining all previous effects of the abilities unless stated otherwise. As Instinct (Knowledge) is unable to properly categorize these abilities, King’s Knowledge will overwrite the category as “Combination”. Although Combinations have an “Origin”, each of their component portions retain their own Origin, and those may be interacted with as with other abilities of that Origin.
Help: Perfect Chimera
A Perfect Chimera is, by nature, a creature that should not exist. They are, in essence, beings that are every single type of being in the current dimension simultaneously. The system usually treats this Domain as a sort of archive of all beings that are in or have once been in the current plane. As the system cannot have a tag that is inaccurate, if a being that is not part of the Perfect Chimera “tag” enters the current dimension in any form, that being is added to the “tag”.

 If a being somehow manages to obtain this Domain, the system takes information about all the beings within this archive and applies it to the one with the Domain. As this contains information from outside the current plane, the owner of this Domain has access to systems that are not within the current plane’s native system of magic. When using the system to view these types of abilities, it attempts to fit it into its own system, resulting in odd information.
It is unknown what would happen if a being with the Perfect Chimera Domain would travel outside of a plane governed by the current system of magic.

 

Suppression and King’s Knowledge have combined to form Advanced Suppression.

Advanced Suppression
Combination
Origin: Eldritch
User may choose to suppress any individual ability, even if the origin is not magical. Once activated, one such suppression may be maintained without any conscious effort, and further suppressions may be done if the user focuses. This skill and all components cannot be stripped from the user.

Assimilation, Vessel, and King’s Knowledge have combined to form Ruler’s Right. For notes on abilities the user had but might have missed, see the bottom of the window.

Ruler’s Right
Combination
Origin: Eldritch
The user permanently gains all abilities that their subordinates possess. The races of all subordinates are considered known and may be transformed into using Assimilation. This skill and all components cannot be stripped from the user.

Help Yourself and Effect: Omniglot have combined to form Decipher.

Decipher
Combination
Origin: Eldritch
The user can, at a glance, understand any magic formation or written spell, and can flawlessly reproduce them (If it is a chanted spell being reproduced, the user will know the words perfectly. Errors may still be made in the process of chanting). Formations and spells are stored in a database (can be viewed via help menu) and may be used to improve upon each other or fix flaws found in formations or spells. When casting a spell with a chant, this skill may be used to alter components of the spell that usually would be altered with chantless casting. This skill and all components cannot be stripped from the user.

Decipher and Effect: Powerful Mage have combined to form Innate Spellcaster.

Innate Spellcaster
Combination
Origin: Eldritch
The user can cast spells without a chant for a 50% increase in Mana consumption. If the user would otherwise be able to chantlessly cast the spell, there is no increase in Mana consumption for doing so, and alterations may be made without an additional cost. User can apply the effects of any targeted Eldritch ability to a spell for an increase in Mana consumption equal to the cost of using the original effect. This ability and all components cannot be stripped from the user.

Help: Unknown Abilities
The user gained several abilities when they subjugated Alex, and due to the foggy nature of the user’s consciousness at the time, they waved away the ability descriptions. The relevant ability, Vessel, allows the user to hold part of their subject’s mana within themselves with no ill effects.

The user has gained the Mask “Carmen”.


Lilith snapped back into focus, feeling…refreshed and full of energy, like she’d just had a good night’s sleep. She dismissed the notifications, as she already knew full well what they contained.

And then she stopped, looking at her surroundings; the room was in complete disarray, with the Council members passed out on the floor. She quickly whirled to face the circle where Alex, Judy, and Vithi were, and breathed a sigh of relief as she saw that they were safe.

The inhabitants of the circle didn’t seem to share that relief, however. All of them save for Judy shied away from Lilith’s gaze, fear visible in their eyes.

“Is that…still you in there?” Judy squeaked.

“Yeah, it’s still me. What happened?” Lilith asked.

“Um…before we get into that, do you feel any different? Any new urges or impulses or anything?”

Lilith shrugged. “I feel perfectly normal. I got a bunch of new abilities and stuff, but other than that I feel fine. Of course, I guess if I was insidiously insane instead of crazy insane, I’d say the same thing so…watch me carefully, I suppose. Not sure what more I can say, though, so…yeah.”

Judy sighed. “Good enough for now, I suppose. Well, what happened is that the moment you opened the book you stopped responding to us, and the Council tried to activate the circle, but something stopped them. The thing said something about welcoming a new sibling and not wanting to interfere with the new sibling’s playthings, and it put the Council to sleep. The three of us have been here for about an hour after that, just…watching you read.”

