by R J Triveri
No, it wasn’t a trap.
“Are we there yet?” Dante asked as his fear had given way to boredom. “I’m getting really tired of this.”
It was simply boring. In River’s opinion, it was just a long, boring, loading screen.
“You and me both,” River agreed as she noticed the pattern repeat for the tenth time since she had begun counting.
“I didn’t realize the Unum needed time to render its temple’s interior.”
Boredom forgotten for a moment, River chuckled. “To be fair, it isn’t often that it has company.”
Dante crossed his arms in response. “It has all the power in the world, and it can’t improve its own load times?”
River smiled at Dante’s joke but couldn’t respond as a scream erupted from her mouth as her body began to painfully pixelate and separate from her form.
“River!” Dante cried as River’s body finished fragmenting and vanished into the background of the room.
Frantically, Dante tried to open his windows and check her status only for him to follow suit a moment later as pain like he had never known fired through his body.
***
Pixel by pixel, a new room deep within the core formed to greet their downloading forms. Walls of polished marble veined with silver and gold grew seamlessly around a floor and ceiling of the same materials. Pillars, seats, and a platform bloomed around various parts of the room like flowers until banners of emerald and gold melted between every spire to complete the room’s growth. By the time the micro-moment passed, the room dripped with Unum’s regal pride. It knew what humans expected and rose to exceed those expectations. It just made things so much easier when the humans could relate to its power. For the last touch, Unum forged a body of light to stand upon the dais that existed at the front of the room. With a wave of its hand, Unum recovered the stored data of its guests one at a time and reformed them sitting in a pair of plush chairs in front of him.
River was the first to recover from the compile. Her voice returned in full force, screaming in surprise and pain for her friend, just as he had a moment ago. “Dante! It hurts!”
Despite its lack of ears, Unum could still register the level of noise, and it was bothersome.
“Silence, River Hexi!” Unum demanded, and River’s code was forced to obey by implementing the silence status and sealing her lips together.
River Hexi - Warning: You have been affected by the condition - Silence. (Conditional)
River checked quickly to see that her mouth was there and tried to get up to face the avatar only to realize she was plastered from the waist down to the plush material. Her fear grew but was interrupted as Dante re-formed next to her. As soon as his head compiled, he screamed just as loudly as she had.
Annoyance seemed to pixelate from its avatar’s faceless form in flecks of green light as its next command became reality. “Silence, Dante Rior!”
Dante Rior - Warning: You have been affected by the condition - Silence. (Conditional)
As silence reigned once more, Unum waited a few moments for the pair to understand the intent of its actions.
“I will not hurt you unless I must,” Unum declared in a voice that shook the room once the silence was established. “Gather yourselves, and we shall discuss what you have come for.”
The god program watched as the pair began to visibly calm down and adapt to their situation.
Realizing the silence wasn’t going to end anytime soon, Dante jerked in his seat only to discovered what River had earlier. He turned to River and looked her over as carefully as he could before opening the party channel.
(Party) Dante Rior: Are you okay, River?
The girl checked herself, the chair, and then looked to the creature standing before them. She wasn’t sure what to feel at that moment.
(Party) River Hexi: Dante, I think I’m okay. That hurt like a bitch! Where are we? Is that really The Unum?
Dante had taken a lot of time studying the creatures on Incipere, but whatever was before them was something new. Scrolling through his skills, he tried to trigger Analyze, only to have his windows forcefully closed and the skill interrupted.
“If you two are done, I am ready to speak.”
(Party) Dante Rior: I have no idea, but we’re about to find out.
Once his eyes met River’s, she looked to The Unum and nodded.
River Hexi - Silence has been removed by administrative intervention!
Dante Rior - Silence has been removed by administrative intervention!
Despite having no need to breathe, the pair took in a deep breath as their lips unsealed and looked up at their host. Unum continued to simply float an inch above the floor in all of its glowing, formed wonder.
River was less than impressed at Unum’s appearance as she tried to get up again and failed. “Why are we trapped?” came the question as she tried to keep her temper in check. “We were invited in.”
“You were invited, Jordan,” Unum reminded her before looking at Dante, only to be interrupted by River’s boiling anger.
Her face quickly shifted between hate, anger, and sadness at the Unum’s use of her old name. “Don’t call me that.” Her voice was almost silenced by her anger before it erupted at the god. “You don’t have that right. Don’t ever call me that again!”
“River, calm down!” Dante tried to placate her, knowing the connection to that name, before turning his gaze to the mass of data that represented Unum’s form. “Her name is River.”
Without an Auxi or its emotional programs to translate the anger to reason, Unum brushed off the pair of responses and accepted them after a moment of processing. “Very well. If my champion wishes me to use her current moniker, I will respect her wishes.”
The acceptance seemed to calm River a bit. Her face was flushed from anger, but she tried to push the memories aside for the moment. “Thank you.”
