Restart Again: Volume 2

by Adam Ladner Scott

  “-grant unto me the power of your glorious radiance so that I might set ablaze-” A swirling ball of fire grew in the air above Solette’s head, casting dancing shadows across the council chambers as it crackled and swelled with every word. From nearly twenty feet away, I could already feel the heat washing over me, and the ball of flames became difficult to look at without shading my eyes.

  Greater Strength. Greater Agility. Greater Combat Acceleration. Greater Sharpening. Greater Windstep. My sword flashed with rainbow light as the enhancements all took effect at once. The solid stone flooring cracked beneath my feet as I raced out towards the General far faster than I had ever moved before. As I passed him, I watched his face begin to react to my movement, his reflexes far too slow to aid him in any meaningful way. I charged to the raised section of flooring and leapt up the stairs towards Solette, pulling my sword arm back as I flew.

  My free hand reached out and clamped on to one of her raised arms. I pulled her in towards my chest as I stabbed my sword forward with every ounce of strength I had, driving the blade through her heart and embedding the weapon up to the hilt in her chest. The intense orange light above us shimmered away as her arms fell to her sides, and a second pop in my ears brought back the sound of my heavy breathing. Solette’s eyes, now only inches from my own, stared through me to some faraway point with a mixture of shock and confusion.

  Her dark hair brushed my face as I leaned in to whisper in her ear. “The Dominion has failed.” The blood pooling in her punctured lung sprayed out over my shoulder as she let out a gurgling cough in response. With a hard yank I removed the sword from her chest and shifted forward, moving towards the Strategist as her body collapsed to the floor behind me. Before he could even turn to see the fate of his priestess, I had my sword across his throat and his arm pinned against his back. “If you move, you die.”

  The world wobbled as my enhancements drained the last dregs of mana from my core, and the enhanced abilities all faded away at once. I felt an immense weight press down across my body as the exhaustion I had been holding back took over, and I pulled down harder on the Strategist’s arm to keep myself upright. My part’s over. All I have to do is stay conscious now. Pressing the sword further into his neck, I rotated him so we could look out over the council room.

  The General had turned towards us and readied a charge, his stony face now chiseled with the hard lines of anger, but a loud shout from behind him gave him pause. He spun just in time to deflect Lia’s opening lunge, a powerful stab aimed directly at his heart. The parry sent him skidding to the side across the smooth stone floor, and Lia shifted quickly to interpose herself between me and him. “You’re not getting up there,” she said with easy confidence. “Throw down your swords now, and I’ll let you live.”

  His reply came in the form of a dashing overhand strike, which Lia gracefully dodged. The speed at which he moved impressed me. Age appeared to have had the opposite effect on the General as it did on most people; the strength behind his attacks could easily match a seasoned soldier in their prime, and his battlefield experience was most likely unparalleled. Unfortunately for him, he was engaged in combat against an opponent with abilities he had certainly never seen in his long years of fighting.

  “You’ve made a fatal miscalculation,” the Strategist hissed at me as the battle began before us. “The three of you together would still stand no chance against my General.”

  “An impressive amount of confidence for someone who, just moments ago, openly admitted he knew nothing about his opponents,” I shot back.

  He ignored my quip. “Not that you’ll have the chance to fight him together. You’re otherwise engaged with me, and your Shield...well, just look for yourself.” Far behind where Lia and the General fought, Val was sitting on her knees, staring blankly past the combat before her. “Hardened steel might never bend, but when it breaks, there’s no putting it back together.”

  I pressed the blade harder against his throat, drawing up beads of blood along the pale blue metal. “You speak like a man who has never been punished for his insolence,” I mocked. “That will change.”

  He fell silent after a sharp intake of breath, and we resumed watching the duel below us with total focus. It was immediately clear why the Strategist was so confident in his champion; putting aside his physical prowess, the General had an amazing ability to analyze and adapt to his opponent’s techniques. Whenever Lia gained the upper hand over him with a new feint or tricky maneuver, it only seemed to invigorate him further. If the technique came up a second time he countered it perfectly, as though he had trained against it for years. Despite the hard lines of age on his face and his snow white hair, he moved with the strength and speed of a soldier in his prime.

