World in Chains- The Complete Series

by Ryan W. Mueller

He had to help her, had to find out why she broke the spell that hung over him.

  Had to find a way to kill Krinir.

  * * * * *

  Darien Warrick returned to the present moment, where he held Markus's hand. He broke free from Markus's grip, and Markus, Nadia, and Lara all opened their eyes. They shook their heads, dazed looks in their eyes.

  "I know that's a lot to take in," Darien said.

  None of them spoke for a while as they all sorted through what they'd experienced.

  "I'm sorry for what you had to go through," Lara said. "No one deserves that."

  Nadia wiped away a tear. "I still hate you."

  "I don't blame you," Darien said. "My selfishness brought about all this."

  Markus got to his feet. "I was hoping there'd be a secret about how to kill Krinir."

  "I had hoped the same," Darien said, "but this is Krinir we're talking about. Even if he was confident that he could control me and eliminate certain memories, he would never share the secret to killing him. That is not his way."

  "Then we'll just have to figure it out on our own," Nadia said.

  "And I will be with you every step of the way," Darien said.

  Chapter 65: Attaining Godhood

  Kara didn't like the idea of becoming a goddess, but if it was the only way to stop Krinir, she would do it. She was trying to Travel to Rador's home world, but opening the portal proved more difficult than she'd anticipated.

  "Traveling is not an easy thing," Rador said as they sat around a small table in the building that housed the Luminian resistance. The rest of the sorcerers there left Kara and Rador alone for the most part, though they'd been curious about Rador at first.

  "I'm still trying to figure out how exactly Traveling works," Kara said. "Are you sure you can't give me a better explanation?"

  Rador stroked his chin. "Yes, I suppose I didn't explain it fully in the God Realm. As a Traveler, you can Travel between worlds. I explained that much. The actual mechanism by which this occurs is a mystery to me, but if you can do it, you can open a gateway between worlds that will allow others to make the journey as well."

  "Is that what we want?" Kara asked.

  "It is dangerous," Rador said, "but I can't let you go to my world alone. You will not understand what you need to do." He leaned forward in his stone chair. "The gateway between worlds will need to stay open as long as you are there so that we can return when our business is done. Normally, I would say you could close it, but creating such a gateway takes time. It's better to leave the gateway open.

  "I should also tell you this. A Traveler is always linked to two worlds at a time. That is, you cannot Travel from a first world to a second world and then to a third world. You must return to the first world before Traveling to the third. Does that make sense?"

  Kara sorted through her thoughts, digesting his explanation. "Yes, I think it does."

  "I should add that it is possible to travel from the second world to the third, but in doing so, you must first break your link to the first world. Forever. That is, you will never be able to return to the first world. It is not something Travelers normally do."

  "Are there many Travelers?" she asked.

  "There are very few Travelers. In fact, you are the only the second I know of from this world."

  "I'm still not sure how all this is going to help us," she said. She didn't care about any other Travelers. If they were important, Rador would have said more.

  Rador stroked his chin again. "It's difficult to explain. I can feel the Webs of Fate within me, but reading them is not quite the same as it used to be. They show me a path leading to your godhood, and that's the only path I see in which Krinir can be defeated."

  Footsteps approached from the right, and Marlon strode into view. His expression was grave, his face lined with worry. "Krinir has gathered a much larger army than I ever thought he could. He must be using his powers of mind control to sway many sorcerers to his cause."

  "How many?" Kara asked.

  "At least a thousand. That's more than half the world's sorcerers."

  "And have we gathered an army?" Kara asked.

  "We are working on it. Many of us have been teleporting around the world, gathering the people we'll need. In the coming days, they should arrive here."

  "The fate of the world will be at stake," Rador said. "I can see that much in the Webs. The final battle with Krinir will take place on my home world. You see, when a Traveler opens a gateway, it opens the possibility that others might pass through it as well, including those we would not want to do so."

  "I don't understand," Kara said. "Won't the gateway only be in one place?"

  Rador leaned forward, his expression patient. "The gateway will send out a beacon to every sorcerer powerful enough to sense it, including Krinir. All the sorcerer has to do is connect their own teleportation spells to this beacon, and a new gateway will open wherever they want it."

  "Then we shouldn't go," Kara said. "We should come up with another plan."

  "No," Rador said. "This is the best plan we have. Most threads end in defeat, but there is a possibility that we will win. I am sorry to say it, but this is the only way." He sighed deeply. "I must warn you that the end will begin the second you open the gateway. We will need to hurry to reach the Source, located beneath the Divine Fortress."

  Kara felt sick to her stomach when she thought of everything that could go wrong, but she trusted Rador. If he thought this was the right plan, she would agree to it.

  "I'm going to try to open the gateway again," she said. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the world Rador had described to her. It was a ruined world, bereft of life, a place that had become a cold desert full of cracked plateaus, where no rain ever fell.

  Rador placed his hands over hers, and she could feel his presence in her mind. The images of that world, so fragile and broken, flowed into her mind. She focused on how she'd entered the Webs of Fate, on the way she'd felt when she traveled through the Nexus.

  She'd tried this for a few days now, but it had never worked.

  This time felt different, though.