Dante continued to eye Unum as its attention returned to Dante in his seated position. “As I was saying, you, Dante Rior, are allowed only because you are part of her current team.” Its attention turned from Dante to River once again. “Asking of you what I will would be pointless without assistance, but he will still not be enough for what you must accomplish.”
Her eyes seemed to glint with a dangerous light as her voice returned to normal. “I’m listening.”
“I assumed so,” Unum commented dryly as it turned to Dante. “Before I continue, I must be direct with you, Dante Rior. By being in my presence as I speak about this, you will be bound to her contract with me and granted some of the same skills she will be granted by the measure of your devotion. If you deny now, I will eject you from my presence, and you may go on your way none the wiser. If you deny your task later, you will be branded and denied my protections. Do you accept these conditions?”
Dante looked to River, anxiety painting his ever expressions. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
River nodded slightly without hesitation. “Of course I do. Dante, this is going to be the biggest adventure we’ve ever had together.” Her eyes glinted greed for just a moment as she grinned. “Think of the power we’ll have if we can do this right. Imagine what we can do with that kind of influence around here. The doors it could open for us.”
She was right, of course.
Dante could only imagine all of the dungeon coordinates that would open, all the hidden skill requirements he could learn, all the discounts he could get just from being a walking advertisement as Unum’s chosen, its divine representative among Inciperians, its champion. “I’m up for it if you are, then.”
River’s prior anger forgotten for now, she felt a welcome pang of relief at Dante’s words, turned to Unum, and nodded. “What is it you want us to do?”
Unum’s voice was monotonous as it materialized a glowing green screen. Its hand burst apart into billions of pixels before wildly flying around the screen to fill in the details of the information it was presenting. “You will fragment the glitched a
bnormality referred to as Athos Aramis and return his core data fragments to me for processing.”
Divine Event Offered: Fall of the Alchemical Abnormality
Objective One: Fragment the glitched Alchemical Arm known as Athos Aramis.
Objective Two: Retrieve and deliver the core data back to Unum’s temple.
Reward: Favor with Unum and a boon to be granted within Unum’s power.
Note: This is a quest offered by Unum and cannot be shared with others before an agreement is reached on assistance. Rejection will result in the rejecter’s memory to be negatively affected. Actions taken on this quest against Inciperians will not result in an alignment change.
Once again, please verbalize your acceptance of this contract.
Verbal Confirmation: 0/2
“I’ll do it!” River confirmed. The quest was everything she had hoped for and more as she verbalized her acceptance, and the quest updated.
River Hexi - Fall of the Alchemical Abnormality accepted!
Verbal Confirmation: 1/2
Dante watched the screen for much longer, studying the language of the quest and thinking on Unum’s words. At the realization of its meaning, a shiver went through him. “Anything it takes to kill him?”
Unum shook its head, sending a halo of green around for just a moment. “The alchemical arm is a glitch. Nothing more than a rogue program to be fragmented. Do not refer to it as a living thing that requires your pity.”
Dante was hesitant, but he relented to his better judgment. Unum knew the world inside and out. It would know if something was truly alive or not. Besides that… no matter their path, River needed him. “I accept.”
Dante Rior - Fall of the Alchemical Abnormality accepted!
Verbal Confirmation: 2/2
The divine quest has begun!
Despite the lack of a face, the pair could feel Unum’s approval at their acceptance. “You will return to my temple. You will tell only those you trust with this information. It is a dangerous creature and must be dealt with like any other problem. Show no mercy and speak to no one else about this.”
“Oh, I’ll enjoy this,” River said with a dangerous smile as she continued to sit in the comfortable prison of the chair.
Dante said nothing as he watched the dark joy in his friend’s face, a sobering reminder that a woman scorned was not something to be underestimated.
With the confirmation of their commitment given, Unum extended its influence to engulf the pair in its green light like a digital snowglobe. “Then you shall be my influence in the world against those that would see it undone. You shall be the first of my forces to combat the darkness. Let your prowess reflect my favor.”
Your party standing with Unum and the Inciperian race has increased by 5000 points.
You have reached the rank of Favored with Unum of Incipere.
Congratulations! You and your party members are marked as Champions of Incipere.
Actions you take on the continent of Ciber and within Unum’s sphere of influence will not affect your standing with Unum.
You cannot be marked as a criminal on Ciber while under Unum’s protection.
Your party cannot be brought before Unum’s arbiters except by the orders of Unum.
The pair stared at the information and the perks of being a champion of a god. The potential power that Unum just granted them was overwhelming. In the wrong hands, it was dangerous. River was about to say as much before a familiar feeling welled up within her. Looking over at Dante, he had the same look in his eyes. A moment later, their status screens went wild with new information.
Kernel Data Modification in progress…
River Hexi - Rank Elevated! - Rank 20 Blade Dancer set!
You now have skill points waiting to be assigned.
Multiple Class skills have been unlocked.
Greater Divine Favors Granted!
Third class options will be unlocked upon quest completion.
Divine Skills have been unlocked: Unum’s Will, Unum’s Sight
Further Divine Skills will unlock with greater Favor.
