Sol Lands

by Riker Kane

  “There must be a way inside of this thing…”

  While the battle raged on outside of the barrier, I scanned the fortress, even flying up to see if there was a way on top to get in.

  “No front door. Looks like I’ll just have to make one to kick in.” I stood on top of the fortress and aimed a Rock Burst at it. The steel wall chipped and dented but I kept firing until the stones broke through, leaving a torn hole big enough for me to get through.

  I lowered myself down, hovering in the air as I looked around the brightly-lit room. I’d just left a grassy valley in the middle of Iorus and now I was in a place that resembled a Legion Nerve Center. The walls were a metallic silver with a pristine shine like they’d just been polished. The ground was just as squeaky clean.

  At the center of the room, there was a beam of white light that shined straight up and down. In front of it was a control panel like the consoles I’d worked on back when I was a Legion technician. And underneath the panel, there were dozens and dozens of steel pipes extending out in every direction. Each one led to a glass case running along the sides of the room.

  “What is this?”

  I followed the piping toward one of the glass cases. It was about as big as a jail cell. And the inhabitant inside looked every bit a prisoner.

  A gray wolf was on its side, eyes wide and jaw agape. It showed no signs of breathing and was on the verge of death—if it wasn’t dead already.

  I took a step back and looked at the other glass cases. Lizards. Bears. Tigers. Fish in water. Creatures I didn’t recognize. And creatures I recognized all too well.

  I moved to one of the cases and saw a person laying there. They were dressed in a white tunic and brown pants. Their eyes were open. Their chest didn’t move with any breaths. Their skin was as pale as snow with dark circles around their eyes. They were dead just like every other captive in this room.

  “What the hell is this place?” I muttered to myself.

  “This is natural evolution.”

  The voice made me turn around though the ethereal tone already told me who it was.

  Romanis stood across the sprawling circular room. His hands behind his back, there was still a gash in his black robes from where Rhiannon stabbed him. His injury dripped with dark blood, but he puffed his chest out like nothing was wrong.

  “What are you doing to all of these animals… these people?”

  “We are not doing anything to them that life isn’t already doing. Every being contains a certain amount of Mana within it. We are simply taking that Mana and reconstituting it to give it new life.”

  “This is what Erasmus was talking about…” I whispered to myself. “He was right…” I turned my head up and glared at Romanis. “You’re killing things and stealing what’s rightfully yours.”

  “Hmph. Does a lion not hunt the antelope? Does a simple cow not graze on the living grass? Humans take the eggs of chickens then kill the chicken itself for sustenance.”

  “Don’t try to compare my life to what you’re doing. You’re destroying entire worlds. We are not your sustenance.”

  “That is true. You are part of something greater. We will be part of something greater. That is the mission of the collective—to bring us all to the inevitable singularity.”

  Romanis spoke like he was reasonable, which only made me shake my head in disbelief.

  “You’re mad,” I said. “If you think you can go from world to world, pillaging everything you see, you have another thing coming.”

  “There is no escaping. This is the natural evolution of us all. All dimensions must come together in unity. It is our responsibility to follow our fate.”

  I shook my head at him again. “No. I won’t allow you to kill anybody else because of some self-righteous belief that you’re doing this for us. All you want is power to impose your will on people.”

  The corner of his lips curled into a smirk. “Power only belongs in the hands of the one who knows how to wield it properly.”

  “I couldn’t have said it better myself.” I raised my hand and summoned a meter-long dark sword in my palm. “This room is not big enough for you to summon your dragon.”

  “Very well, Ultima.” He held his hand out and summoned a blade in his right hand the same as mine. “I will show you the true meaning of power. Then you will fall in line with your destiny.”

  I flew at him and he moved to meet me. Our swords clashed with a deafening crash. Black sparks of energy filled the air, some of them warm as they landed against my cheeks.

  Romanis attacked with relentless fury. Every slash, every swipe, every stab. They were coming at me from all directions. But I managed to move out of the way. Watching Rhiannon fight must have rubbed off on me somehow.

