by John Gold
The group thanks LJ for his story. Isaac turned to whisper to Femida.
“That sounded like Sagie’s story, just retouched.”
Femida nodded. She’d caught the similarities, too.
The meeting went on for another hour, though LJ didn’t pay any more attention to Isaac. In fact, he did his best to pretend that he didn’t exist. When the group dispersed, Femida stopped the newcomer. She mentioned to him what was bothering her as they left the creativity building.
“Your story was awfully similar to Sagie’s. I knew him personally, so I take issue with that. If you’re here on a quest from the gods and decided I know where he’s hiding, you’re going to be very disappointed. We haven’t seen each other in five years. There’s nothing to tell.”
Cinder fell on the prison’s magic dome and burned away without getting inside. Somewhere off in the distance, a tongue of flame licked at the stone arch at the top of the enormous cave. Three small human figures stood at the gaping vertical shaft at the center of the island. Femida watched the workers toil, bringing up new loads of ore. The day shift was pulling themselves up the ladder after a long day of hard work.
The mine was big enough for a whole castle to fit inside, and it dropped three kilometers down to where the richest mithril deposits were.
LJ ignored Femida, his eyes on Isaac’s plate armor boots. He was barefoot and wearing a worn, striped outfit. But where had he possibly gotten his clothing singed?
“Those are nice boots. Lord sandals?”
Isaac didn’t react.
But Femida didn’t like the newcomer’s attitude. She was in charge in Valhalla, and she wasn’t used to getting treated like that. Her hands involuntarily clenched the railing tighter.
“LJ, I’m talking with you. Do people the courtesy of listening when they do that.”
The boy turned and looked at her as though she didn’t exist. An animal, a piece of decor, nothing worth respect. Then he asked her a question she wasn’t expecting in the least.
“And who are you?”
“Femida. You wanted to talk with me, no?”
Human, Femida, Level 833
The young man glanced up at the script, doubt flickering in his eyes.
“If you’re Femida, answer me this. How are your sister swordswomen doing? Still having a hard time beating you?”
“…fine. I haven’t seen them in a while. Why, do you have news?”
LJ didn’t react.
“Hm. No, I was just wondering.”
Femida turned away and took a breath. The view of the vertical descent and the people climbing up the ladder helped calm her nerves a little—the newcomer knew Femida personally. Then, she felt a light shove in the back, after which the bottom of the shaft started approaching quickly. The fall was quiet. Even though she did scream, nobody heard her, as the sound was swallowed up by the thick air. Her thoughts tumbled, one after another, as she tried to figure out what was going on.
LJ had come for Femida.
***
So much time wasted. Isaac jumps into a combat stance and is about to take a swing at me with his sword—I need to calm him down.
“Who even was that? And she called herself Femida?”
Isaac relaxes slightly, though his sword stays poised.
“In the Sea of Calm, Sagie came across an ‘interesting inhabitant,’ as you put it. Who was it? And what was strange about it?”
“Fem, how many non-level shapeshifting cats have you seen in your life? I’ve seen two. One was in the Sea of Calm; the other just recently, in Kkhor.”
Isaac’s sword was turned away, the tip resting on the ground between his feet—just like Femida during the Hunters trial.
“Prove that you’re Sagie.”
“Would a dwarf hammer do the trick? Or should I call you the fat idiot I promised to make a sword for?”
Isaac drops his sword and looks down at his hands as they clench and unclench.
“I’m going to strangle you!”
“Let’s leave the hugs for later.”
“I’ll crush you to death!”
“Just skip the amplification, otherwise you’ll break my neck. But whatever, go ahead.”
“Where have you been this whole time, you idiot? It’s been almost six years! And here you are, showing up in prison like it’s just another city.”
“A coma…that’s all I know,” I reply, throwing my hands up theatrically. “I need to head back to the clinic and go through an exam so they’ll say I’m healthy.”
“One more question. What’s your name in real life?”
“Hm, I never told you that.”
“But I know what it is. I know what your name is right now, too.”
“So, Bak Kvan was your doing?”
Isaac nods.
“What happened after I disappeared?”
Isaac slips his sword into the sheath on his back.
“You died from the meteor’s recoil, and then you came back to life as a lich. Leon ran off and survived the explosion; Talamei and Miridia were killed. Then, death showed up and killed your lich. It was a pretty epic battle, and you even managed to kill Margul during it. After that, I started running around the world while I hatched a plan. I used the information I had to find your carcass in real life and take you to safety, and then I was caught twice and thrown in prison. I was much better prepared the third time around. As you can see, we’re in jail, and I’m not wearing the same kind of negator bracelet you’re wearing.”
