Goddess Complete

by Michael Anderle

  Chloe opened her eyes, and for a moment, thought she was back in the white room. Had she somehow made a bad move and died in-game?

  But there was no desk or computer waiting for her in the middle of the room. Instead, the white melted away and revealed a land of green, with hills and foliage stretching for miles and miles while a battle raged.

  Men and women on horseback sprinted at each other from opposing factions. Swords glinted in the sun, painted with the blood of their enemies. In the center of the throng of one of the armies was a figure Chloe recognized.

  KieraFreya rode proudly atop Shikora, hunched forward as they raced through the field. Her sword glowed white with power, flinging the enemy in all directions. Shikora powered through, trampling all in her sight without hesitation.

  Chloe floated close to the pair, feeling their power combined in one unit. A goddess spreading retribution in the midst of an age-old—

  And then it was gone. The world had shifted. The landscape held an ethereal glow as if viewed through a frosted mirror. KieraFreya stood in a stable, stroking and grooming Shikora. Her helmet was in the crook of one arm, and her face was on display.

  She turned to Shikora and smiled. Her face was anciently beautiful in the way that only stone carvings from the greatest artists could immortalize their wonder. Her dark hair fell down her back, flowing over her shoulder in soft curtains.

  Chloe called out to KieraFreya, but once more, the world shifted, morphing into something else entirely.

  KieraFreya was riding Shikora. Chloe took a seat behind her, feeling the incredible speed the horse was capable of. Up ahead was a small group of regal-looking men in armor. They stood on lavender clouds. Their pikes were drawn, held ready for the pair’s charge.

  Weapons clanged. KieraFreya was knocked off Shikora, and someone grabbed the horse’s reins.

  Magic glowed from their palms, calming the horse. Chloe had no idea who these people were, but she could feel their power, an energy that matched KieraFreya’s.

  Still, KieraFreya fought, her grunts loud beneath the helmet. She whirled with her sword, attacking and trying to take down the dozen or so guardians blocking her path, her anger and rage bordering on frenzied.

  “Don’t touch her!” KieraFreya shouted, seeing Shikora now wrapped in a shimmering glow. She had begun to fade, becoming more transparent by the second.

  KieraFreya let out a piercing scream and lunged for her horse, but it was too late. It was mostly gone. She turned with pure hatred in her eyes toward a pair of figures approaching from behind the guard.

  Chloe knew the pair immediately, having seen their carvings all across Obsidian. She recognized his voice the instant he spoke, casting her mind back to the Seat of the World where she had been blessed with the map to aid her in traveling through Obsidian and help her on her quest.

  Meruer, God of War, spoke in a calm but firm voice. “KieraFreya, you have let your greed blind you to your purpose, and I fear your mistakes cannot be reversed.”

  “But Father, I—”

  “You are not yourself. The heart of the blackened has touched yours, and I see what it is you have come to do.”

  KieraFreya gritted her teeth, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

  “What you are seeking cannot be undone. You cannot disrupt the forces of this world, for the world will fall apart without balance. All stands as it is, in the order it does, to keep the order that is needed for life to blossom—”

  He cut his words short, throwing his hand up and catching the knife by the blade. The small dagger had appeared in an instant, aimed by KieraFreya’s hand.

  The woman beside Meruer sighed. Warm energy pulsed from her, the force of the God of Love doing little to calm the situation.

  “KieraFreya…daughter…it is with great regret that we hold you to account for the most heinous of crimes you plan within your heart. You have let the others deceive you. Have let evil spread within you and tip your scales off-balance. Retribution is about equality of purpose, and here you are with murder in your eyes.”

  “Mother, please!” KieraFreya said, suddenly realizing the direness of the situation.

  Meruer glanced at Oella, then back at KieraFreya. “You are hereby banished to the surface of Obsidian. Your body will be broken, your steed will be chained. Although time will pass, you will not feel its length.”

  “No! Father, no!”

