by Wolfe Locke
In front of me, a glimmer of light spawned into existence that caused the surrounding space around me to ripple and distort. For a moment, I had to look away until the voice called back out to me again, and when I turned back, I saw a radiant ball of light, much like a wisp had appeared from where the voice had been coming from.
“This will have to do,” Said the wisp. “It’s a strain, but it will allow us to talk directly. Follow me and watch your step. Do not touch any of the monsters or allow them to touch you. They should not bother you, but be wary.”
The wisp took off, and I followed behind as I scanned around, trying to ignore the presence of the never-ending processions of monsters. The wind blew and swept dirt and leaves across the training field, and a strange cawing noise that grated at my nerves.
“The world as you knew it is devoid of human life. Mostly. That noise that you hear, they are called Gloomers. Though they appear monstrous with their third eye, they are not. They are the observers, watching over this ruined world. Remember this well, a Gloomer has a Piercing Cry, that lowers the defenses of the greater demons who freely roam the world since the portal opened.”
“Alright,” I muttered. I’ll make sure to remember that. “Where are you taking me?”
The wisp paused for a moment before answering as if irritated and then responded. “Time is not on our side. I am showing you. You will understand when we reach our destination.”
“Look there. To the west, in the old crypts, is Sanctum, where Magic Knights of distinction who died in service to the Kingdom were buried. There the survivors sought refuge, and there many of the survivors fought back. As a sacred monument, the Sanctum holds enchantments that cannot be destroyed by man or monsters. Like a light in the dark. It provided a safe place for the Remnants of Humanity. The only safe place in all the world lay in the heart of the corruption of the world. Protected by the ancient magic and the honored dead. A magic that was anathema to the ghouls, skeletons, and the other monsters.”
I was confused. “What do you mean? Undead? What about the monsters coming through the portal?”
The wisp answered. “They are not the first. A plague of undeath ravaged the world first, spread on the winds to the four corners of the earth on blackened wings. A horde of the lost that poured lifelessly out of the streets of the cities and villages, purging all life, until at least they came here.”
“Safe inside Sanctum, the remnants had hoped that in time, order would flourish again, and that the Arcadian Cadets would learn enough to lead the fight to reclaim the Academy, cleanse the grounds, and seal the portal forever.”
“It happened quickly.” The Wisp explained. “It’s been ten years since everything changed. When battle broke out on the grounds of the Academy and spilled out into the rest of the world when the Ritualist College accidently summoned the portal from whichever otherworld it hailed from. Amidst the charred embers, monstrous beings came forth, skeletons, imps, demons, and ghouls rushing out into the courtyard, slaying many of the unwary and unprepared while many of the Cadre were away and the majority of the local chapter of Magic Knights deployed to the front in a war that stopped mattering.”
“The nearby town of Sheffield fell quickly before what remained of their assigned garrison could be summoned back from the field. Limbs and life were torn and taken as monstrous beasts spread misery in all directions without mercy. Death roamed the countryside, and the people had nothing with which to fight. The Cadets of the Academy were forced to take shelter in the enchanted Sanctum. They were unable to render aid or warning, while the main branches of the Magic Knight Corps were caught unaware of what was coming.”
“The plague of undeath spread like wildfire in dry brush. Exhausted half-dead scouts from neighboring communities warned the armies of the King and the Magic Knights as they fought their wars, but those who could be mustered in short order were quickly overwhelmed. Their dead bodies rising to join the horde. King Maste was cast down from his throne, his neck torn out by a demon commander claiming to be in the service of the Dark Trinity. All this as his majesty fought alongside his Kingsguard while his only heir, Markus, was secreted away on Arcane paths to Sanctum. Except for Markus, the entire Royal Family was wiped out. A powerful bloodline extinguished. They thought they could turn the tide after the Academy fell. They were wrong.”
It was a lot to take in. I could only walk behind in shock, not sure how to process the information, but of its truthfulness, I didn’t have a single doubt. As we walked across the edges of the training field, I noticed the glint of buried steel and polished white bone that signified the location of a battle. People died here. A lot of people.
“Yes. Not just here, everywhere. Many times the Remnant tried to seal the portal again. Old masters, Cadre, cadets, soldiers, civilians, and survivors all. They brought forth every manner of magic and skill at their disposal. Summoning soldiers of iron and stone that were impervious to the curse of undeath. Every element of magic was brought to battle as the war waged. All for naught as the portal remained open. An anchor by which monsters continued to enter the world.”
“How do you know any of this?” I asked as I narrowly avoided a heavily armored demon that landed nearby and began to sniff the air as if sensing me and started to walk over in great bounding leaps. Maybe it can? I felt a surge of panic.
