by Matthew Peed
I pictured a bubble of air mana around me that would allow me to control my body’s movement in midair. I certainly felt my body get lighter as I ran, and my strides soon became much longer. I landed feet first on the building’s wall at the end of the alley, then bent my legs and catapulted myself into the air.
“Oh! She did it. The original achieved flight,” the other me said in an irritating tone.
I floated a few dozen meters in the air away from her. I could feel the force of the planet trying to pull me back down but was able to expend my mana to resist. This was not a long-term solution, but it would work for now. Flexing my hand that wielded the mana blade, I braced myself and took the stance for sword combat that had been beat into me when I was still in training back at home.
“Let’s try this again.” I glared at the other me.
She smiled, then took the same stance with her sword arm pulled up close to her head and her free hand at the ready. The stance allowed an individual to respond with the sword and use magic with the off hand.
I poured a burst of mana behind me to shoot forward while creating a wall of terra mana in my off hand. I yelled as I charged the other me full force. Going for a stab to her chest, I lunged with my mana blade. She responded by creating a wind shield that pushed the blade off course. I aimed to slam the stone shield I’d created into her side.
What followed next was an exchange of sword blows that I was honestly proud of myself for answering in turn. Sparks made of mana filled the air as the mana blades collided. One particularly heavy hit forced me back a few meters, and I went with it as I breathed heavily. If the mana blade could be damaged, I figured it would have several dozen nicks and cracks in it by then.
“This is tedious. You know deep down that you can’t defeat me.” The other me sighed.
“I refuse to give up! I won’t be replaced!” I retorted angrily.
I started forming as many different spells as I could at once to try to overwhelm her. She matched me with what looked like ease, only further infuriating me. I was the original, so why couldn’t I best her?
“You only worship the Creator because you are desperate not to turn to necromancy! Even with it being the thing that killed your mother!” the other me shouted.
“No! You’re wrong!” I shook my head fervently.
“Don’t deny it, deny me!” She tapped her head. “I’m inside here, remember.”
“NO!” I screamed, then unleashed all my mana, completely draining my pool. I vaguely felt warm liquid on my face but ignored it. I need more mana! I thought angrily. I felt a link that seemed tethered to my mana pool, and in my anger followed it. As I came into Lord Regan’s mindscape, my anger vanished, but it was already too late.
His mana flooded back along the link into my pool. I screamed in pain as the mana flowed into me. I had no idea where to push it after my pool filled nearly instantly. So I sent it to the mana device, hoping that it could handle the load. In the overwhelming pain, I had no idea what I was doing, but I forced my body to bear it. I was vaguely aware of the device changing behind me but was in no state to pay attention to it.
I felt the two devices slam roughly into my back, making it feel like my spine was breaking. I only screamed louder from the pain, but I hadn’t really stopped to begin with. I thought it couldn’t get worse, but I was sorely wrong. What felt like molten metal seemed to enter my veins, causing me to start thrashing. I tried to use my nails to dig under my skin but couldn’t even make a scratch for some reason.
The one time I managed to open my eyes, I saw that the world around me seemed to be crumbling. I wondered if I had caused some type of explosion and was caught in the blast. In my pain-filled haze, I did wonder if it was possible. The other me managed to do some amazing things, and there could still be more hidden.
Suddenly, the pain in my chest managed to reach an even higher peak. I curled into a ball, feeling like my chest was about to explode. I really thought I was about to die from the massive agony—when, like that, it was gone as if it had never been there. I remained in a tight ball for a few more seconds to be sure the pain had passed.
Confused, I opened my eyes to see a completely different room from earlier. The dull white world was gone and had been replaced by a circular room with several columns of light. I moved my hand to my face to wipe away the wetness I felt and was completely taken aback by what I saw. A gauntlet made of a gray metal clad my entire arm.
“Izora! Damn, girl. It was still too much for you,” Lord Regan said, his face right next to mine.
That’s when I noticed that he was holding me in his arms. I blushed, embarrassed to be held while in this state. I was about to try to get out but instantly felt that my body was different.
“Lord Regan! What’s wrong with me?” I asked urgently.
“That depends on your definition of ‘wrong.’” He chuckled.
He formed a mirror in front of us, then gently set me down. I tried to ignore that I was disappointed when he did so. I looked into the mirror, and it honestly took me a second to realize it was me. The only thing unchanged was my general figure. My skin was a pure white, while my eyes had changed to a glowing yellow color. A suit of what appeared to be armor that reminded me of Lord Regan covered most of my body. The strangest thing was that the armor felt like it was part of me.
I turned my head to the side to get a better look and saw something else that shocked me. I had wings. They looked like a mixture of gears and circuitry that I’d seen in Lord Regan’s library. I smiled, feeling they put the other me’s wings to shame. I mentally tried to move one and was pleased when it responded. I probably wouldn’t be flying that day, I knew, but maybe not too far from then.
“What happened to me?” I asked.
