by Phoenix Grey
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
About the Author
End of Book Character Sheets
End of Book Shit
The Realm Between
Book 2: Two Brothers
PHOENIX GREY
Text copyright 2019 by Phoenix Grey
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the author.
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PROLOGUE
EARTH - September 8th, 2057
It was a horrible sound. The sound that no parent ever wants to hear when they're sitting at the hospital clutching their unconscious son's hand.
Flatline.
One long beep that means it's all over. That the hours spent hoping and praying were fruitless. That whatever Radical Interactive had done to their son had failed.
Panic set in. Both parents stared at Will in complete shock. Mrs. Galvan had already begun chanting the word 'no.' Will's father's gaze jumped between his son's body and the machine that was signaling his death. This could not be real.
The room filled with sorrow like a noxious gas, choking the devastated couple out. Mr. Galvan was a man of few emotions, but this was just too much. While there had been no sign of Will waking up in the nineteen days since he'd been in the hospital, there had also been no decline in his health. This just didn't make any sense. It was too sudden.
A nurse walked in, the sight before her making her stop in her tracks, her hand moving up to her chest in sympathy. Her lips opened to speak, but then she decided against it and walked out of the room. Minutes later, she returned with both the doctor and Michael Coleman at her side. The doctor immediately went to offer his condolences and then check the machines before pronouncing a time of death.
Mr. Coleman, Radical Interactive's Medical Director of The Realm Project, couldn't force such sympathies. He wasn't well-versed in dealing with grieving families, even though he'd been through this dozens of times before. The Realm was far from perfect. More often than not, the participants didn't survive. Though, it was against company policy to tell the parents and spouses that. It was bad enough that they knew this was an experiment.
Another failure, he thought, though he couldn't place if it was disappointment or remorse that he was feeling. No doubt, Will would have died long ago if they hadn't put him in The Realm. The implant that carried the game was stimulating parts of his brain that otherwise would have laid dormant in his unconsciousness.
But Radical Interactive wasn't just trying to achieve a medical miracle. After suffering such harsh criticism for their initial failed launch of The Realm, they wanted to strike back with a game that was leagues ahead in technological advancement. A level of psychological immersion so intense that the player could no longer tell if the world was real or not. That required tapping into parts of the brain that no gaming company had dared to venture into before because of the high risk of damage. No one would dare test this stuff on a healthy human being...even if they volunteered for it. But one that was as good as dead—well, that cut through a lot of red tape. If the player survived, it was a miracle and a success. But if they died, what did it matter? They were already expendable. Maybe that's why it was so hard for Michael to look at these people as people anymore. They would likely be dead otherwise. Now, they were just test subjects.
"What happened to him? He's been doing just fine all this time," Mr. Galvan asked, clearly distraught.
"I don't know. This just happens sometimes," Mr. Coleman lied.
How could he possibly tell the man that his son had been murdered by a demon? It would spark outrage and more questions than Mr. Coleman felt like dealing with. To be honest, the initial cause of Will's coma, slamming his temple against the edge of a kitchen counter, would have been a much better way to go. If you don't see death coming, you can't really be afraid of it.
No one wants to hear that their child felt sheer terror before they met their demise. And while not the scariest thing that Radical Interactive had conjured up for The Realm, demons were pretty high on the list.
As soon as the nurse had come to report that Will had flatlined, Mr. Coleman put in a call to his visual team back at Radical Interactive—the people who monitored the live-feed being projected from the implant. The information on William Galvan's death would then be relayed back to multiple departments in Radical Interactive. The developmental department would start tweaking the game slightly to increase survivability, while the medical team would analyze the spikes in Will's brain activity to try to isolate the actual cause of death. Every deceased player had a purpose in modifying the game.
The doctor held up his wrist comp and tapped it to access William's file. "Time of death is exactly 9 o'clock in the morning."
Mrs. Galvan bellowed from the announcement.
The nurse walked over to shut off the machines, her eyes staring at the lifeless body to avoid having to look at the grieving parents. Death was an uncomfortable thing for everyone involved.
Just as her finger touched the button to kill the insufferable beeping, William Galvan inhaled a breath with such force that his chest puffed up and his body jerked. The entire room seemed to jump from the unexpectedness of seeing a dead body suddenly come back to life. Then Will began to cough. Violently. The machines beeped, his heartbeat racing critically fast. It was the most activity they'd seen from him since he had been brought in.
The doctor rushed to Will's side, taking his stethoscope from around his neck to give Will's chest a listen. "It's like he's choking on water," he said.
All that they could do was watch and wait for Will to either stabilize or fall back into death.
