by Wolfe Locke
Leveling a hard look at Keira, the air in the room shifted, shimmering with malevolent energy as Dominic began to change, talking with a voice more monster than man. "You seem to have confused patience for weakness, a desire for peace with cowardice. For your sister, your cousin, and those who depend on you, I am sorry."
The horns on Dominic's head began to grow, glowing as they did with magical power that lit up his body in an outline of dark red and cold fire danced along his talons. Dominic’s head rapidly morphed, contorting as it expanded outward, his features transforming into something far more bestial.
Dominic’s horns grew out of his head, ribbed and similarly textured to that of a ram. He arched his back with a grunt as bones popped, shifted, or disappeared. Horns grew and expanded out of his head, ribbed like a ram's horns. Dominic arched his back and grunted as bones popped and shifted. His torso stretched as muscles and fur rapidly grew. The clothes and armor Dominic had been wearing disappeared into himself, rather than being ripped apart. His legs twisted in on themselves, the flesh changing as hocks appeared where knees had been.
The entire shift was rapid, taking only a few seconds at most for Dominic to finish. Ok, I’m intimidated by that, he’s a scary dude, Luca told himself, making a mental note to avoid fights with Dominic in the future. Standing on two cloven hooves, Dominic towered over all of them. Previously the man had given the impression that he was some sagelike sorcerer, but Luca knew the initial impression to be wrong, this man was entirely a monster.
"You misunderstand, Keira, I've never regretted getting my hands dirty. I just don’t dirty my hands without good reason. We don’t abuse people, we help them as we can, even when the only way we have is ugly or hard. But I'm not going to beat up a kid. That's not what I'm about, and that's not what my guild is about," growled Dominic as the pressure he was exerting forced Keira to the ground. "Kevin, Layla, you need to get her under control before she does something she can’t take back."
Layla and Kevin both ran over and helped Keira off the ground as Keira just glared in open hostility. Keira just glared as she lifted herself off of the ground. "Fine. Maybe you’re right, Dominic, maybe he didn’t kill Dane and maybe I am overreacting, but whatever he is, whatever he does from here on out, that’s on you."
She turned to walk away, and Dominic was ok with her leaving as Luca noticed he breathed a sigh of relief that they had been able to get through the altercation without any real bloodshed. That is until Keira did an almost instant about-face, her feet humming, vibrating faster than the eye could see as a green glow appeared about them. Faster than Dominic could move, she dived forward in a quickstep move and, with a hail of movement, drove the knife into Luca’s side.
Dominic moved on his haunches, backhanding Keira away as she slammed into the wall of the Officer’s Lounge, causing some of the posters to fall on the ground. "Hey, Luca," shouted Dominic as he followed up, grabbing Keira’s collapsed form by the head, and picking her up.
"Don’t kill her, Dominic, please," begged Layla as she stared uselessly at the devil-man and her sister. "This isn’t like her; something must be wrong. Kevin, help me, tell him this isn’t like her." But Kevin only stared, shocked at the turn of events and unsure how to react, frozen in the moment.
As for Luca, if Luca had still been a normal boy or even a normal player in the Genesis Game, the move would have killed him, but instead, all he felt was a faint burning sensation where Keira had tried to drive the knife into him. Tried? No, she definitely got me, realized Luca as he looked down, seeing drops of blood on his shirt, but if he had been wounded, the signs of damage to his body were already gone.
Luca stood up, knowing that he needed to step in, his intuition telling him that something was off about the situation. "Dominic, I’m ok. She barely nicked me, but if what Layla and Kevin are saying is true, can you try using that Scan Spell on her to see if something is going on?"
Keira hissed at the suggestion, but judging from the affirmative nod that Luca received from Dominic, it was the right answer. "It can’t hurt to try," admitted Dominic as he lifted her up and looked directly into her eyes as he began to use a boosted form of his scan spell that his bestial form granted him.
"She has the mark of Sorlasan on her," yelled Dominic as he grabbed hold of the elf with both of his arms to keep her still and unable to move as she twisted about and tried to attack. "Layla, it's on her shoulder, I need you to cut it off. Kevin, tear off the shoulder piece so Layla can get it."