“It can vaguely sense you. But it does not know where you are. So long as it does not touch you, it will be unable to track or pull you into this world. Keep walking.” The Wisp commanded as we left the training field behind and headed towards a smoking ruin of what I could only assume was the Sanctum”
I saw the wisp was correct when the demon began to walk in a completely different direction from us.
The wisp continued, “I was a young cadet when the portal first opened. Like many of the young nobles sent to the Academy, I’d learned about the intricacies of magic, of the blade, and of the elements. It was always assumed I’d do well once I commissioned, a testament to my lineage and clan.”
“It was with horror I watched as friends and people I’d known and trained with were attacked by monsters. It was not well known in those days that the source was the portal. In the beginning it had not grown to be quite so large. I watched it in safety from a distance, the same way I would watch many days later when the Magic Knights finally arrived as I cowered away in the Sanctum with the other survivors. That was a mistake. Days slipped into nights, and a full six days later, the sounds of battle had stopped entirely. When the dust settled, none of the Magic Knights nor the soldiers who served underneath them, remained alive. The Academy was awash in blood as the ranks of the undead swelled. It was difficult for those of us in the Sanctum to see the former Magic Knights walking the earth with no memories of their former lives, only the desire to consume the living. In death, they still retained much of their power. We could not confront them.”
“We did what we could. We turned away from the horror and hardened ourselves with purpose as we fortified our spells and our positions. We used magic to scry for other survivors and teleported those who we could. It would be weeks before another battle was attempted as other pockets of humanity were discovered by monsters and consumed. The single holdout remained Sanctum, and so long as the enchantment held, the monsters gave us a wide berth.
The wisp stopped talking, and I could see why. Before me was a ruined palisade that had been built over the hallowed crypt. Demons and other monsters roamed about as smoke and fire billowed. I heard the occasional moan of pain and cry of despair, all voices of humanity.
Ethereal shades of warriors long dead still fought on against the monsters, but the living they protected had already fallen. “Why have you brought me here?” I asked as the Wisp promptly shifted directions.
“Our time together is almost up. Follow me through here.” The wisp replied as it surged forward, passing through the wall. “We must be quick.”
; I can’t follow it. I ignored the doubt and pressed forward and passed through the wall, just as the wisp had. On the other side, what I saw floored me.
The wisp had disappeared, and three people remained. Three people I barely recognized, a much-aged Markus was frantically piling up whatever debris he could move to brace the door while the Cadre Jacobs tended to a bloody and dying man who was propped up against the wall, the man’s armor was shredded and his skin torn in inch wide gashes.
“See Jacobs?” The man called out, a voice that I recognized as that of the wisp, a man whose bloody face I recognized as my own. “I told you it would work. It only cost me my life.”
White markings on the man’s arms erupted in energy as Jacobs walked over to me and seized me firmly by the shoulders, and started dragging me over to my older self.
“Start it!” Markus yelled as the door began to bulge forward as something massive on the other side tried to break through. Markus shouted a command and grew in stature as he channeled a Sword technique I didn’t recognize.
Jacobs forced my hand into that of my other self as the white markings blazed with power. Scattered memories of battles and monsters to come played out in my mind at a rapid pace, but most of all was the transfer of power, my power, and something else, something new that they had discovered, a way to grow even stronger.
The door burst open, and a muscle-bound monster howled. Markus screamed and brought down a flaming Great Sword and joined the monster in battle as smaller creatures of the dark scampered forward and began to swarm him.
Jacobs looked over, “This will have to be enough. If he gets trapped here, it will all have been for nothing.” I raised my hand uncontrollably in response and power surged forth from my fingertips, a power that immediately ended the life of my elder self in a flash of light.
With the man dead, the white markings faded, and as it did, so too did I start to fade, the last words I heard as Jacobs turned to meet the monsters in battle was, “You can prevent this. You must.”
Chapter 4: Saturn’s Crest
* * *
A throbbing pain in my forearm woke me up from my sleep. Disorientated and a little confused about what was going on, I sat upright and grabbed my arm. My eyes were drawn to an angry red scar that was eerily similar to the mark I’d seen in the dream. Maybe it wasn’t a dream. What if it was real?
In response to the thought, brief and hazy half-formed memories flashed through my mind of a life I never lived. Words formed clouding my vision in a way that was easy to understand and for a moment, time stood still.
*Granted – ♄ Saturn’s Crest ♄
In the war that never was, the remnant harvested the divine essence of fallen heroes and used it, along with a dark object to create an artifact of unparalleled power. That artifact now lives within you. Far too late was it discovered to change the tide of fate, but with you, in this time, it may make the difference. With this you may gain the power of fallen enemies.
This is your current level of power, called Status.
As you are currently, your body can only handle three attributes, Strength, Agility, and Endurance. More will unlock with time.
Your training has not been in vain.
Strength – 5
Your strength is that of an average man.
Agility – 7
Your agility is slightly better than the average man.
Endurance – 5
Your endurance is that of an average man.