I had to jerry-rig something out of what I had, but I can take it off now.
“Fem… It’s been a long time since I called you that. What are you doing here?”
“Just a second. Isaac, let me go.”
Fem, this time looking the way I remember her, steps right out of the armor, only wearing light prisoner’s gear instead of her blood outfit. And her armor must be unique if you can stick somebody inside it like that.
“This is Isaac, and he has a unique class: living armor. He’s a distant relative who’s been helping me this whole time.”
The armor doesn’t even move.
“Not the most talkative.”
“He’s shy, though he’s a good guy. You get used to him.”
The armor doesn’t react to the situation, though its strength level drops precipitously.
“So, his strength depends on who’s inside him. I couldn’t figure out why I was sensing two people at the same time.”
Suddenly, a god shows up… Then a second…a third… Wow, eight gods! The attention is flattering, and it’s time to let Femida know what the plan is.
“I kind of made a little noise hoping you’d find me yourself. Basically, there are eight gods out there on the edge of the lake, and it’s time for us to go.”
“Idiot! What did you do? Is the exterior dome still intact?”
“Yes, of course. It’s segmented, so they turn off the lower segments and decrease the shield when the lava rises. I slipped onto the island unnoticed when that happened.”
“But there’s lava out there! The thermal damage is incredible.”
“I’m Sagie, and I couldn’t care less.”
“Really, what did you do?”
“I sent a video message to Leon, Rachel, and one other person. Basically, just a little something letting them know that they’re going to drown in their own blood.”
Thinking about Leon and the battle for Airis Castle fills me with rage. I want to kill, slake my desire for revenge. Kill everyone who’s hunted me all these years. I may not have been around for a while, though my thirst for blood is the same as it ever was. No, my memories are like fresh, bleeding wounds, like the scars on your face that remind you of a devastating defeat. I think back to Rosie’s body thrown through the air by the explosion, to father’s health dropping to zero…
The air buzzes—apparently, I lost myself for a second. Femida is shaking my shoulder and talking about something as she does. Lately, I’ve had to use seven streams of
consciousness together, and attacks like that one knock me out of reality.
“Sagie, calm down, come back.”
“It’s okay, I’m here. It’s just that those little gods have something up their sleeve—see them flying up by the dome and working on some kind of spell?”
Eight tiny figures soar above the dome. They’re all using canopies of invisibility, but my perception just laughs. I can even sense the dark person, not to mention the god leaving the astral. That dark parasite is always following me. Using my magic vision, I realize that the gods are working on an eight-sided seal…
Damage received: 0 (ignored: 0)
Debuff: Mana incinerator
Effect: -100% mana restoration
Duration: For as long as you are within the radius of the mana incinerator
I’ve never heard of anything like that, but I make a mental note. The seal covers the entire prison island, meaning that the mages here are all helpless. Fem starts to get visibly nervous.
“What are we going to do now?”
“Leave. We don’t have a shot at winning this battle, so I’m not interested in fighting it.”
“But how?”
“If the gods weren’t here, we’d just go the normal way—the stationary portal or breaking the shield. Now, though, it’s going to be trickier.”
“A portal to the Inferno?”
“That’s a good idea, but we’d need divine energy for that.”
Femida pulls out her sword, preparing for defense.
“So, what’s next? What are we going to do?”
Just a little fun, sticking it to the gods real quick.
“I fear nothing with you next to me… Everyone who came after me is going to fall in shame and dishonor. Everyone who made war on me will die… I’m going to gain strength, set the highest of goals for myself, and emerge triumphant!”
Femida looks at me in horror—a psych ward patient got into prison, and now they’re not letting him out. And, to add insult to injury, he lost his head.
“Fem, relax. They’re not going to attack here. The island’s magic shields will keep the gods off us, and they’re not going to attack—they’re afraid I’ll hit back. No, they’re waiting for my mana to run out before they get to work. This whole prison was built as a trap for me, using you as the bait.”
“I’m here because I want to be here. Seeking spirits, search abilities, and other techniques don’t work under the dome, so nobody knew I was the real Femida.”
“And you let everyone think that girl was you. Smart. You could keep an eye on things, stay right in the middle of everything. How did you even get thrown in jail?”
Femida says nothing for a second, which tells me there’s something she’s hiding.
“Team.”
“Team.”
I pull up the team chat.
I have friends in management at Alcatraz, not to mention the money we got for destroying the altar. By the way, you owe me two million for saving you and for my pain and suffering these five years.
But sweetie, what about the alimony?