Kevin just stared, terrified at the mere mention of Sorlasan, but for Luca, the name was a name he recognized, igniting within him a fit of primal anger. "I’ll do it. Don’t worry about it, Kevin," said Luca as he stepped forward, anger igniting his arms with strength as he grabbed onto the green leather pauldron of Keira’s gear and easily ripped it off. Beneath the armor, all of them gasped as they saw the mark, a double circle with an inner circle. It did not glow so much as bend the air around. Though Luca did not recognize the mark, he could still feel the otherworldly sensation of evil radiating off of it.
Layla, seeing the mark, ran towards her sister, her own knife in her hand and slid it beneath the flesh with expert precision, cutting into the branding mark and slapping the bleeding piece of skin away. Dominic summoned infernal fire with both of his hands and burned away the brand, destroying in the process whatever dark enchantment was upon it.
Silence fell over the room, as all eyes turned to Keira, hoping the brand’s destruction had returned her to her senses. "I’m so sorry, I don’t know what came over me," she said as the tension in the room began to lessen, all of them wondering just what exactly had happened.
"Thank you, Dominic, you won’t regret this," said Layla as she collected the sobbing form of her sister and gently picked her up, carrying her to her quarters to sleep it off.
"Kevin, go with them, make sure Layla is ok, and be watching that spot, if it resurfaces, send for me immediately," commanded Dominic tiredly as his form began to gradually revert to normal.
"Where are you going to be if I need to send for you?" asked Kevin, looking over his shoulder as he followed alongside his cousins.
"Getting a drink obviously, I need to introduce the new guy to the better part of being in a guild, the bar. If you hadn’t seized up when I needed you to do something, you’d be having drinks with us too instead of playing baby sitter," responded Dominic as he motioned for Luca to follow him.
"Listen, kid," Dominic said, pulling him close, "Things are a bit different down here, and you and I are about to get absolutely shit housed. I need it, and you probably do too."
Chapter 14: Peace Between Us
Kevin ran ahead of them, holding open the door for the two of them as he offered up what seemed a half-apology, but was too cowed by his own inaction to say anything. That was insane, this is just crazy. This is what my life is like now, and has been since the highway. With a grimace, Luca turned his thoughts away from what just happened. He would make it a point to avoid the trio as best as he could, and if nothing else, this disaster had given him an answer about which guild he would be joining.
First Luca then Dominic passed through the door as Kevin gently shut it behind them to go tend to his duties helping to tend to his cousin. As soon as the door shut, Dominic breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Luca admitting, "That could have gone south pretty quick. I was 100% positive I was going to be in for the fight of my life for a minute. They don’t call themselves the Gemini twins for nothing you know?"
Luca nodded in appreciation, knowing the devil-man had put himself into danger to keep him safe, and regardless if Keira was being controlled or not, the relationship between them all would likely never be the same. "Thank you. I’m guessing the four of you were close, I know this is going to make things hard between you."
"Heh. Don't worry about it, I’m sure in the morning things will be fine. I'm just as sorry. I had no idea that leech Sorlasan had managed to brand one of the twins," said Dominic, his voi
ce bitter with regret. "I won't try to defend our failure, just try to give us an honest shot. We are usually so much better than what we just showed you. I promise you, we’ve tried to do a lot of good here. But it’s hard, and the Elves tend to come down on us heavy-handed. That's part of my job. I keep the worst impulses in check. That’s what my guild does. We keep everyone in check. Do you want to join? I think you'd like being one of us and you'd be a great fit."
After having been almost murdered by Keira and having watched Layla and Kevin seize up uselessly, Luca knew he never wanted to be in their guild. Legends? Yeah not so much, Dominic is the real power here, thought Luca to himself as he thought back to what had happened. The name Sorlasan had triggered one of Luca's worst memories, and it seemed that they all shared a common enemy. Even with the changes in his body, Luca knew he couldn’t go it alone, it was clear he needed protection; deep within his heart, he was still just a kid who wanted to live. Without hesitating, Luca answered. "I’ve been through hell ever since this dungeon appeared, yes, my answer is yes. I’d like to join Chaos. No tricks, no bells, and whistles, no pitches. Help me grow stronger, help me to survive and I’m in, just be honest with me, what do you want in return?”