"Will, baby. I'm here," Mrs. Galvan told her son as she clutched his hand, standing by the side of the bed and brushing his hair away from his face. "We're here." She looked back at her husband, her pale blue eyes alight with hope.
Mr. Coleman's wrist comp buzzed. He stepped to the corner of the room to take the call. On the other end of the line was Will's Visual Supervisor. They exchanged a few words, and then Mr. Coleman ended the call, a grin spreading across his face.
By the time he turned and looked back over at the hospital bed, Mr. Galvan was walking towards him. For someone who had just gotten his son back, he didn't look happy. If Mr. Coleman was a smaller man, he might be intimidated, but he was well-trained to handle hostile family members. It was just a part of the job.
"What's happening to him? What did you do?" Mr. Galvan's voice was almost accusing.
Mr. Coleman patted him on the shoulder, gazing past him at Will. "I didn't do anything. It appears that William's story isn't over just yet."
CHAPTER ONE
THE REALM – Day 28
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br /> "This has been bothering me for a while." It was an awkward conversation. A conversation that would most likely start an argument, which is why it was essential to wait until Lonnell was asleep.
They had just changed guarding duty. Azure had engineered it so that it would be his turn after Lonnell's. That way, Lonnell would still be asleep when it was time for him to confront Uden.
Part of him wondered if it was even worth bringing up when they were all stressed out from the idea of having to face such a fearsome foe as the demon. But nothing would be dumber than wandering into a dark cave with someone who was secretly your enemy. It was difficult for Azure to believe that was the case, though. While the half-imp might not give two shits if Azure died, he cared about his brother.
"What's up?" Uden asked as he stretched. No doubt, the half-imp was more refreshed than Azure. While he and his brother had gotten to sleep for six hours straight, Azure's sleep had been chopped in the middle thanks to taking the center shift. It was the shift that no one ever wanted. Something they often rotated for the sake of fairness.
"When the goblins had me captive and I was walking through their settlement, I noticed something." There was no tactful way to approach this topic without sounding accusing. "Do you remember the cook from the goblin camp? The one with the bite on its collarbone. It ran away when we attacked, and you were supposed to have gone after it and killed it."
"Yeah?" Uden dragged the word out, shifting his weight. "What about it?"
"It was at the settlement," Azure told him with as much certainty as he could muster. "Which means you didn't kill it. Which means you lied," he said pointedly.
The half-imp huffed and rolled his eyes. "Do you really think I'd be so stupid as to let it live? I told you I hunted it down, and I did. Whatever goblin you saw at the settlement was not the same one." He waved Azure's assertion away.
Azure cocked an eyebrow, not willing to drop the subject. "I'm about 99% sure it was the same goblin. I haven't seen any other goblins with bite marks on their neck."
"Then you haven't been looking," Uden insisted. "I've seen plenty."
"That were also cooks?" He prodded.
The half-imp's entire body sulked with annoyance. "You are just determined not to trust me. Why would I let it go if I knew it was just going to go tell the others? That would put me in danger as well, and I don't like being in danger."
That was a laughable statement considering how much danger Uden had put them all in by mounting a surprise attack on the goblin camp when they were clearly outnumbered. The half-imp was nothing if not a thrill seeker, it seemed.
"You tell me." Azure crossed his arms.
Uden snorted. "Are you trying to say that I'm somehow in cahoots with the goblins?"
"That's not what I'm saying. I don't know what's going on. I just know that the same goblin that was at the camp was also at the settlement and that you lied and said you had killed it. If you would stop lying and explain shit to me, then maybe I would understand."
"There's nothing to explain." The half-imp threw his arms up in frustration. "I said I killed the goblin. I killed the goblin. I'm sorry your eyes deceived you. I don't know what else you want me to say, but this conversation is starting to piss me off." Uden seated himself heavily by the fire, his jaw set with stress.
Azure sighed. He had known they would argue about this, but he hadn't expected to get nowhere. For the briefest of moments, Azure wondered if Uden was telling the truth—if he had just been imagining things. But then he brushed the thought away. It was the same goblin. He knew it was. There had to be some reason why Uden was lying? Maybe he was embarrassed by his failure and hadn't wanted Lonnell to know.
Still. Killing the goblin had been important. Not just for them but for Cragbell's safety and the safety of Uden's parents. It was hard to believe that he wouldn't have gone above and beyond to find and kill the goblin unless there was some ulterior motive.
"Go to sleep," the half-imp told him, giving Azure a look that would suggest he might want to sleep with one eye open tonight. "We still have a full day's journey before we reach the cave. You'll be no good to us if you're not rested."
Azure half-expected to see a notification that his Relationship level with Uden had dropped. They definitely weren't on good terms right now, and he felt uneasy in the half-imp's presence. Maybe the points only went one way. If Uden wasn't an NPC, he definitely would have gotten the notification on his end.