Dante Rior - Rank Elevated! - Rank 20 Seeker set!
Points auto-assigned.
Multiple class skills slots have been unlocked.
Divine Favor Granted!
Skills unlocked: Unum’s Will
Further Divine Skills will unlock with greater Favor.
“Holy shit,” River said as she looked at the new information.
Less than a second behind her, Dante repeated her words before Unum demanded their attention again and retracted the light from around them. “It will take a little time to get used to your new skills. That is something I cannot assist with, but it will have to be done as your quest begins. Now go!” Unum declared as its hand rose towards the pair. “I will watch with pleasure as you live up to my aspirations. Find allies and bring the glitch to heel before me.”
In a pair of screams and flashes, the divine party were forced from the core room. The avatar of Unum joined them in exile moments later, and the room returned to the code and darkness it had once been.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Fallout
Unlike their last transportation, Dante was the first to compile back into the world with a familiar scream of his nerves being set ablaze until his rear collided with the hard marble surface that was the floor. Thankfully, it wasn’t enough to deal damage and just enough for him to remember himself. He recovered quickly from his annoyance to watch River’s return, but she wasn’t as easily sated as she stumbled, screaming, from her sitting position onto the floor face-first with an unpleasant thud.
“God dammit!” River screamed as she failed to collect herself on the floor of Unum’s temple. It took her a moment to get her bearings and see Dante next to her. Growling loudly as her nerves settled, River turned her attention to the sky. “Does everything in this world hate when I transport? Honestly! Do you know how much that fucking hurts, Unum?”
Dante wanted to laugh at her but settled on a simple question for his friend instead. “River, do you really think we should be trying to piss off the digital equivalent of a god?”
Whether from her stumble or embarrassment, her face flushed just a bit towards the color of ripened apples. “Maybe not, but it doesn’t mean I can’t still be pissed, Dante.”
He smiled as he got up and offered her a hand up from her seat. “Just a minute ago, you were pumped to be given a quest.”
Using him for support, River pulled herself up, dusted herself off, and smiled. “I’m a fickle creature. Sue me.”
“If fickleness was grounds for suing someone, you’d not have a byte to your name.”
“Shut up.”
A smile crossed Dante’s face before a thought occurred to him. Urgently, he opened his inventory and materialized the case-sized incubator on the ground in front of him only to be greeted with a red, flashing frown from the data screen. Pressing the frown, an inventory opened up. An empty, flashing, red inventory. “No, no, no…”
Despite her urge to get started, her friend’s actions were a bit concerning at the moment. “Dante?”
His window opened again; a few small things materialized and found their way into the incubator’s inventory, changing it from red to pink. The flashing subsided for a moment more, then slowly began to bleed to green. Despite the color change, Dante’s face was still fallen. “Shit.”
That can’t be good, River thought to herself. “What happened?”
He sighed, returned the egg incubator into his inventory, and turned to his friend. “I didn’t load it with enough food for the trip, and it fell into the red.” If his face could fall any lower, they’d be back in the temple’s depths trying to find the depths of his frown. “I’m not going to get the familiar I wanted.”
A twinge of guilt passed through River seeing her friend so crestfallen. It was just another thing she had to make right. “Are you sure?”
Standing up, Dante affirmed his last response. “Dragonets
and any dragon-kin have to be kept in the blue and green for their entire incubation and infused with brimroot and sulfur every hour on the hour. I missed the last infusion time, so the entire hatching table is screwed.”
“Can you fix it?” River asked as he turned to leave the temple.
“I wish, but it’s not how familiar egg hatching works,” Dante sighed. “The best I can do now is a half breed. At worst, it might not even hatch, and I’ll have wasted a lot of bytes.”
“What about mine?” River said, ready to open her inventory and give her friend the egg.
“Yours is already set into some table,” Dante confirmed before she even had a chance. “Besides, neither of us can afford another incubator with the mods I need to change it.”
The guilt continued to well inside her nonetheless. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it, River,” Dante assured, trying to smile. “Any familiar will be better than none as long as it hatches. At worst, it’ll reduce the integrity requirement of unaligned spells.” A grin crossed his face as the pair turned to leave. “Maybe I won’t nearly pass out when I have to cast a gateway again.”
The guilt ebbed as she tried to force the same smile as Dante. “So, wanna turn back on the SIFS? I’m sure they’re going to be screaming for us at this point.”
He shook his head. “I think we need a plan of action first.”
“About?”
“Well, how are you going to deal with this?” Dante pointed out. “You’ve got to gather a party to kill someone who acts just like an Inciperian dungeon diver on steroids that could have wiped us out if he wanted. Not to mention that he continued on to decimate a large dungeon floor’s guardian without even breaking a sweat.”
She sighed. Why couldn’t she be the smarter one of the pair? “I hate when you’re right.”
“It’s not going to be easy gathering a party unless they don’t ask a lot of questions,” Dante began with a leading statement, and from the look on River’s face, she didn’t like where it was going.