  As the fight continued, Lia’s talents became more apparent as well. Her usual style of lightning fast attacks and graceful dodges served her well at the beginning of the fight, but as the General adapted to her movements, she was pushed to the back foot. Just when it appeared that he was in a position to end the fight for good, Lia completely changed styles and fought back with renewed strength. What were once calculated stabs were now powerful two-handed swings, and her dodges became jarring parries. Even though she had put her own spin on it, it was clear that she was emulating my fighting style.

  Every second that passed tightened the knot in my stomach. I lacked the necessary mana to confirm it with Detection, but I knew that Lia was burning through her energy reserves faster and faster as the fight continued. The General began to slow as well, and both fighters panted loudly and shouted out with frustrated exertion as they attacked. Each of them took minor wounds over the course of the fighting: Lia landed two consecutive jabs on the General’s right thigh, which were answered in turn by a long, shallow cut above Lia’s left eye that coated half of her face in blood. As my past lives had taught me, the winner wouldn’t necessarily be the most skilled fighter, but instead the one with enough stamina to hold out until their opponent made a mistake.

  The tide of battle shifted in an instant. Lia had switched to a two-weapon fighting style after drawing the old training dagger from her belt, and was effectively driving the General back. The first parry from the dagger caught him by surprise, and she landed a solid cut on the inside of his dominant arm. They separated momentarily, each desperately trying to catch their breath, then charged in for another deadly exchange of ringing steel. When Lia attempted the same gambit a second time, the General was ready; he turned his strike at the last moment, catching the dagger’s hilt at an awkward angle that wrenched her arm down. His second sword came down on it a moment later, and the force of the combined blows shattered the dagger’s cheap steel blade.

  His newly freed swords sliced in a quick sideways arc, impacting the forearm bracer of her sword arm. The blades skittered down the hardened leather until they caught the armor gap at her wrist, where they bit deeply into the flesh of her hand. Lia screamed as her sword fell from her hand and clattered on the stone at her feet. She spun backwards, using her momentum to throw the shattered dagger back at the General to cover her retreat. It caught him in the side of the face, slicing a bright red gash through his cheek and bottom lip. He roared as he recoiled, covering his face with his sword arm.

  The Strategist craned his head backwards to look at me with contempt. “If you have any last words for the girl, now would—” His taunt was interrupted by a pained yelp as I tugged down on his pinned arm, violently dislocating his shoulder. My eyes never left Lia; blood streamed from her hand as she dug through the pouch on her waist. She retrieved one of the glowing orange orbs I had given her before our mission and crushed it over her wounded hand, wincing as the liquid steamed over the gash.

  Her respite didn’t last long. The General advanced towards her once again, having brushed off the pain of the bleeding slash across his face. As he moved past the area of their last skirmish, he kicked Lia’s sword away behind him. “You were a worthy opponent, girl,” he stated gruffly. “I’d l
ike to know your name before you die.”

  “Fuck you,” she spat, raising her hands palms-forward in a loose fighting stance. “I’m not dying today.”

  “Lia, run!” I shouted helplessly. I knew I lacked the energy to run the distance between us without faltering, let alone assist her in combat. Leaving the Strategist alive and in chains was the only way to truly end the occupation, but I only had the strength for one last action: killing him, or trying to save Lia. My eyes tracked around the room as I began to panic. “Val! Please get up, or...”

  I trailed off as I found the spot where she had collapsed was empty. “No. No way,” I muttered under my breath in shock. “Val wouldn’t run.” There was no sign of her anywhere as I searched for my last hope of keeping Lia alive, growing more horrified by the second. “She wouldn’t…”

  Lia looked up to where I stood beside the raised bench and gave me a sad, knowing smile. I felt a sudden presence in the back of my mind, and her comforting aura spread out over my body. I love you, Elden. I heard her voice ring crystal clear inside my head, even though her lips never moved. The feeling receded as quickly as it had arrived, and Lia loosed a triumphant battle cry as she charged towards the General. A howl of anguish escaped my lips as he raised both of his blades above his head and readied his final blow.