“First I would like to apologize,” Lord Regan said, then looked to the side where the others stood. “To you guys as well. This floor was designed to make a copy of you for everyone to fight as a team. What I didn’t anticipate was the way the spell that read your . . . essence, would react to my increase in power. I will be revising the floor soon, but I will allow this group to pass,” Lord Regan said, then bowed.
“So that wasn’t intentional?” Louella asked.
“No, it was only supposed to capture your fighting style and your weakness. Though it looks like the weaker of the group were able to reconcile with their copies easier,” Lord Regan said, looking around at the others.
It did appear that the guards and others that weren’t particularly powerful were much less stressed out. I glanced at my now gauntleted hand. I could feel the massive amount of power flowing through me. While I flexed my hand, I noticed what looked like a lance on the floor. It was double-sided with a handle of about half a meter. The blades looked wicked, with black blade and red edges. I bent to pick it up, as I felt like it called out to me.
As soon as I placed my hand on it, I felt . . . complete. Like it belonged with me always. Mana rippled through my new body and the lance as if they were talking to each other, merging. I closed my eyes in ecstasy with the power flowing through me.
“Why did something that happened in the illusion affect me for real, then?” I asked, confused.
“It really happened. Not sure if it is said here, but mind over matter. You really emptied your mana pool, nearly took out the barrier doing so, then you really pulled my mana into yourself. At this point it would be a disservice not to call you the head priestess of Regan.” Lord Regan chuckled.
“I . . . I am not worthy,” I said, remembering what the other me said.
“Worried about what Nega-Izora said to you?” Lord Regan asked. He snapped his fingers, and the room vanished from around us. We appeared on his floating city. There was a decimated wasteland of a crater that must have been six or seven kilometers in diameter. Bordering it was a black and twisted forest that seemed to have living shadows.
“Yes, Lord Regan. I denied her with all my will but . . . but she was created from me. So deep inside me ther
e must be an inkling of truth to her words,” I admitted. It scared me that I would even consider going to the ones that had caused my mother’s death just to bring her back. Maybe Lord Regan could help me see a light in the darkness.
“That is true,” Lord Regan said as if to dash my hopes. “But”—he smirked—“there is always a but. You are mortal, to wrestle with your desires is what separates you from the animals. Take me, for example. I am a dungeon core. Deep down, so far down I really don’t pay attention to it, is a small voice is telling me to kill everything inside my dungeon to purify their mana completely.” He raised his arms, and a giant black gear formed behind him with bloodred runes on its surface. “It would be so easy! I could literally do what the necromancers have been trying to do for decades in a matter of weeks!”
The background behind him changed as images of great cities that covered kilometers of land appeared. A beam, much like the one I’d seen the other day, flashed down, only this time it was black. I expected an explosion but was surprised when nothing happened for a second. I glanced at Lord Regan’s face but only saw the smirk grow more sinister.
Suddenly, there was a gust of wind inside the city that led toward the impact spot of the beam. The force grew more intense as the entire city and even more of the surrounding area was crushed as if stepped on by a giant. Things around the city started to explode, but the next moment, everything was pulled into the center of the impact.
When everything was over, all that remained was a black ball the size of my head. It was perfectly smooth without any imperfection to be seen. I thought that was the end of it, but as I watched, the ground at the bottom of the crater cracked as the ball sank into it. Finally, a slit formed on the ball, then it exploded—but on a scale I had never thought possible. The image moved out into the heavens, where a hole formed in what Vern said was the atmosphere.
“That . . . that . . . that would kill the planet!” I gasped in horror.
“One of the many weapons that I could use. As I don’t need to breathe and could easily create a place where people I choose could live in amazing comfort, it would mean little to me,” Lord Regan said, waving his hand through the illusion. “Now tell me, does the little voice in your head hold such sway over you?”
I shook my head vigorously. “I would never give in after seeing something like that!”
“Exactly. People have a ‘seeing is believing’ mindset and only follow what they know to be true in their own mind,” Lord Regan said, patting my head like I was a child.
“I . . . I understand. I just miss my mother,” I said, bowing my head.
“As a child should when their parent passes. But to remember them is one way to keep them alive.” He gave me a kind smile.
“I just want to see her one more time,” I whispered quietly.
Lord Regan looked thoughtfully at me, then quickly extended a finger, pressing it against my temple. I felt the world go dark around me. When I reopened my eyes, I was in the drawing room that was just off my mother’s quarters back in Jade Wind. It was a pleasant fall afternoon, the mainland visible on such a cloudless day if one looked hard enough.
I heard humming coming from behind me and spun around. I gaped when I saw my mother making a pot of tea. She always did like to make her own tea. I took a step forward unable to stop myself.
“Mother?” I whispered.
“My dear poor child. Always causing trouble for others. Remember the time you climbed to the top of the tower and your father nearly broke his back trying to get you down?” She shook her head. “You laughing the entire time, thinking it was some game.”
“Mother!” I cried as I shot forward and hugged her.
“There there,” she said, petting my hair.