Lilith frowned. “That’s just…great. Let’s get the Council woken up, and we’ll figure out what to do from there, alright?”

The other three seemed to be in agreement, so they got to work waking up the Council, in hopes that they would know what to do. Once everyone was awake, the angel who had originally given Lilith instructions began to speak. “We’re going to have Kali, our information specialist, subject you to a deep mental search. Until we’re convinced that you’re safe, you’re to stay in here, understand?”

Lilith nodded. “That sounds fair. Can the others leave?”

“No.” The woman replied. “As they were conscious while we weren’t, we can’t be sure they haven’t been compromised in some way. They’re going to get searched as well after your search is finished. Kali, do you need anything to perform this search?”

The succubus Lilith had taken note of earlier began to speak. “Nope!” She chirped. “Just some time.” She walked over to Lilith, smiling brightly. “My name’s Kali, I’m a succubus and chief of intelligence for the Protectorate.”

Lilith’s heart sped up as Kali approached. She couldn’t quite put her finger on why, either; Kali didn’t look particularly alluring or threatening or anything. She had long black hair, brown eyes, and was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and pants. Aside from the bat wings and spade tail, she looked like your average girl-next-door, nothing special.

Seeing Lilith’s expression, she winked. “The reputation of succubi on Earth is greatly overblown. We’re not in go mode all the time, you know. You’ve got as much of the succubus Domain unlocked as me, so if we were, you’d have known by now. Anyway, you ready?”

Lilith blushed, looking away. “Yeah, but um…for what it’s worth, I just got an ability that makes ‘weak-minded’ people go insane upon reading my mind.” Lilith informed. “I can turn it off for you if you want, but I figured I’d let you know and give you the option first in case you want to examine me with it on.”

Kali laughed. “No problem there, I’m not head of intelligence for nothing. I’ll back out if I feel it’s too much but go ahead and leave it on for now.”

Lilith nodded. “Ready when you are, then.”

Kali nodded, stepping up close to Lilith and putting a finger on her forehead. “Ooh, you really weren’t kidding, that’s some nasty stuff. Don’t worry, I’m perfectly fine, this is just gonna take a bit, feel free to talk with everyone else while I look through this.” She removed her finger, sitting down on the floor next to Lilith.

Noticing Lilith’s confused expression, she gave her a wink. “What, expecting more? Well, if you’re a good girl, I wouldn’t be opposed to giving you a kiss later.”

Lilith blushed even more. “No, I, um…just thought you would stay in contact the entire time, so I was surprised, that’s all.”

Kali laughed. “I’m just messing with you. Offer’s open, though. Anyway, I’m going to have to focus on this, so don’t expect me to do any more talking until I’m done.”

As she fell silent, Tunem stepped up. “I’m going to do some identification spells and see if I can find anything malicious.” He said, then began to chant a spell. After he finished chanting, he withdrew and began to talk with the other Council members, presumably reporting his findings to them.

About ten minutes after that, Kali seemed to come out of her trance, walking over to the Council and reporting her findings. While she did, Judy approached Lilith, giving her a hug. “How are you holding up?” She asked.

“I’m fine.” Lilith replied. “How about you, though? Are you sure you should be trusting me, though? I mean, I feel fine, but that’s just taking my word for it.”

Judy shrugged. “They’ve finished their analysis and haven’t immediately come to get rid of you or stopped me from talking to you. As far as I’m concerned, that means you’re safe enough for the time being.”

The two chatted a little more before Tunem cleared his throat, interrupting them. “I have good news and bad news. The good news is that, as far as we can tell, Lilith is clean. The bad news is that we’re going to be putting all four of you under house arrest. We won’t let you leave this demiplane until we can be absolutely sure Lilith isn’t going to start causing trouble once she leaves.”

As with last chapter, much of this one is unchanged.

Um, fun facts...the more poem-y bits (minus the "not upon us" part) are the full text of The King in Yellow. Well, depending on how you look at it. The IRL book named "The King in Yellow" is about a fictional book of the same name (and it's public domain too, so I get to use it here here!), and this is the full text of the fictional book. We only ever get snippets of it.

Also the garbled text in this chapter is the result of a cipher. I don't remember the exact key to it, sorry, but I'm like...75% sure the prerequisite stuff just reads "The King in Yellow" spread across the abilities.

I suppose that's all I have to talk about, though, so, as always, thanks for reading!


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