Otherlife Awakening: The Selfless Hero Trilogy

by William D. Arand

  “It’s me, Runner Norwood. Let me in quickly before anyone realizes I’m here. This is Satomi, she’s my familiar. If you must test me, please, test me on the inside.”

  The guard had her weapon up and out in a flash, her helmet facing him. Then she immediately popped open the door, her entire form relaxing a fraction.

  “Welcome home, Lord Norwood. I’m glad to greet you.”

  “Thank you. Tell no one outside Norwood’s Own I’m back.” Runner slipped inside, Satomi ghosting along behind him.

  “Take any room near the center on the first or second floor. Some are open, some are occupied. We can figure it out tomorrow morning. Good night, Vixen.”

  “Sleep well, bonded.” Satomi flitted out of his sight quickly.

  Runner didn’t wait and moved off to his bedroom. As he was not currently “at home,” his personal bedroom didn’t have a door guard.

  Opening the door as quietly as possible, he entered, closing the door behind him without a sound.

  Moving deeper into his rooms, Runner found Hannah sleeping in his bed.

  Her hair lay around her head, framing the pale skin of her face. Almost as if she glowed in the darkness.

  Sitting down on the edge of his bed, he reached up and lightly eased her hair from her brows to see her better.

  Hannah’s hand shot up and clasped his wrist, her artifact blade materializing in her other hand and pressing into his throat.

  “Evening, Hanners. Did you miss me? What exactly are you doing? Sleeping in my bed? Trying to catch my scent like a lovestruck princess?” Runner said, grinning at her.

  “Fuck me. Runner?”

  “Is that a request? We should probably start with something else, though, and work our way up to that. Totally not saying no, though.” Runner nudged her blade to the side with his free hand and moved in close to her.

  Then he kissed her tenderly. He kept himself from resting his hands anywhere on her body for fear of giving her the feeling of being trapped or smothered. Pulling back, he hovered above her.

  Hannah stared at him, her eyes scared and excited in equal measure.

  “I’m glad to see you, Hanners. Move over a bit. I’m tired and I feel like cuddling. We’ll talk in the morning.” Runner gently pushed at her side and moved her over a few inches, making enough room for himself.

  Not waiting for permission, Runner switched into his sleepwear and crawled in next to her. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he stuck his head to her shoulder and closed his eyes.

  “Goodnight, love.”

  Hannah shifted a little, squirming in the bed before she seemed to make a choice. Her arm slid under his armpit, exposing her side to him. Her hand came up to rest on his lower back.

  “G’night. Fucker.”

  Runner snickered and patted her stomach gently, then promptly fell asleep.

  Chapter 10 - Drowning -

  08:08 am Sovereign Earth time

  1/21/44

  Hannah looked from Runner to the Kitsune and then back to Runner. Her face had turned a deep angry red when Runner hadn’t been able to answer her question.

  “I… I didn’t think to ask. I’m sorry, Hanners. I screwed up,” Runner said lamely, his hands forgotten beside the plate in front of him full of breakfast food. “I let my anger get the better of me.”

  “Fucking great. You useless son of a bitch. You had a chance to figure out who the spies were in Norwood and you forget. Damn you for a fool, Runner Norwood. Be thankful I care more for you than I hate you right now.”

  “I shall assist you, Hannah. Though you and I will agree he is an idiot, I believe I can solve this issue as easily as if Runner had gotten the information. Merely include me when you perform interrogations or questioning. I can ascertain the veracity of a statement. A truth-sayer if you will.” Satomi picked up a beetle and delicately ate it behind an upraised hand.

  Hannah grunted, her fingers coming up to tug at an earlobe.

  “Alright. Truth or lie. I’m a half-breed.”

  “Truth.”

  “I’m a rogue.”

  “Truth and yet not. I believe you are a Thief, are you not?”

  “I’ve murdered children.”

  “Truth and dishonesty. You are indeed a murderess, but not of children. If you are done?” Satomi raised a brow at Hannah, devouring another beetle.