Oh, you’re so funny. Do you have any idea how much it cost to create a new identity? Or how hard the last few years have been?
Okay, you’ll get your two million, though I have to go through my medical exam and get a clean bill of health before that happens. As soon as I get access to the network, I’ll send you the cash.
The situation changes slightly as the gods move around and get into position for a new seal. They’re going to kick in some more debuffs, and even the mental resistance I have now won’t help.
The mana incinerator is a surprising siege spell. The wider the area, the stronger the mages casting it have to be. Also, the more mana it takes. The gods are throwing debuffs at me to try to wrap this thing up.
Using my magic vision, I see two barely visible eddies in the island’s magic space. I have to focus to see their contours. The nearest and most convenient was in the mine, about thirty meters down over the railing. My magic space portal spell works.
“Fem, do you see that black portal?”
“What… Wait, why is it black? How?”
“Okay, so you see it. I’ll go first—jump in after me.”
It takes a careful leap to land in the portal, and Femida follows me so closely that she’s practically wrapped around my neck. She’s with Isaac… Or in Isaac?
I’ve never really understood the darkness in the astral plane. As always, we’re on a small island, though there isn’t a bubble like the ones I saw when I made my weapons and items. So, it’s not a main island. Impenetrable darkness surrounds us, flooded with all kinds of different creatures. None of them attack us, though they would kill us instantly if they did. As our scrap of land disintegrates, we’re forced to keep moving. A wide path made of glowing dust leads us into the darkness, and we set off along it after testing to see how firm it is.
A quarter of an hour later, we’re still walking along in complete silence. Thousands of similar paths gleam in the darkness. Enormous astral beings walk the floating city, while others ride horse-drawn carts or high-speed trains. Nobody pays any attention to us. In fact, it’s almost like we’re part of this world. The only unpleasant part is how that thing keeps following me—again, it’s watching out of the depths of the astral.
“I hate that thing.”
Femida decides that I must be looking to break the endless silence.
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s there and it isn’t. Something is deep in the astral, and it has the kind of power that would let it kill death and Hell together if it wanted to. Nothing is its equal.”
“Seriously, what are you talking about?”
How do I explain this?
“I can feel strong beings looking at me. I know for sure they’re keeping track of me, and I can tell what their strength is—the one I’m talking about lives here in the astral. It’s so strong! Every time it comes back, I have to deal with more problems. It’s just watching us curiously to see what we’re going to do this time. It could kill us in a heartbeat, and it knows it.”
Femida looks at me in horror. She’s scared that I can sense that thing? Weird.
We continue walking along the countless ups and downs. It feels like time is stretching out, while my own senses are blunted. Do I need to rest? Femida glances at her watch, and her emotions tell me that she’s very surprised.
“What’s up? Did something happen?”
“Time goes slower here.”
“And?”
“Sagie, you knew that? Why didn’t you ever tell me? That’s a huge advantage. Do you have any idea what you could do if you had more time than anyone else? One player day is worth nine. Yeah…”
Femida yammers on in an attempt to ease her nerves. We’ve been across a good dozen little islands, though the path keeps leading us deeper into the astral. We find our own island five minutes later—forty-five astral minutes.
As soon as we do, Femida unleashes a deluge of questions that have been building up over the past five years. This time, I tell her everything, from beginning to end, complete with Hell, Leon, and Rachel. Her eyes grow wide when I tell her about what I found in the middle of Hashan Desert.
“Bernard was a god who was able to be reborn as a normal person?”
“Yup. And that means there’s a way to and from the Gray Lands.”
“You want to find it? How are you planning on getting there? Damn, that’s crazy! Do you even realize you’ll be diving into the world of the dead?”
“Crazy? Fem, when have we ever done anything normal? A normal quest? Anything?”
“Okay, I’ll admit you’re a nutcase dragging me into the pit of insanity.”
“Ah, girls. Like you put up so much resistance. But hey, the important thing is that it’s my fault.”
Femida smiles and nods as though I just paid her a compliment. We’ve been talking for almost two hours in real time, so Femida is overwhelmed by the sheer am
ount of information.
After the battle with Talamei, she got the same achievements I did. The problem was that she wasn’t able to keep leveling-up after that. There were a few opportunities to work on herself in fits and bursts, like how she was able to get her amplification up to 1000 to compensate for losing her armor, though after that she just focused on her fighting skills. She spent the last year working on her battle and movement mastery. My trifling attempts at swordplay were nothing compared with her artistry, and I can’t help but remember the dreams I had when I was LJ. They were memories of how Femida moved. Her battle skills are really next-level.