“I finally found a lead on curing you! Why did fate take you from me?” I cried into her shoulder.
“The fates are as cruel as they are kind. Have you not been blessed more than others?” my mother asked, placing her hand on my cheek.
“I don’t deny that, but, but . . .” I said weakly.
“Then shape up! I’ll always be right here,” she said, pointing at my heart.
“I know this is most likely, but are you an illusion?” I asked with a small smile.
“Dear child. What is reality if not what we perceive?” My mother grinned before she pushed me backward. It suddenly felt like the world dropped from under my feet, and I was falling through a black pit.
“Mother!” I yelled. I didn’t want to leave her so soon. It had barely been a few minutes. Surely a few more wouldn’t have mattered.
“You have friends waiting for you,” I heard Mother say as she waved.
The next moment it felt like I slammed back into my body. I vaguely noticed that I was clinging to Lord Regan’s chest. I would normally be embarrassed that he’d seen me cry, almost more than if my own father did, but I didn’t care at the moment.
“Thank you,” I whispered into Lord Regan’s chest.
“That’s the best I can do for you. If what I saw of your mother holds true, then she is most likely well on her way through the Wheel of Reincarnation,” he consoled me. “Now, I’m sure the others are waiting for you. Let’s head back.” He chuckled.
Chapter 30
Regan
After Anubis and Vetur returned to Alpha, I worked on cleansing the area before some type of abomination spawned. It would only take me a few hours, but I was again delayed. I went to check on Anubis to make sure he was alright. As Vetur had said, he was overloaded with unholy mana. The metal that made up his body was just barely able to contain it, but any more and he would likely go up like the dryad.
“It was a good thing I had this,” Vetur said, swinging the sword I’d given him. “It was able to absorb just enough of the unholy mana to save Anubis.”
“Good job. This has turned into a mess,” I said, shaking my head.
“If the battlefield was settled so easily, then there would be no reason to take up the sword,” Vetur said.
“True. My opponent is very powerful as well as quite intelligent. It might be time to go to phase two,” I murmured.
Vetur nodded. “Indeed, that will make it hard for the person against you to focus.”I walked over to Anubis and created a large chunk made from his own metal. I placed it on his chest to allow it to pull the mana from his body. I would actively pull it from there so I didn’t accidentally tear it out of him. There was so much that if I tried to do it, it might kill him. His mana concentration slowly returned to normal.
“Keep an eye on him to make sure everything is alright,” I ordered Vetur.
The process would take several hours to safely pull the mana from him. I would rather be safe than risk losing Anubis. I watched the process for a few minutes to make sure everything was working right.
Izora suddenly accessed the mana allocated to her, every drop of it. I remembered that Louella had contacted me about something while I’d been busy. I quickly found them and was surprised they were only at the entrance to the fifteenth floor boss. There wasn’t even anything for them to fight in there, only the receiving end of the Transport spell that I used to copy them into the automata.
I quickly moved to the location and was slammed into with nearly thirty different visions. Each consisted of a person fighting their copy. I was confused as hell about what was going on, as the spell I had made way back when designing the floor was only supposed to scan their memory links. Basically, a glorified MRI. I brought up the magic script quickly to see what was going on.
A bug! I thought with a laugh. This was what happened when you used things without a proper test subject . . . I mean, without proper testing. Basically, I accidently set it to loop the memories into the automata through a link with the individual. I could see this part worked, because the automata in the next room had been created and were ready for combat. But what I hadn’t factored in was the link causing feedback with the individual using their own memories to create an illusion world.
The transformation finally stopped, and she opened her eyes.
“Izora! Damn, girl. It was still too much for you,” I said. I hadn’t thought she would try to pull all the mana I’d allocated her in one go like that. I was going to have to add a factor in later that took into account a person’s mental state when they requested mana from me.
From there, the girl had a partial breakdown. I knew her mother’s death weighed heavily on her. They had apparently been close, but she was breaking down from it. I used a more sophisticated version of the memory scan to give her a few minutes with her mother, using all the memories Izora had of her to create her likeness. I could only allow a few minutes because she could get sucked into the illusion and refuse to return. I really didn’t want her to lose her mind and become a vegetable.
“Let’s head back,” I said finally. I canceled the spell on those that were still making their way through their own mental mindscape, and was surprised when one man didn’t return. A large man, who was no longer breathing, had tears streaming down his face. He had crumbled on the floor as if trying to escape the harshness of the world.
I was wondering what to do about Izora’s new appearance. While she wasn’t completely different, it was obvious that she was changed. I mean, the wings gave it away. I was just about to suggest using an illusion when the wings folded against her back. The metal forming the armor along her upper body appeared to turn to liquid, then flowed toward her back.
Finally, a black cape that possessed a mystical feel molded itself to her shoulders. It was reminiscent of a night sky, where instead of stars there were gears of all sizes. I could sense the tremendous mana that flowed through it. This cape would be able to protect her from magic that could level towns.