  “You’ll have to do better than that.” I rushed at him and thrust my sword, trying to hit the same spot Rhiannon did. But Romanis was just as fast as he was aggressive. If I wanted to hit him, I’d have to match his aggression.

  So I did.

  I raised my other hand and sent a Rock Burst at him. He dodged out of the way then flew in the air to dive at me with his blade pointed out. I parried the sword then sliced him across his side, sending him to the floor.

  More blood spilled from his wound but he quickly turned around and blasted me with a Dark Beam so fast I didn’t have a chance to get out of the way.

  The beam slammed into my chest and sent me flying back before I crashed into one of the cases holding a dead tiger. The glass shattered and covered me, cutting my cheeks.

  “The gods of this world must be desperate,” he said. “To grant the power of Ultima to such a novice. Are you truly Iorus’s savior?”

  I popped to my feet and shook the broken glass off. “Why don’t you come closer and find out?”

  “Such bravado. I understand why our acolytes speak of you humans in such a way. Unwarranted pride only leads to an inevitable fall.”

  Romanis stomped his way toward me, firing a Dark Beam. This time I was ready. I brought my hand up and fired a Dark Beam of my own. The blasts clashed in the middle of the room, sending more streams of energy in every direction. Despite not being bright, there was intense warmth coming from it that I felt against my face.

  I gritted my teeth and buckled down, trying to overpower him. I didn’t gain all of those levels just to back down now.

  Romanis’s black eyes narrowed as his jaw clenched in frustration. “Enough!” He retracted his beam and dodged out of the way. My blast kept going, shattering another one of the glass cases.

  “I will destroy you!” The Herald charged at me recklessly. Reckless enough I was able to roll out of the way and avoid the swipe from his blade. I moved as fast as I could and stabbed him right in the stomach as he turned around.

  His eyes widened in surprise as I twisted the blade around. Black blood poured from the corners of his mouth and the wound Rhiannon first opened leaked even worse.

  “Yeah, that’s it.” I smirked at him, my face close enough to smell the noxious scent of his blood. “You’re not so tough. Just another punk who thinks he can get away—”

  BOOM!

  A sudden beam shot from the Rune in Romanis’s chest, hammering me in the stomach. The wind knocked out of me, I sailed through the air and crashed through another glass case. I shook off the broken glass and looked up to see the dark aura resonating around his Rune.

  “You will not beat me!” He spit blood on the ground and marched toward me with his blade in hand.

  I struggled to get up to my feet and just barely managed to bring my sword up to block his blade. But he swung again and I wasn’t nearly fast enough to stop it from cleaving my left shoulder. The pain of getting your bones broken by a dark sword was like nothing else. It reverberated through my shoulder and spread through the rest of my body, making my knees weak.

  “Pathetic!” Romanis kicked me hard enough in the stomach to send me sliding across the silver tiles.

  I summoned a Stone Golem from the ground an
d sent it charging but Romanis fired another blast from his Rune and vaporized my familiar instantly. I tried to call another one but Romanis was already on me, kicking me hard in the face.

  My brain rattled in my skull. My eyes rolled to the back of my head. With my vision blurred, my mouth hung open with the pain bad enough to make me want to puke.

  “You are not stronger than me!” Romanis swung his blade back down into my shoulder.

  “Ahhh!” I yelled out in pain as he pushed it down deeper and deeper until suddenly, my left arm severed completely. The warmth of blood rushing from the open wound was unreal. I looked at the small geyser of crimson in disbelief.

  “Ah, yes… The vaunted Ultima. Defeated.” Romanis backed away from me then motioned for me to come to him. “Get up.”

  I pressed my right hand into the steel floor. So much blood on the tiles made it slippery and hard to gain my balance.

  “I said get up! Show me the determination our acolytes have spoken of. You humans refuse to die with dignity, so I will give you the humiliating death you crave!”

