by Riker Kane
With no eyes, it was easy to tell it was looking at me. Its jaw lowered, a ghastly scream came from somewhere inside of it. There was no point in trying to figure out how it was able to produce any noise.
I raised my palm and fired a Radiant Beam before it could come any closer, turning it into Mana.
“Hmm…” I walked up to the orbs of Mana and noticed they had the color of red, green, and blue like every other Mana. “Mana’s the only thing with any color here… Curious.”
Another rift opened behind me and another apparition came floating toward me. Another Radiant Beam made it explode into another small pile of Mana. They didn’t stop there. One after another, more ghosts came at me, trying to surround me but failing to take the power of my beams.
By the time I’d finished with all of them, every inch of the ground around me was covered in Mana.
“Such a warm welcome… I guess I should’ve expected as much, since I left the last time on bad terms.”
I collected the Mana and headed down the path in hopes of finding what I was looking for. I’d barely escaped with my soul intact before. I didn’t plan on playing it that close again.
The stone pathway led farther down an open street with more of the stone structures lining the walls. Plain buildings looked like they’d been carved right out of giant boulders, some of them towering several stories high and reaching toward the full white moon shining above. Too bad I couldn’t take the time to admire the architecture.
The end of the stone path led toward a building larger than the others. A set of steps led up to something that looked like a temple. Massive columns as thick as trees propped up a triangular roof above. It went up high enough, I didn’t want to think about why the temple was so big in the first place.
More ghosts came at me from the sides but I dispatched them quickly before moving up the steps. An arch big enough for a dozen people to walk through at the same time hung over a large doorway. The path was lit by torches on the walls, their flames burning white and gray like everything else in this world.
“The only way…”
I gave myself another reminder as I headed down the open path. It led into a larger hall, complete with statues towering more than two stories high. Black stone obsidian had been carved into different shapes. Mythological creatures like minotaurs and sphinxes and chimera—everything I’d read about when I was in grade school. Some of the sculptures were ordinary people. Big, muscular men that resembled Thor or Hercules, but more human than the other figures. There had to be at least twenty statues or so, all of them as imposing as the next one. But there was one empty spot where I knew a statue once stood. The same statue that came to life and attacked me.
“Back again. Too bad I can’t enjoy myself here.”
I moved through the hall of statues and into the next hall. It was a short path, leading into a circular room as big as a District Drill Room. The ceiling was so high I could barely see it through the darkness. Black and white torches lined the walls, casting shadows on the smooth stone floor beneath me, with a thin layer of mist rising over my ankles. It was like standing at the center of an arena. There was no audience though. Who was I kidding? There was an audience just waiting to make their entrance.
I stood there waiting, making sure I had a way back to where I came from. Every second that went by made the anxiety twist the knot in my stomach even tighter. My jaw clenched to help me maintain my focus.
“Maybe nobody’s home,” I muttered to myself with a chuckle. “Just my luck… Hey! Where are you? I know you’re here! I’ve got an offer for you!”
The room stayed silent. There was nothing but the mist at my feet and the brimstone filling my nostrils.
“What a bust—”
I was about to turn around and head back when the room rumbled softly. Bits of rock and pebbles fell from the ceiling, scattering across the floor.
I summoned my Light Clone by my side, preparing for anything to come at me from every direction. Something was coming. All I had to do was wait for the swirl of energy for something to appear from the rift.
“Where is this—”
Something landed on the stones in front of me with a hard thump, crumbling the stone floor underneath it. Standing about fifty yards away from me was a black beast. Its two arms extended out in front of its body twice as long as its legs with three long claws extending out on each. The same for its feet, which bent backward like some type of wolf. Its entire body was a skeleton made out of black bones. Only its face had some semblance of flesh on it, though it was melting away. Its head was pointed out like a dragon’s and it bared teeth as jagged as its fangs.
It was some type of dragon creature. An amalgamation of every beast I’d ever fought before, standing over twenty-feet high.
It leaned forward on its long arms, cracking the stone floor underneath its claws. Then it pointed its head to the ceiling and let out a horrific shriek that was loud enough to make me grimace. I gritted my teeth, putting my hand up to block more of the rubble coming down from the ceiling.
“Whatever that thing is, I’m sure it’s not trying to be my friend.”
The beast swiped the stones from the floor away and immediately moved in a gallop like the wolves I’d seen on the plains. Wolves weren’t as menacing as undead skeletons with dragon heads though.
My clone and I both fired at the same time, ripping through the flesh on its face and slowing it down enough for me to fly out of the way. The beast swiped at my clone, tearing through it completely and turning it into energy. In the same motion, it kept going, leaping into the air to chase after me.
“Whoa!” I just managed to avoid its claws snatching at me. But the tail I just noticed it had darted at me like a bone javelin, stabbing me in the calf and poking through my armor.
“Damn…” I grunted in pain, firing another beam to send the creature back down to the ground and buy myself more time to get away.
I didn’t think twice, quickly summoning an Ice Owl to go straight at the beast. It swiped at my familiar and gave it the same fate as my clone, but I had enough time to fire a Frozen Jet right at the beast’s face. The icy chill of my beam pounded its long snout and began to freeze it over.