  The swords began to fall, but a dazzling flash of light forced me to shut my eyes and turn away before I could see them land. Two distinct chimes of metal striking metal filled the room, and my heart caught in my throat as a small ray of hope purged the despair that had consumed me. My vision returned just in time to reveal the most beautiful scene I had ever witnessed: Val stood directly behind Lia, holding both of the General’s swords at bay above her head with her glorious shield, which seemed to radiate a gentle golden light I had never seen before.

  My emotions overtook me for a moment, and I let out a triumphant whoop. A powerful surge of relief flooded through me, and I yanked up on the Strategists arm again, drawing out a pitiful yelp. “You could never break Val,” I whispered to him, giving my sword a slow, painful twist against his windpipe. “Now, watch as your entire empire crumbles to the ground before your eyes.”

  Val effortlessly pushed the blades aside as she shifted in front of Lia and planted a heavy kick directly into the General’s chest. He stumbled back and gasped for breath, but Val pushed the assault before he could find it. Her shield rocketed out along her arm and smashed into his left shoulder, causing the arm to drop uselessly to his side. He retaliated with a desperate swipe with his remaining arm, but Val’s shield was already spinning to the side to catch it. The deflection left him wide open, and she quickly capitalized with a left hook from the heavy gauntlet on her empty hand.

  A mixture of blood, spit, and teeth splattered against Val’s shield as the General’s jaw shattered. The blow sent him reeling toward me in a teetering circle, but he somehow managed to keep his feet beneath him. Val followed him, but Lia closed the distance first, her sword now reclaimed. She caught his off-balance swing on the flat of her sword and shifted forward, whipping her arm in a quick circle that knocked the weapon from his hand. Now disarmed, he bellowed and threw himself forward with what looked to be a headbutt, but Val’s shield interposed itself between the two and knocked him onto his back.

  As he tried to push himself upright against the staircase below me, he let loose another bellow, but it was plain to hear that the fight had left him. It sounded to me as though it was almost a cry of relief; the lamentation of a warrior who had grown too old, finally relieved of duty. He made no move to fight as the two women approached him with their weapons drawn.

  “By order of the Golden Throne, I am placing you under arrest for your numerous crimes against the Kingdom of Kaldan,” Val stated in a low, level voice. “You will accompany me to the capitol to face—”

  “No,” he barked through a mouth full of blood and broken teeth, “I won’t. My duties to the Company won’t allow that.”

  “Shut up, you idiot!” the Strategist shouted angrily. “Do what the woman says, if you value your damned life!”

  “I value my word,” he responded, staring intently up at Val. “I will not be taken prisoner.”

  “You understand that the consequence of disobeying this order is death?” Val asked, more gently. “I give you my word, you will be treated fairly at trial. This does not have to be your end.”

  He spat a glob of partially clotted blood onto the steps beside him. “I will do my duty. See to it that you do yours.”

  There was a moment of intense silence as he closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath. With a small flourish, he suddenly produced a dagger from a hidden sheath and lunged up towards Val in a miraculous burst of energy. His body froze halfway to its intended target, impaled through the front of his chest by a slim silver blade. Lia drove the point down into the steps behind him, and he fell back with a dull thud where he landed and remained unmoving.

  We all stood statue-still in the quiet of the otherwise empty council chambers, filled with some mixture of reverence and relief. “I will allow myself to be taken into custody,” the Strategist said eventually, breaking the silence. “This is not where I die.”

  “The night is still young,” I remarked. “Let’s not make any promises we can’t keep, hmm?” With a small nod, I motioned to Val. “Take care of him, please.”

  Val nodded, and she and Lia climbed the steps towards me. “By the way,” Lia said casually, looking at the Strategist with a raised eyebrow, “I can see the daggers you have hidden in your sleeve. I’d recommend dropping those, nice and slow.”