  I pushed myself back up to my feet and ran at him with my sword up.

  He parried my blow then sliced me across the back of my leg. I grimaced from the pain then pushed back up to my feet to swing again. But he parried it again and stabbed me deeper in the leg this time to make my knees buckle.

  His sword came across my face, slashing me down my forehead and across my nose. The warm blood dripped down my face, nearly blinding me in one eye.

  I didn’t need a display to know my hit points were dropping. My endurance was all but gone. Even if I had any, my leg was in too much pain for me to fight back.

  Romanis stood in front of me with his hands behind his back. “Ultima… Master all of the elements… The savior. Tsk, tsk…. All I see is the one who failed the gods of Iorus.”

  “Shut up…” I grunted.

  “You see, you humans fight against your own destiny. You are selfish, thinking you can change your own fate. But you try to change your fate without regard to others. Think of the other worlds who have sacrificed themselves for the greater good.”

  “They didn’t sacrifice themselves. You took their lives from them for your own power.”

  “Semantics. When the collective consumes Iorus and then Earth, you will understand how we are all better off. We will all be one.”

  My head dropped as I had trouble staying conscious. I blinked my eyes to clear away the blood. I knew I wasn’t out because Romanis’s voice was still ringing in my head.

  “I will give you one consolation, Ultima. The survivors of Qashia who fled to this world. They only delayed the inevitable. But you did delay it. That is commendable, though ultimately futile. They will join the others before them.”

  The others who died. All the Qashians. Lyra’s family. Vacindra. Cellica. Joris. The people of Haven and the raiders on the plains. They all lost somebody. And I couldn’t save them from the same fate. There was no escape for them.

  I pressed my hand into the ground but I didn’t have the strength to do it. I kept pushing but no matter how hard I tried, there was nothing left.

  I had to wait for the Life Rune to take me back to Zion. And if I couldn’t do anything else, I had to tell them I couldn’t beat Romanis.

  “Hmm… You’re still alive.” Romanis’s voice was as confident as it had ever been. “I am impressed. That Rune in your chest provided you more power than even Kreonyx could have foreseen. When I take that Rune from you, the power of Ultima will serve our collective.”

  I had the power of a god and I couldn’t even beat this guy who was talking trash right in front of me.

  “Come on, Virgil…” I muttered to myself, trying to push myself back to my feet. My fingers spread out to give me more leverage but even more blood dripped out to make the ground even more slippery than before.

  “The time has come for your end, Ultima. After you die, the collective will understand the resilience of you humans. And I will mention you as a human greater than the others.”

  I didn’t have any more chances. If I didn’t do something now, not even Cybil could save me.

  “Do you have anything to say, Ultima?”

  I took a deep breath to calm myself. My thoughts cleared and everything came into view.

  “Rhiannon… Zafina… Lyra… Araceli… Sawyer… Yuma… Vacindra… Balec… Joris… “

  “What is this prattle?”

  “…The people of Valen… The people of the Sol Lands… The people of Qashia…”

  “What are you doing?”

  I focused, concentrating whatever bit of endurance was still hiding somewhere inside of me.“Last chance not to let them down.” I just had to concentrate. “I won’t let them down…”

  “Answer me!” Romanis grabbed my collar and brought me to my feet.

  I stayed focused as Romanis’s pale face came back into view. “…I won’t let them down… I won’t let them down!” I gritted my teeth as I channeled everything I had left.

  Romanis’s eyes narrowed in anger. “You will not—”

  BANG!

  The ceiling of the fortress began to screech as the metal ripped apart. The steel tore like a giant buzzsaw was being taken to it. But what was up there was worse than any power tool. It took all my strength to summon my Wyvern but its dark element got it through the barrier.

  Romanis’s brow furrowed as he stared up at the beast. “That will not save you or your people. You will all die like all the rest.” He reached out to grab my throat, snatching me by the neck.

  “Ahhh!” I summoned my dark sword back in my only hand and put it back in his wound that was already there.