"That’s more a discussion over drinks," Dominic said as he motioned for Luca to follow him down the stairs, heading straight through the center of the guildhall, ignoring all of the questioning looks and low hushed voices of the assembled guild members who had no idea why they had heard sounds of a battle just a few minutes previously.
Ignoring all questions, Dominic hung a left through a wooden door that led into what Luca thought was the bar Dominic had talked about. Though it looks more like a restaurant than anything else, thought Luca as he glanced around at the stools that ringed the bar, and the scattered tables through the room.
Luca started heading over to the bar to sit down, but was grabbed by Dominic who shook his head and pointed to a corner booth before heading over and sitting down, motioning for Luca to join him. Before Luca had even reached the table, Dominic was signaling the staff for food and drink to be delivered as he pulled a white cylinder-shaped crystal from his pocket and put it on the table, giving it a quick charge of mana.
"Just a little spell, this helps to keep our conversation private. No one can hear us unless they are here at the table.” Dominic explained as he waited for Luca nod to in understanding. "So, you asked me what exactly it is I want, and like most things, it’s complicated. I want to get rid of the Elves. Sorlasan is a problem, but he’s just one of the many problems, you may not know this but the Elves don’t gain levels like we do. They can’t just kill monsters in the dungeons, what they can do though is kill players, kill us and when they do, they get the lion’s share of whatever power we had."
The implications of what Dominic was saying hit Luca and his gut turned in disgust and anger towards the Elves. Reminded of a brief half-fevered memory of Sorlasan talking about something like "Feed Lots" but Luca wasn’t quite sure if he remembered correctly. "They’re farming us for power, aren’t they?" asked Luca, horrified as his fist curled in rage.
Dominic nodded grimly. "I think so. Sorlasan had an encampment at the front of the dungeon and was taking the best prospects and power leveling them. Word trickled in that he was killing them himself. The warning was likely due to the World Dungeon itself intervening, I’m not sure of the details, only that it seemed to violate the inner rules of this little game we’ve been conscripted into. I had thought me and the other Legendary Classes had managed to put an end to him, but Elves aren’t players like you and me, they respawn. I learned that the hard way." Dominic looked away in a pensive reflection of his own desire for revenge.
"Is it just Sorlasan, or is it more? If he can’t be killed, how do you plan on getting rid of him? I’ve at least met one Elf that seemed kind enough," questioned Luca as he thought of the woman he encountered at the arrival portal.
"Of course, it’s more than just Sorlasan." Dominic hissed in anger, temporarily losing his temper before holding up the front of his hand in apology. "All of them are like that, at least most of them. They control everything here. Prices of weapons, armor, items, repairs. It’s all set up so that humans can never get ahead, and why is that? Because they’re afraid if we ever outgrew them, we’d take Hometown for ourselves. And yes, I’ve figured out a way to get rid of him. It’s called a Gehenna Pit, you can find them all throughout Hometown, though they’re more numerous in the underworld beneath Hometown. You don’t need to know the details, but I’ve tested it. You toss one of these immortals in there and they’re dead for good."
Luca thought about it for a minute before answering, looking directly at Dominic, deciding that regardless of Garen’s advice, Dominic was somebody he could trust, or rather trust well enough. "I’ve my own score to settle with Sorlasan, it wasn’t that long ago I ran into him. I was sick at the time and he ordered the men who had found me to toss me directly into the dungeon gate."
Dominic’s look towards Luca changed as if relaxing. "I figured as much, Luca. Gods, that’s been a while. That camp that Sorlasan had up and running was destroyed within the first month after Emergence Day, and you look like you've had a rough go of things. Where have you been? What happened to you, I hope you understand why it is I need to know. I need to know if I can trust you. Do you have anyone looking out for you."