  “I’ve been hoping this whole time that he’d reach for one, just to give me a reason,” I lied with a chuckle. In truth, I hadn’t noticed any concealed weapons on him during the fight; there was a strong chance that, had he tried it, he could have overpowered me while my guard was down. There was a clatter at my feet as the hidden blades fell from the sleeve of his non-grappled hand. Shit. I got lucky.

  When Val had both of her hands firmly on the Strategist’s arms, I finally allowed myself to remove the blade from his neck and step back. While Val led him roughly down to the empty pews, I fell back against the desk and slid to the floor as my exhaustion took full control of my body. Lia rushed over and knelt beside me, taking my hands in hers. I tried to push her away, but my arms were far too heavy to move. “Lia, please...you should, uh, back up, I think. Before the...you know, before I...get sent away.”

  “No,” she said, shaking her head, “I’m staying right here with you. Until the end.”

  “The end,” I laughed weakly. “Nothing is going to end. You’re going to go back home with Val, and I’m going...somewhere else.” The thought would have infuriated me under normal circumstances, but in the moment, I felt far too tired to fight. “We really did it, huh?”

  She gave me a smile and nodded, fighting fiercely to hold back the tears I could see welling up in her eyes. “We did. We saved the world.”

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise,” I said, suppressing my own tears. “I really wanted to see the world with you.” Darkness began to bite at the corners of my vision, and the tips of my fingers and toes went numb.

  “Don’t say that,” she cried softly. “You gave me more than I ever could have asked for. I just wish...I wish you could stay.”

  “Me too.” The numbness steadily crept its way up my body, and I squeezed her hands tightly in an attempt to anchor myself to consciousness. “You should...stick with Val. She’s a good person. I guess.”

  She laughed, shaking tears down from her cheeks onto our hands. “Okay. I will.” The world faded down to pinpoints, and Lia’s face disappeared from view. “I’ll always love you, Elden,” I heard her say through the muffled darkness.

  I felt my lips move in response, but I didn’t hear my reply. As the rest of my senses faded and my mind dissociated from my body, I found myself filled with a profound sense of satisfaction. Did you see me, Amaya? Alda? Did y
ou see what I did? Before my mind faded away, I held on to a final, comforting thought. I did something right.

  ***

  15. WHAT COMES AFTER

  The darkness surrounded me, as it always did in the end. Formless and directionless, I floated through the vast expanse of nothing with an instinctive sense of calm. I may have forgotten before, but I remember now. I remember what’s waiting for me here. What comes after I’m done. Somewhere ahead of me, the all-encompassing pain of the void between worlds was waiting once again. The feeling of death.

  It was a small comfort to name it for what it was. The first time I had felt it, some primal part of me had instantly known where I was and what I was feeling, but my conscious mind had been far too preoccupied with the suffering to process the information. Now, on my fourth trip into the void, there was no fear of the unknown to cloud my thoughts. The pain would come, and I would suffer, but somewhere on the other side, I knew it would eventually end.

  As I waited, my thoughts turned to the world I had left behind. There would be a time for grieving in my next life, I decided; the regret, the rage, and the shattering of my twice-broken heart would have to wait until I was in a state of mind to process them correctly. I couldn’t afford to be distracted when the torture came. Instead, I separated myself from my emotions and thought through the logical steps of what would become of Lia and Val in my absence.

  The General is dead. The Conduit is dead. The Strategist is their prisoner. Val will take him before the troops waiting in the courtyard and force him to confess his crimes, and the occupation of Attetsia will be over. The Company men will be allowed to leave with their Admiral, and the Unbound will go back to their lives with the promise of a new governing council more in line with their demands. The men who had turned to Thralls should—

  My train of thought halted at the idea of my encounter with the Thralls, and the memory of my battle in the plaza played out in my mind. Each moment came and went with perfect detail, and I analyzed all of it with a cool, level head for the first time. I saw something during that fight, something that made me consider the possibility that I was wrong. Whatever it was, the dark presence forced me to ignore it.