“There we go.” I summoned a Black Viper with my other hand and sent it down to try and keep the beast in its place. My familiar moved fast enough to wrap around its body, giving it enough of a distraction for me to keep freezing its head.
The beast let out a shriek, trying to break free from the ice consuming its head. With one movement, it stomped its clawed feet into the ground and broke free from my viper before launching itself in the air toward me.
I zoomed out of the way but again its long tail whipped my side and sent me tumbling back down to the stone floor. I landed with a hard thud that bruised my cheek.
The beast didn’t care about my crash landing, pouncing on me and rushing both of its clawed hands at my face. I raised my hands and gripped its wrists to hold it back.
It moved its long snout closer to me, snarling to show off the piercing white fangs. If the beast’s melting face and empty eye sockets weren’t bad enough, the smell of brimstone was strong enough I would’ve choked on it if I’d stayed here long enough. I didn’t intend on doing that.
It leaned forward, trying to move its face closer to me.
“Sorry, pal… Not on a first date.” I charged two Radiant Beams in my palms and blasted the beast’s arms in my grip. It shrieked in pain, pulling its head back and stomping on the ground.
Its tail swiped at me again, catching me in my thigh. The stinging pain made me grimace but not enough to stop me from summoning my Stone Golem. I sent my familiar barreling forward, tearing through the stone floor until it collided hard with the beast to send it streaking across the ground.
I didn’t stop there, sending a Fire Bird right toward its half-frozen head. “Not good enough.” I summoned two fireballs to join my bird. Three impacts followed one after the other, crashing into
the undead beast and making it stumble even more.
“Stay down.”
As the beast struggled to stay standing, it was on the verge of falling. I put my hands together and charged a Radiant Beam thicker and brighter than two individual blasts. The combined energy shot out like a laser and obliterated the beast’s head completely, turning the rest of it into a pile of colorful Mana.
I sighed softly then walked up to the Mana to collect it. “Not exactly what I was looking for but I’ll take it…”
I’d only just finished collecting the Mana when the wind picked up behind me. A strong whiff of the brimstone filled my nose and made me turn around. Another cloud of gray smoke gathered, circling in the air before something floated out of it.
A figure emerged not unlike the ghosts I’d fought before. But this one was larger, twice the size of a normal person. It had no legs, its robes draped over a skeleton torso and a pair of arms. Underneath its hood, two eyes glowed red in nothing but darkness, more striking because everything around me was so black and gray.
“I sense something… There is a familiarity about you. Yes, I know who you are.”
“And I know who you are, Mr. Reaper. You look different. Have you been working out?”
“You jest when your very soul is in peril. I will enjoy drawing your essence from you.”
“I’m afraid I won’t let that happen. You’ll have to do a little more than some weird beast-looking thing to defeat me.”
“And what makes you think I do not have the capacity to do just that?”
The Reaper floated toward me. I took a few steps back to make sure it was at least twenty yards away. Even with that kind of a lead, I wasn’t a hundred-percent sure I could beat him to the exit. I had to take my chances though.
“I need your help,” I said.
“Indeed you do. But I can only offer you the torturous end of your existence. You have taken a soul from me. I demand a soul in exchange.”
“Maybe we can make a deal.”
“There is only one deal to be made. Your soul.”
“I have an even better offer than my soul.”
The Reaper paused. It was strange to think an apparition from another world would be willing to reason but I had to keep taking chances.
“And what is your offer? I should remind you before you suggest this, your very being hangs in the balance.”
“You don’t have to remind me.” I took a step toward him. If I was going to pull this off, I had to be as confident as possible. “I need something from you. I need power. Dark energy. The Eternal Twilight is the only place where such Dark Mana is concentrated. I know it is.”
“Yes, that is true. However, I have no reason to grant you access to such power.”
“But you do. You see, I’m offering you something even greater than my soul.”
“And what would that be?”
I inched closer and put on a car salesman smile Balec would be proud of. “I’m offering you your soul.”
“Hmph.” The Reaper was taken aback, almost like he was on the verge of laughing. “My soul is already my own.”
“For now. But there’s something beyond the Eternal Twilight. Something beyond Iorus. Something greater. A threat from Pandora. A malevolent power that would attempt to rival yours.”
“Yes… I have sensed something out there in the ether. It is not pleasant. A foul, brooding, contemptible presence. But I see no reason to be concerned with it. That is a problem for your people, not mine.”
I raised an index finger. “But you’re wrong. You see, this force—Pandora—they don’t take sides. They destroy everything in their path. And if I could get to the Eternal Twilight, what makes you think they won’t come for you?”
“There is no power in any world that I fear.”
“You say that now but why would you risk it?”
The Reaper leaned back, putting one of his skeleton hands to its face to stroke its chin. “Then you propose you will destroy this force with the power I grant you?”
“That’s right. I just need enough concentrated Dark Mana to combat them. You will be allowed to stay here in peace.”