Luca looked away, uncomfortable with the scrutiny he was getting from Dominic. Honestly, I may as well come clean and tell him what I know, Luca reasoned, not wanting to alienate the devil-man who was currently his only ally, and a powerful ally at that. As if helping to make up his mind, the server finally arrived with the order Dominic had signaled for, carrying in hand a lavish feast of Cornish Hen, mashed potatoes with gravy, cornbread, hot hard cider and buttered biscuits. "I know what this is, Dominic, a bribe? Food for answers, well it works so, thanks I guess, this looks good."
Dominic shrugged with a smile. "Not so much, the food is for me, I’m just sharing it with you. Having your back and saving your life seems like a fair payment for answers."
That’s actually a pretty good reason, admitted Luca as he thought about the past. "My concept of time isn’t what it should be, Dominic. A day ago, a week ago, a lifetime ago. I couldn’t really tell you. I was on the road when this nightmare started. It was me and my dad at the time. He was killed by these black dogs that were roaming the street."
"Hellhounds," interrupted Dominic, his face serious as he took in every detail. "All of these monsters have names. You’ll need to learn them, their strengths, and their weaknesses. Sorry, please continue."
Luca was too engrossed by the memory to be bothered as he thought of the way his father’s lifeless eyes had just stared at him. Just talking about the memory seemed to almost trigger the flood gates of the painful past. "He protected me with his body, we couldn’t get away, that was my fault. I was scared and I fought with him. I didn’t think my wheelchair would be fast enough."
“Just a thought.’ Remarked Dominic as he cast an idea out. “But if you work with us in the dungeon, we can bring him back to life. Your dad doesn’t need to stay dead.”
Luca said nothing, as the offer lingered in his mind, wondering how it worked. “Yes.” He replied. “I want that. I want my dad back.”
Dominic nodded and changed the subject. "So wheelchair?" asked Dominic, his eyebrows raised in question, wondering if Luca was being honest with him, asking between bites. "Did you just have surgery?"
Luca shook his head and took a sip of the cider. "No, I was a cripple. I’d been in an accident the year before for my twelfth birthday. My mom was killed on impact when our car swerved on the ice and hit a tree. I lived, though I lost the use of my legs. It seems strange now to even talk about it."
Dominic placed his elbows on the table, leaning forward as he clasped his hands together. "What happened then?"
"I almost died," admitted Luca bluntly. "I wasn’t strong enough to get free, and the way my dad�
�s body fell, it trapped me. I was stuck for days before being rescued by two men, a Pat and Dale I think, but I’m not sure. I was mostly delirious and near death when they found me. I thought I was safe and was going to make it out until we arrived at that dungeon camp, and that bastard elf told them to throw me through the gate, and they complied."
Dominic perked up, taking the time to have some of his food and encouraging Luca to do the same before continuing. "I imagine this is the most important part of your story isn’t it?" asked Dominic with a look of sympathy. "What happened after that?"
"I fell through infinity and when I finally landed, it was in the middle of a dark cave. A goblin tried to attack me, and I think I killed it, I’m not sure. I discovered my legs could work, I started to get better, and eventually some spirit awarded me with the class, race-change and power I have now. I think for me since that day on the road, it’s been less than a week."
Dominic shook his head in disbelief, though he had no reason to doubt what Luca was saying was true. "I won’t call it quite a lie, but I know bits of omission when I hear it. Luca, with what you’ve shared, I’ll choose to believe you," chastised Dominic playfully. "But you don’t need to share. I think I’ve heard just about enough. So what are you, a Hawkman with the Skywarrior Class?"
Luca stared at Dominic, irritated by the perceived slight and the edge of mockery that he heard. "Nephilim, my class is Angel of Death."
"Perfect," said Dominic with a groan as he drank down the rest of his drink and motioned for more to follow, pushing aside all of his food. "A teenager has the power of life and death. All he needs to do is learn how to use it. It could be worse."
"We could be enemies," responded Luca, drawing a competitive laugh from Dominic.