I have to trust him, Azure told himself as he bedded down. When we're in that cave with The Dark One, my safety will be partially in his hands. As he closed his eyes for sleep, he wondered if he was being naive.
Not surprisingly, sleep didn't come easily. For most of what was left of the night, Azure tossed and turned, replaying the events of when he and the half-imp had been searching for The Dark One alone. The way Uden had insisted that they hadn't been walking in circles when they obviously were. How he had suggested that they split up when they had found the three goblins. But most of all, trying to match up the cook from the camp to the cook from the settlement.
Admittedly, Azure wasn't the most observant person. He couldn't count the number of times that Sheila had changed her hair and he hadn't even noticed. But Azure sure remembered the earful he received after every occurrence. You'd think that would have made him more observant, but he seemed to be selective when it came to, what he considered to be, small details.
Maybe he was wrong. Perhaps it had been a different goblin. But what were the odds?
The morning came way too soon. It was like Azure had just closed his eyes and then he was being shaken awake again. His body felt extra heavy from the lack of sleep, but that had never stopped them from pressing on before.
Now that they were all partied up again, Uden wasn't being his usual lazy self. He barely looked at Azure as they ate breakfast before setting off into the forest, clearly still sore about last night's accusations.
After having traveled together for so long, the silence between the men had become a normal, natural thing. Today it was filled with tension, though. At least, on Azure's end. He still wanted to talk about the goblin, but what was there left to be said? Uden would just continue to deny it. Lonnell would likely take his brother's side. Then they'd all be upset. Besides, having an argument when they had already entered into goblin territory definitely wasn't a good idea. It was best to just drop the subject and pray that the half-imp hadn't been lying.
By the time they reached the river that led up to the demon's cave, Azure had leveled up his Archery and Stealth skills to 3 just from all of the hunting he had done on their journey. While leveling his Archery skill didn't provide a bonus, he gained a 3% damage bonus while Stealthed. It was now clear to him that the bonus went up by one point for every level increase. At least, that's how it seemed to work.
His fear of the demon had mostly subsided, though Azure certainly wasn't looking forward to seeing it again. Having his friends beside him helped to abate most of his dread. There was strength in numbers, and he knew he wouldn't be the creature's sole focus once they finally encountered it.
They met the river where Azure had washed ashore and made the arduous climb upstream. He was surprised to find that it was only about a quarter mile to the waterfall he had tumbled down after he had escaped from The Dark One. Azure hadn't drifted far. In fact, he was so close that it wouldn't have taken much for the demon to have come after him. That meant the creature hadn't even bothered.
Perhaps this was like other games he'd play where if you ran out of a boss' range, it stopped giving chase. While he was certainly grateful, that seemed like an archaic concept to him. The Dark One had traveled much farther to reach the goblin settlement and retrieve him. It would have taken less effort to follow the river. But perhaps it had just assumed that he'd washed farther downstream, or maybe that he had died from the fall and was no longer worth pursuing. It needed a live sacrifice, after all.
They diverted from the waterfall to f
ind a less steep climb up to where the demon's cave resided, joining back with the river once they had ascended. It wasn't long before the companions came upon the small bend that revealed the entrance to the cave. Lonnell stopped and immediately backed up, causing Uden to bump into him.
"What is it?" the half-imp whispered.
"Goblins," Lonnell told them.
It had become a familiar word that spiked both excitement and anxiety in Azure. "How many?"
"Two at the mouth of the cave, guarding it. Both warriors."
"Did they see you?" Uden's hand was already reaching for his dagger.
"I'm not sure, but I don't think so." Lonnell stepped back a few more feet before stopping and grabbing his staff.
"Did you have time to Analyze them?"
"I didn't." He shook his head. "But they are big."
They stood there in near silence for several moments, listening for approaching footsteps the best they could with the sound of the rushing river in the background. Azure's heart drummed in his chest, adrenaline pumping through him as he carefully drew his sword. It was disconcerting not knowing the strength of their foes. The urge to peer around the bend was great, but Azure knew well enough from his first journey here with the demon that there wasn't much cover. It would be dumb luck if the goblins hadn't seen them.
Minutes felt like hours as they waited for the fight to come to them, but it never did. Not turning from the direction of the cave, Lonnell motioned for them to continue retreating. They stayed vigilant as they backtracked a few yards downstream before clustering together to discuss a plan of action.
"They will probably be strong," Uden commented. "The demon suspected we were coming."
"That is fairly obvious," Azure shot back in annoyance.
"If they didn't see us, we'll have a chance to Analyze them before we engage them," Lonnell said.
"But only before we immediately engage them," the half-imp pointed out.