  A sudden surge of energy blasted through her, and she opened her eyes. A gateway of swirling colors had opened in front of her, and beyond that gateway she could see the shattered world she'd envisioned.

  "Well done," Rador said. "Now let's go to the other side."

  Rador walked at her side as she took a few cautious steps toward the portal. She breathed in deeply, then stepped through. She had expected to feel some kind of swirling sensation, but instead she simply stepped from one side of the gateway to the other.

  Looking back, she could see the room they'd left. Then the portal closed.

  "It is not truly closed," Rador said. "Now that you've opened it, others can pass through."

  They stood upon a flat expanse of black rock. Great cracks ran through the rock, and off to their left and right, rivers of lava flowed through the shattered landscape. A cold wind swirled in the air, a contrast to the heat of the lava, and Kara wrapped her cloak tighter about her.

  "What happened here?" she asked.

  "It is a long tale," Rador said, "and it is not necessary to our success today."

  She took a few steps forward, the cold air stinging her face. "Is the final battle truly going to happen today? It feels too soon."

  "Today is our only chance at victory."

  "Have you seen how we can succeed?" she asked.

  "No, the Webs of Fate have become exceedingly difficult to read. I can see some things very clearly, but others seem to have been disrupted. The threads squirm within me. You'd think it would make them easier to read, but I've never had as much trouble as I'm having now."

  "Do you know how we'll succeed, then?"

  "I can see only glimpses," he said. "It has something to do with Warrick."

  Kara had almost forgotten about Warrick. She thought again of the time she'd spent with him in the Shadowed Land, of all the help he'd gi
ven her. If he could only break free from Krinir's control, he could be their greatest ally, but she had no idea how that could happen.

  Maybe if she became a god, her magic could break the spell once and for all.

  Ahead of them was a massive stone fortress. Some of its walls had crumbled, but it looked sturdy enough. It stretched as far as she could see in every direction. Its towers jutted hundreds of feet into the air. A closed gate stood directly ahead of them.

  Rador strode toward it, then stopped at a glowing blue crystal on the wall beside the gate. He placed his hand against the crystal, and it glowed a brighter blue. Then the gate clunked open, slowly revealing the entrance to the dark fortress.

  "Follow me," Rador said, beckoning her inside.

  They stepped into the fortress. Inside, it appeared as if the fortress had survived the destruction of this world almost unscathed. The cracks that crossed its exterior were absent. Magical torches cast light upon everything. Lush red carpets covered a floor of tan-colored stone. Countless paintings adorned the walls, depicting wild landscapes Kara had never seen.

  Some looked like forests in which everything glowed. Others were frozen wastelands or jagged mountains or verdant jungles. Her eyes swept across every landscape, trying to take them all in.

  "Do these all come from this world?" she asked.

  "Some of them do, but others come from other worlds. Some Travelers are also brilliant artists, or they bought artwork from the places to which they Traveled." He gestured for her to keep walking. "But we have a mission to accomplish. No time to admire the artwork, I'm afraid."

  They followed the corridors, turning so many times Kara lost her sense of direction. Dozens of staircases led them deep underground, but the magical torches remained as bright and inviting as ever, as did the rest of their surroundings. Many of the walls were covered in murals depicting people in resplendent robes, some with crowns atop their heads.

  She didn't gaze long at the artwork, though, for she remembered their mission. Soon they reached a closed stone door, outside which there was another blue crystal. Rador touched his hand to this crystal, and it pulsed with energy. The door opened.

  "This room contains the Source," Rador said.

  Kara followed him inside, entering a room with some kind of machine that glowed all kinds of different colors. The chamber was perhaps a hundred feet from side to side and just as long, and most of it was filled by this machine.

  "This is how people become gods?" she asked.

  "This world is the source of everything else," Rador said. "It was once a beautiful place. Now it is a shell of its former self. But the Source remains intact." He stopped a few feet from the machine and looked back at her. "The Source is how we create gods. It sees which world you are most connected to, and it makes you a god of that world. In doing so, it strengthens your magic and once upon a time, it gave us specific roles."

  "Like the Destroyer?" Kara said.

  "Precisely. The Source can also be used to create and improve magical artifacts. Your world contains the stones of Restoration, Creation, and Destruction. All three of them were created using this machine. All three could be made even stronger."

  "Why didn't you make them stronger in the first place?" Kara asked.

  "Too dangerous. The thing about magical artifacts is that anyone can use them, even those who do not possess enough responsibility to make good use of them. As such, it is best if we keep their power relatively weak."

  Kara considered his explanation for a few moments. "But couldn't we use the stones against Krinir? If we could make them stronger, then maybe we could defeat him."

  "It is possible," Rador said. "But we do not have any of the stones in our possession. As far as we know, Warrick and Krinir hold them."

  "I didn't think of that."

  "That's all right," Rador said. "I am glad that you are constantly thinking of ways to defeat Krinir. I don't know anything for certain, but I know it is possible. We may need to improvise once he gets here, but we can find a way. I know we can."

  Kara wished she could feel so confident. She couldn't read the Webs of Fate, but she could see the high potential of failure in any decision they might make. She tried to frame her thoughts more positively, but she'd always been a realist.