  “You have disgraced your jurisdiction, and penance must be paid. It is the way of the gods. Your memory shall be fragmented. Only in understanding the true trials and tribulations of mortal kind will you be able to return to your place in the heavens.”

  A single tear fell down KieraFreya’s face. “Father…”

  “Go, then. Retribution is yours.”

  Chloe felt herself slip into blackness. She felt as though she were being pulled apart, torn limb from limb. She saw glimpses of the land: mountains, rivers, caves, volcanoes.

  And the entire time, her fall’s background the laughter of an imp she would never forget.

  “Fukmos…”

  Chloe opened her eyes, feeling Shikora protesting against her grasp. Her breath caught, not quite able to believe what she’d just experienced. Although she was pouring what she could into Whisper of the Wild, it wasn’t enough. If she was going to tame this beast, she’d need more juice.

  “Here goes nothing…”

  Chloe shut off her Telekinesis and poured everything she had into Whisper of the Wild. Shikora bucked violently, threatening to charge her now she was back on the ground, then paused.

  Chloe saw something in her eyes change. A glimmer of recognition. A small ring of white appeared around the edges of her eyes even though her nostrils continued to flare.

  “Shikora…” KieraFreya now spoke, her words laced with emotion. “I would never have left you voluntarily. You know that, don’t you?”

  Shikora whinnied, more in fear than anger now.

  “We rode together through the eons, charged into the hearts of a thousand battles. Do you really think I’d have left you for this long given the choice?”

  Shikora scuffed the ground with one hoof, uncertainty in her movements. Chloe felt her calm beneath her palms, the green power washing over her in soothing waves.

  “Chloe, let her carry you.”

  Chloe opened her eyes and skirted Shikora, careful to keep her palms touching her skin. When she was at her side, she made a confident bound and gripped the armored plates on her back.

  She half-expected Shikora to buck her off. To suddenly leap in the air and dislodge her.

  Instead, Shikora calmed, and that strange black mist began to dissipate. After a few seconds, Shikora was nuzzling the grass at her feet, nibbling the blades hungrily, as though it had been years since she’d fed.

  Chloe breathed out a sigh of relief, exhaustion washing over her. She checked her stats and was shocked to see how much of her mana had drained, even after manipulating the etheric.

  She reached forward and patted Shikora’s neck. “There’s a good girl.”

  KieraFreya let out a relieved chuckle. “You did good, kid.”

  Chloe smiled. After a pause, she said. “Hey, how come nothing is happening?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Shouldn’t you be glowing white and bonding with her? Y’know, finishing up this quest?”

  Before KieraFreya could answer, shouts came from across the field.

  “Chloe! Hey! Chloe!”

  Chloe turned on Shikora’s back to see Ben, Gideon, and Tag sprinting toward her, faces as pale as paper. She only just noticed the ring of horses circling them and the small gap the others must have run through.

  They cheered and whooped as they approached. “You did it!”

  “Good job, Chloe!”

  “It’s over, right? It’s finally over!” Tag celebrated.

  Ben’s face straightened. “Hold on, shouldn’t we have gotten a notification or something?”

  They all went glassy-eyed,
checking their inboxes.

  “I’ve got nothing,” Gideon said.

  Ben shook his head. “Me neither.”

  Chloe’s heart dropped. She climbed off Shikora and dropped onto the ground. “How’s that possible?”

  “I don’t know,” Gideon said. “Have we done something wrong?”

  Chloe’s mouth went dry. It couldn’t be possible. After all this time, had she been led on a wild goose chase? A final trick at the end from Fukmos to complete his mischief? She’d done everything, right? There weren’t any more pieces of armor to collect. She’d found the damn horse.

  What the hell was going on?

  Chloe’s hands clenched into fists. Frustration boiled inside of her. In a burst of emotion, she punched the air in front of her and gave a big kick at a nearby stone.

  The stone soared through the air, narrowly missing a horse’s rump.

  But the boot that was flung off with it didn’t miss.