  Romanis widened his eyes in surprise, his black pupils growing. His jaw dropped but nothing came out.

  I moved my face closer to look into the eyes that filled with fear. “You can kill a man… But you can’t kill a god.”

  Romanis’s face grew more frustrated. But that wouldn’t save him. I waited only a split-second before releasing the energy blade and blasting him, freeing myself from his grip. He zoomed across the room like a bullet, slamming against the wall and collapsing onto all fours.

  One last rush of adrenaline still hiding in me had me up. I summoned a fiery blade in my palm then pressed it to the wound where my left arm used to be. “This better work…” I gritted my teeth in pain as the flames burned through my flesh and blood. The sizzling sting of my cauterized wound was joined by a burning stench. I hadn’t stopped the bleeding completely but I’d slowed it enough to regain some of my strength.

  I straightened up and my knees buckled as I slipped on the blood steadily dripping from my wounds. But I kept pressing forward, advancing on my vulnerable target.

  “No!” Romanis pounded his fists into the ground, using a dark blast to bring himself to his feet. “You will not beat me!”

  I reacted on instinct, summoning a dark spear in my hand. I wasn’t much of an athlete but the strength of a god was all I needed to hurl my javelin like an ace pitcher. Romanis tried to stop it with a barrier. He did stop it. But not with a barrier. I hit my mark, spearing him right in his forehead. His jaw lowered as he fell to his knees. The blood poured like a fountain, coming down his eyes and streaking down his cheeks like his face was smeared with charcoal. Any last words he had for me were muted. Only his cold, black stare could tell me the disdain he had for me.

  His body fell to the floor with the Rune resting inside of it before a dark explosion made me turn my head. The intensity of it dropped me to my knees. I put my hand up to try and brace myself, waiting for the moment when I’d lose consciousness. But a few seconds went by and I was still breathing.

  The explosion cleared and Romanis’s remains were nowhere to be found. There was no Rune either. There was only a clear orb with a black aura surrounding it. It was large but not enough I couldn’t grip my hands around it to pick it up. I fell on my knees then used my hand like a hook to pull myself forward. I left behind a stre
ak of crimson to get to the strange sphere on the bloody tiles. As soon as I grabbed it, I thought maybe I was better off leaving it. A searing pain shot through my hand. The pain reverberated through the rest of me like lava flowing through my veins.

  “Ahhhh!” I screamed out in agony, every second getting worse than the next. I couldn’t breathe. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would burst. Every fiber in my body was getting ripped to shreds.

  But I held on. I gripped the orb like my life depended on it.

  I didn’t know how long it was. But suddenly the pain had subsided and the orb was no longer in my hand.

  The room around me began to shake. My Wyvern had vanished from above. The steel walls began to bend and crumple like the room was imploding on itself. Above, the dark barrier swirled like a violent thunderstorm.

  I stumbled to my feet and flew into the air, aiming for the hole ripped out of the ceiling. I didn’t know where I got the energy. I wanted to just fall right then and there. But somehow, I managed to get out of the ceiling and out of the fortress.

  I flew as far as I could before crash landing chest first on the grass outside.

  “Virgil!”

  Rhiannon. Lyra. Zafina. My head was so clouded, I couldn’t make out their voice clearly. But someone had called out to me. And now someone was grabbing my arm to help me up.

  It took my last ounce of strength to look back on the fortress and watch as it imploded into itself before disappearing completely, taking the dark barrier with it.

  My body gave out though. I collapsed back on the grass, staring up at the night. The moon was out. So were the stars. I smiled at how clear the sky was before my eyes shut on their own.

  41: A Greater Power

  I flexed my fingers then rotated my left arm to make sure everything was in working order.

  “Good to be back.”

  Even though I knew the Life Rune would restore me, I still let out a sigh of relief to see everything in order. I passed out on the battlefield and found myself in Zion, staring at the display like I’d done so many times before.