This message will now fade, and time will return to normal.
The scar on my arm flared again and started to disappear until all that remained was an intricate symbol in scar tissue that vaguely resembled the letter h. It was then that I noticed the sound of fighting in the distance. Oh no, the explosion! I’d completely forget. I turned towards the noise but couldn’t see well through the haze back towards the rest of the academy grounds.
I tried to stand up. My body protested every move, but eventually I managed to keep moving. A bit of blood had crusted under my nose. From the explosion? How long was I out for?
The black smoke that had enveloped me before was gone. It had been replaced by a white mist that could have been easily confused as fog or mist. It isn’t though, is it? This is something else. The beginning of something none of us want.
I took a deep breath to steady my nerves as the sounds of fighting continued. The other cadets and Cadre are fighting out there, that means an enemy has breached the academy. I need to move, I need to join them. As if to reinforce my assumption, a dark figure stalked out of the mist.
The thing was short and thin. Its body was covered in thick black scale like skin. I could make out small protruding spikes along its back and on top of the monster’s head, I could see small horns and a long thin tail trailed behind it. On its back were a pair of small membranous and twitching wings.
As soon as the creature saw me, its face broke out into a vicious snarl that showed a row of razor-sharp teeth accented by bits of gore around the monster’s mouth. I braced myself for a fight. Only my classes at the academy allowed me to identify the creature.
It was an Imp and judging by the size of the Imp. It could at least be categorized as a Fel breed. Imps were low on the totem pole of monsters that one could encounter out in the world. They were better suited for fighting in groups than singularly, but single members could still be a handful. They were fast and agile, and able to attack from the air. In short, it was a danger to me.
As I watched and prepared myself mentally, the haze from before was all but gone. The monster spread out its wings and launched itself into the sky and streaked toward me.
I drew my Katana and adopted a stance to meet the Imp head-on. Why is there an Imp on academy grounds? What's happening? My inner questions were cut off as the Imp came at me in furious bloodlust.
With a flash of steel, I raised my Katana to block the creature's attack, but at the last second, the Imp swerved out of the way by sliding underneath the blade and moved to rake at me with its sharp claws. I executed an evasive roll and came back to my feet. The next time the Imp came close, I slashed out with my blade in deterrence. This would already be over if I would just unlock my Sword Technique.
This time, the Imp was not fast enough to dodge. I managed to score a hit on one of the creature's wings as my blade tore through the leathery membrane. The cry that the Imp let out was more fury than pain. The Imp tumbled to the ground, leaking black blood from its injured wing. As soon as it came to a stop, it turned at me in a fury and rushed forward once again with teeth and claw extended.
Although the monster had been grounded, the Imp was still fast. It moved across the ground with the intent to kill, but I was determined to leave the encounter alive. The Imp leaped straight at me with a quickness that was hard to track, but I knew what it was doing. The monster was going for my face in an attempt to rake me with its claws, likely intending to take out my eyes if nothing else, but without the complete function of its wings, the Imp wobbled and wasn't on target.
I met the monster mid-leap with a slash of my blade. The Imp split in two. The two halves of its body landed on both sides of me, and I was bathed in a spray of black, sticky blood. I looked back at the Imp's body to see that a handful of small glowing orbs had scattered across the ground surrounding it. They were like nothing I had ever seen before.
My wonder didn’t stop. I could only watch as those orbs were drawn toward me and then inside me.
I don’t remember being taught or reading about this. Imps don’t drop things after being slain. That doesn’t make any sense. Maybe it’s a death curse and they passed it on to me. The orbs had traveled so fast that I didn’t even think to try and deflect them. What if they were poisonous?
I waited for the worst, but instead of affecting me negatively, the orbs seemed to give me a boost in strength.
Some of the fatigue that I had been feeling througho
ut the day began to retreat, and I was left feeling stronger. Time stopped.
♄ Saturn’s Crest ♄
These are called Sols, and they contain a portion of the power of defeated enemies. The Sol’s dropped from an Imp are not as powerful as other creatures, but all things add up.
What you have gained is absorbed.
Continue on this path and grow stronger.
Chapter 5: The Lowest Creatures
* * *
The screen faded and though I had questions, they were quickly dismissed from my mind. I had other matters to deal with. From out of the mist walked an additional two Imps. The pair took one look at the body of the dead monster at my feet and another look at the Katana whose blade now dripped with black blood and knew what happened. High pitched roars of fury were let out, and then the monsters came at me.
This time, I was outnumbered and though I felt a bit of a surge in my strength, I wasn’t confident that I could win in a straight up fight. I need a way out of this.
I knew a few things about Imps. During my studies, I’d read up on instances where hordes of black-skinned imps had taken down soldiers with sheer numbers. A common maneuver of smaller monsters, to swarm and overwhelm. More are likely to be around.