  That brought a faint smile to her lips. She remembered her old debates with Nadia about the advisability of trying to kill Warrick.

  The world had changed a lot in such a short time, and Kara had changed as well. Gone was the young woman who had once thought she couldn't change anything. That woman had disappeared in her time with Warrick, when she'd witnessed that she could change the tyrant into a good man, or perhaps help him reclaim the good man he'd always been deep down.

  She felt a pang of longing when she thought of him. Had she grown to love him? It seemed ludicrous at first, but the more she thought about it, the more she longed for his company. But she couldn't think about that. She had a mission to accomplish.

  "Sit down in this chair," Rador said gently, directing her toward the center of the machine. The chair was made of some kind of dark metal, and it felt cold as she sat down in it. She gazed up at the machine, at all its glowing colors and moving parts, and nausea swirled in her stomach. It didn't matter how many deep breaths she took. She couldn't relax.

  Rador strode to the side of the machine, pressed a few buttons, then pulled a lever. "No matter what happens," he said, "you need to stay in that seat. Do you understand?"

  She nodded, feeling sicker than ever.

  He pulled one more lever, and the seat began to vibrate. Taking deep breaths, Kara remained where she was as the vibrations grew stronger and stronger. A beam of blue energy formed above her, crackling in the air like lightning. She closed her eyes, figuring she'd make it through this more easily if she didn't watch it.

  The vibrations continued to strengthen. A loud hum ran through the room. Pressure built in her ears, becoming almost unbearable. Through it all, she kept her eyes closed and focused on her breathing, on anything other than the terrible power coursing through the machine.

  And through her.

  The air grew warm. Every hair on her body stood on end. The energy pulsed more strongly than ever, and the air was positively alive with the power of it. Still, she kept her eyes closed, though she could see flashing through her eyelids. The pressure in her ears became so strong she thought her head might explode.

  Then the blast of energy hit her. It burned so strong she feared it would kill her, but it lasted for only a few seconds. She opened her eyes to see Rador smiling at her.

  "It is done," he said. "You are now a goddess."

  Kara didn't feel any different.

  Chapter 66: Immortality

  Nadia was reeling from all the new information she'd just taken in. First she'd learned so much magic at once. Then she'd seen Warrick's true memories. Now they all stood in the chamber where they'd learned darkness magic, trying to sort through everything.

  She couldn't shake the feeling that she'd seen something important in Warrick's memories. There was some hint there, some way they could defeat Krinir.

  Markus put a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

  "I'm just thinking. I feel like there's something important in what we just saw."

  Warrick leaned wearily against the wall of the chamber. "I keep sorting through my memories too, looking for some clue in them. As it is, I don't see how we can defeat Krinir. That means we should control what we can control. Now that you have Darkness magic, all you need to do is go to the Tower of Light to gain immortality."

  Nadia felt suddenly queasy. "Are you sure that's the wisest course of action?"

  "Yeah, I've never given much thought to immortality," Markus said.

  "It's necessary," Warrick said. "If you're going to face off against Krinir, you don't want to risk being killed by a stray arrow. Besides, don't you want to live forever?"

  "The thought is appealing," Nadia said.

  "We shou
ld do it," Lara said. "We can worry about the consequences later."

  Nadia didn't like that idea, but it was the best they had. "All right," she said. "We'll go to the Tower of Light." Her stomach gave a sudden lurch. "But how will we get inside? Krinir is there. The place will be swarming with Imperial Guards."

  "I think I can get us inside," Warrick said, but there was doubt in his voice.

  Markus cleared his throat. "Why wasn't Krinir here in the temple? I was surprised when he didn't pursue us after we crashed his fortress."

  "I think Krinir is not able to enter the Ghost Forest," Warrick said. "It might have something to do with all the ghosts here. It's more likely, though, that it is a mystery of the world we do not understand. There are more of those than you'd think."

  "Yeah, I've noticed," Markus said.

  "If Krinir can't get into the forest," Nadia said, "then the three stones should still be in the fortress. We should grab them before Krinir sends someone here to do it."

  "We can't grab the Stone of Destruction," Warrick said. "The people who built the fortress made it so that the stones could only be placed or removed from the slots by the Restorer, the Creator, and the Destroyer."

  "I just had another idea," Nadia said. "The stones in that fortress all came from the future. Does that mean that there are multiple copies here in the present?"

  Warrick stroked his chin. "I hadn't considered that, but now that you mention it, that might just be what we need to fight Krinir. He's powerful, but so are the stones. They are objects meant to amplify a person's powers."

  "Do you think having two stones will result in more power?" Lara asked.

  "It just might," Warrick said, pacing near the stone wall. "I need to think this through. Krinir currently has the Stone of Destruction in his possession—the stone from our present time. I don't see much hope of taking it from him. We can't remove the future's Stone of Destruction from the fortress. It would be nice to have those powers, but it's not possible."

  "What about the other stones?" Lara asked.

  Warrick continued pacing. "I have the Stone of Creation with me, and we can grab a second Stone of Creation from the fortress. We can also grab the Stone of Restoration from there, and you will use that, Markus."