“The Eternal Twilight is not a place for the living. Only those truly deserving will have their soul damned to this place. It must remain impartial in all matters…”
Maybe I wasn’t as good as a salesman as I thought I was.
“…But this malevolence seeks to disrupt this balance. I will grant you access to the power you seek.”
I held back my surprise, watching quietly as the Reaper held its hand out in front of it. I watched energy beginning to gather around the room, black streaks of smoke building in the Reaper’s palm and forming a sphere. Suddenly the spherical mist solidified into solid black like a giant marble.
The Reaper slowly floated toward me. “Take this before I change my mind.”
I cautiously took the sphere into my palm, the weight of it enough to tell me it was indeed the condensed energy I was looking for.
“If I detect your presence here again, stranger, I will offer you no quarter. This is not a place to be trifled with.”
I marveled at the sphere in my palm. “Trust me, Reaper. I don’t intend on coming back here ever again.”
37: No Coward Ever Accomplished Anything
Ultima
Level 92 Battle God
Hit Points 400
Endurance 200
Earth (Strength) 26
Fire (Speed) 27
Water (Durability) 26 (+1)
Life/Death (Control) 48 (+2)
***
Mana Bonds
Zafina - Level 6: 25% Ability Damage Bonus
Rhiannon - Level 6: 25% Summon Speed Bonus
Araceli - Level 3: 10% Rune Endurance Drain Decrease
Sawyer - Level 3: 10% Physical Attack Damage Bonus
Yuma - Level 3: 10% Damage Resistance Bonus
Lyra - Level 3: 15% Ability Channel Speed Bonus
Cellica - Level 1: 10% Damage Bonus for nearby allies
Vacindra - Level 1: 10% Dark Element Damage Bonus
“You have gained three levels. You have also increased one of your Mana Bonds.”
It was nice to see the numbers I’d gained but there was a more immediate matter to deal with.
“I got it.” I held the black orb up. A faint, dark aura resonated around it though the orb itself was pitch black like an eight-ball and twice as big.
A podium appeared from the ground where I’d put Cores before. Cores were concentrated forms of Mana, so much that they had density you could hold. This orb was different from the others I’d held though. Even if the feeling was only in my head, I couldn’t help how unnerved I was.
“You can extract power from this, right?” I said as I placed it down.
“I will harness the necessary power from this orb, however, I will maintain its elemental characteristics so that you may use it on the barrier protecting the fortress.”
“The dark element. Right… Hey, Cybil. There aren’t going to be any complications with this, are there?”
“In harnessing the power of the former Runes to create the Omnirune, I needed to draw on all elements. The Life Rune was designed to harness the power of light. There may be some conflict when you absorb this power.”
That wasn’t what I wanted to hear.
I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean ‘conflict’?”
“You will have to absorb this power to have its benefits. I cannot say for certain what the result will be.”
“This is kind of important, Cybil. I mean, will I go blind? Grow an extra arm? Lose my memory? For all I know, I can go berserk and this can have the opposite effect of what we’re going for.”
“You will gain a significant amount of power. Because it is dark energy, it may change your composition somewhat as Ultima. But you will maintain all of your faculties, I can assure you of that.”
“Hmmm…”
“Do you wish to proceed?”
I stared at the glowing orb on the podium. Everything was riding on this. If Cybil herself didn’t have any other options, they probably didn’t exist.
“Go ahead.”
The podium lowered down into the ground.
“I can sense the power of Romanis’s Rune resonating,” Cybil said. “You must accomplish your task as quickly as possible. I will take no more than a full day’s cycle to extract the power of this essence. I urge you to consider taking no more time than that to prepare.”
“Don’t worry. This is as straightforward as it gets.”
~ ~ ~
Queen Cellica, Mistress Vacindra, and Balec all stood in front of me. I sat in my chair at the end of the Main Hall, leaning back in my seat after explaining all of the details of what I’d just done.
“That’s it,” I said. “When we attack the fortress again, it’s likely there will be another attack from Pandora.”
“And what would you ask of me?” Cellica said. “More aid? More of my people? If the cannon itself could not destroy the barrier, could you do anything to it?”
“I can. Once I have the power. The problem was we were hitting it with the wrong element. I didn’t realize it until it was too late.”
“I’m afraid I can offer you no assistance in this matter. There will come a time when the other world will come for the Nobles in Euphoria. We will prepare ourselves for that time. Do not think I am afraid, Virgil. I am only doing what is in the best interests of my people.”
I sighed before deciding not to try and convince her to stand with me. “Do what you have to do.”
“I wish you luck in the coming battle. I know you will be successful.” The blond bowed her head and exited out of the hall.
“Do you truly believe this will work this time?” Vacindra asked, an eyebrow raised in skepticism.
“I know I have the power to do it,” I said. “It wouldn’t hurt to have somebody by my side. The Warriors of the Serpent would do well in this fight.”
“Those who serve Aeona are strong. She grants us the power to be the combatants we need to be. But I’m afraid Queen Cellica has the right idea. The other world would do best to stay away from Asrath, as we will defend ourselves with unparalleled strength. I can only offer a small contingent—”