  Chloe stared in disbelief at the golden boot now lying on the grass. She looked down and saw her bare foot poking out from beneath the armor.

  Without thinking about what she was doing, she began to peel off the pieces of armor. First her gloves, one by one, the air a strange feeling on her naked skin. Next her bracers and greaves, the items that had been glued to her body for the past few months.

  She eased off everything from her lower parts, then took off her and breastplate, avoiding the uncomfortable attempts by the guys to look away as she revealed the body beneath.

  And last but not least was her helmet. This she placed on the ground with the other items. She took a deep breath of the air and was thankful to see that, whether by some incredibly useful updates from Praxis or from a long-ago fashion decision she couldn’t remember, her breasts and lower region were covered by white fabric.

  “I’m free…” Chloe breathed, eyes meeting her party’s. She laughed. “I’m free.”

  “As am I.”

  They all caught their breath, the voice coming from deep within the armor on the grass. A gust of wind kicked up around it as the armor began to reassemble itself beside Chloe and Shikora. A moment later, KieraFreya stood smiling in front of them.

  “It’s her,” Gideon said quietly.

  KieraFreya eyed herself, running her hands across various parts of her armor as if to check that it was real. She glanced over her shoulder at her behind, nodding, impressed.

  “You did a good job looking after this for me.”

  Chloe flushed red. “We did it together, remember?”

  KieraFreya smiled and tilted her head. “I meant what I said back there. It was all you. I wouldn’t have been able to do anything without the power that lies in you.”

  KieraFreya took a step back, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath in. “And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for…”

  She raised her arms to the side as if summoning the tides. An alert went off for Chloe, Ben, Tag, and Gideon, and they were all lifted off the ground in a shower of golden light.

  The bells chimed. They had grown in levels.

  Which meant…

  The second Chloe’s feet touched the floor, she opened her notification panel, beaming as she saw a notification about completion of The Final Hurdle, the message she’d been waiting for from the start.

  Quest complete: The Final Hurdle

  You have done it! You’ve calmed Shikora and brought her back in union with KieraFreya. Now there’s just one thing left to do…

  Difficulty: 9/10

  Rewards: 20,000 exp

  Quest complete: A Fallen Goddess

  You have traveled the land and united all the fallen pieces of KieraFreya. Fragmented and lost, KieraFreya has sought her hero for thousands of years. The gods smiled upon you, and through bravery, courage, valor, and love, you have completed this legendary quest.

  Celebrate, dear adventurer. Enjoy the moment. Legendary quests are hard to come by and are built for champions such as you. Now revel in the prizes yielded and use them to your advantage as you become a true pioneer of Obsidian and all it has to offer.

  Rewards: 100,000 exp, + Champion’s Armor + Blade of the Heroic + Increased reputation among the gods.

  BONUS: Align yourself with the Goddess KieraFreya at your next shrine for additional rewards.

  Chloe laughed aloud, her joy at completion almost overwhelming. She scrolled down and saw that she had also gained two levels, thanks to her reward of 120,000 experience points from the quest.

  “I’m up four levels!” Gideon and Tag said in unison.

  “I’m up three!” Ben declared.

  Chloe’s face hurt from smiling. She checked her stats, impressed by the increases.

  Yes! 8 points to allocate to whichever stats I desire.

  Chloe quickly threw them all into intelligence to boost her power to learn and develop her etheric magic, then opened her inventory and checked out her new armor.

  Like KieraFreya’s armor, it was light and form-fitting. Rather than gold and emerald, the majority of this armor was a pristine white, decorated with gold.

  Wing decals were printed on the upper arms, and the helmet had golden wings on either side. Chloe stood with her hands on her hips, taking a power stance.

  “What do you guys think?”

  Their jaws dropped.

  “That’s beautiful,” Gideon said, blushing as Chloe winked at him. “I meant the armor…”

  “We know what you meant,” Ben said.

  They all burst into laughter, and even KieraFreya found herself chuckling. It was only when they felt a slight shake in the ground beneath them that they slowed to a stop.

  “What was that?” Chloe asked.

  KieraFreya’s ears pricked up. She looked into the distance. “The rift…it’s closing.”

  “You can see that from here?” Tag questioned.

  She tapped her helmet. “Goddess powers, remember?” She hopped aboard Shikora and held her armor. “Go quickly. Race back to the rift. You haven’t much time.”

  They turned to run. Chloe paused. “Wait. What about you!”

  KieraFreya shook her head solemnly. “I’m sorry. I have some business to attend to. It’s calling me home.”

  Chloe panicked, then it turned into anger. “You promised you’d help us. You promised!”

  KieraFreya was already fading from view. She looked sad, as if every part of her wanted to help, but she just couldn’t. “Go, Chloe. You can do this.”

  And then she was gone, only air where she used to be.

  The ground rumbled again.

  “Crap,” Chloe said, face shadowed. “Let’s go. Gan’gor, lead the way.”

  “Right you are!”

  The group began running back through the Nether Realm, their celebrations quickly replaced by the very real fear that they might find themselves trapped in this realm.

  Chapter Sixty

  The rift had begun to wobble.

  Pulses of magic were sent across the battlefield in waves. Those guarding the rift were pushed forward, their magic breaking as they were cast into the throng of enemies.

  Therese and Abe watched it all from the city. A momentary pause spread across the battlefield as the rift surged into action. Its entryway was thin now, no wider than the old city gate, and it was closing fast.

  Royal Notice:

  Mages to the rift! All remaining units cover them.

  King Abaxis & Queen Therese

  “What are you doing?” Abe asked as Therese snapped out of her menu and back into the world.

  “We need to keep the rift open. Chloe and the others are in there.”

  “You’re going to get us all killed for the sake of four of your friends?”

  Therese turned scarlet. “They’re the answer to ending all this. Without them, the rest don’t stand a chance. KieraFreya is the key to solving this entire—”

  She cut off as she was suddenly lifted into the air. All around them, players were also airborne, reveling in the golden l
ight that bathed them. It passed like a wind disturbing a field of fireflies, a wave of light illuminating Therese all the way into the throng of people in the heat of the battle.

  “What in the world…” Abe’s voice trailed off.

  Therese gave a soft laugh, eyes glossy as she read her notifications. “She’s done it. Ha! Chloe’s done it! She’s completed the quest. We’ve all gained a share of the experience for helping her!” She hugged Abe so tightly that had he not been wearing his armor, he thought he might’ve died.

  Cheers erupted on the battlefield as people realized what had happened. Not only had most of them leveled up (considerably for the lower level players), but their stamina, strength, and mana had been restored.

  Orcs and infected suddenly looked afraid. Their numbers had depleted somewhat since the Sherikans had taken to churning the battlefield and creating sinkholes beneath large groups of creatures, and those arriving fresh to the battle had begun to dwindle. Only a small trickle of enemies remained.

  “Dear God,” Therese murmured. “We might just make it through this…”

  Of course, that was before the beating of enormous wings could be heard over the forest, on the way into battle.

  Holly and Molly led the charge of the mages alongside Tabitha. Not a blessed herself, Tabitha looked battle-worn and weary but refused to give up on her role of helping create history.

  The mages fought their way through the crowd. Blasts fired around them in spectacular colors as orcs and infected bounced into the air. Soon they were focusing their magic on the rift, a hundred or so mages focusing their power on keeping the damn thing open.

  More mages joined. Tanks and warriors and clerics and rangers marched toward the rift, leaving the city now to protect the mages.

  Gelda tore across the battlefield, stony arms swatting orcs away like flies. A few arrows found her arms and legs but did little against the troll-skin she had chosen within the game.

  “Keep steady! Focus! Hold it a little longer!” Molly’s face was as white as her cloak as she shouted instructions and focused her own power on the rift. They had managed to stop it from closing but could not make it open wider. The rip in the air thrummed with energy, destabilizing by the second.