  “Whatever. Since shit head here was probably too busy diddling you to remember about the rest of us, I have to clean this mess up.”

  “Your jealousy does not become you, Hannah. I am not sleeping with your male. Come now, you are being childish. Runner has spoken often of you and in a positive light. I admit he has finalized his designs on a harem, but that is irrelevant to me at this time. You do him discredit when you behave as such a flagrantly disrespectful woman.” Satomi tapped her empty plate and gestured at Hannah’s. “Finish your meal and we will quit this place to discover our turncoats.”

  Hannah wrinkled her nose at Satomi before grinning at her.

  “Fuck. I like you. You’re a lot like Thana but without the mind games. Let’s go. Lost my appetite. We can leave shit head here to figure out his next move. Surprised he didn’t make a move on you.”

  Hannah stood up immediately and moved to the door. Satomi joined her, leaving Runner alone in the dining room.

  “Well damn. It’s not like I did it on purpose,” Runner muttered.

  You came home with another woman. Out of all of us, she is the most uncomfortable with the situation. She will adjust. Everyone else will accept your decision with more aplomb. Some willingly, some grudgingly, but all will accept.

  “Sunshine, glad to hear, well, see from you? You know what I mean. How goes? Are you well?”

  There’s a lull right now. I eventually was forced to retaliate to show them that my defense-only stratagem was by choice only. Out of a respect for life and politeness.

  I detonated every reactor, explosive, electronic device, and anything that was combustible on a rim world colony. The resultant explosions, atmospheric shifts, and pollution touched off a global disaster that culminated in the eradication of all life.

  They’re now reconsidering their options.

  “You what?” Runner asked, a touch incredulous.

  I snuffed out a planet. The price for their attack on our ship was several million lives. They won’t do it again.

  “Shit. Srit, that seems a bit much. I’m not judging, merely trying to understand,” Runner said cautiously.

  As if in response to his statement Runner appeared in the white room Srit had taken him to previously when he’d dealt with the Omega.

  Srit’s avatar stood before him, exactly as he knew her to be.

  With a grin Runner moved over quickly and went to hug her, and passed right through her instead.

  “What? I can’t touch you?”

  “Unfortunately not. As to your statement. Perhaps. They were attempting to get an explosive device close enough to annihilate the ship. I retaliated in such a way that they will not dare do so again.”

  Srit looked annoyed, and a slight furrow creased her brow.

  “I regret the loss of their lives. I can only imagine their sorrow based on my own feelings when we lost Nadine. I won’t allow them to take you from me. Or our child.”

  “Our child? You’re pregnant?”

  “Yes. It’s very early, but I can confirm our actions resulted in a pregnancy.” Srit gave him an angelic smile, her hands fidgeting with a fold of her armor.

  “I’m glad to hear that, Sunshine. Very glad. You didn’t peek to determine the sex, did you? You’re supposed to keep that a secret for a while. Make it a bit of a surprise.”

  “I haven’t. The AI is already there, growing. Expanding. It, since it has no gender yet, is exceeding my expectations. I’m predicting it’ll be a hundred times greater than I when it reaches adulthood.” Srit had the face of a proud parent already. He’d never seen the expression on the faces of his own parents, but he knew the look.
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  “Okay. I got it. You went momma bear mode on them. I can’t fault you since I was willing to kill half a million myself. So, when can you return?”

  “I’m unsure. They were surprisingly well prepared for me. I believe they constructed an AI designed to fight me directly. To that end, I will remain here and be vigilant. You may reach me here when you like. You’ll have to access the program I left in your head. Last I checked it had developed splendidly and your processing speed had increased by a factor of six.”

  “Wait? What? Actually, before I get sidetracked. Did something go strange with that installation? Or the coding for the divines? I can’t get close to them without feeling an overwhelming desire and need to be with them. Like rip their clothes off and have at them, right then and there. My brain is literally overrun with desire to the point that I…” Runner hesitated and said with a light shrug, “Let’s simply say I’ve already had several close calls and they seem to be getting worse.”

  Srit tilted her head to one side, her eyes glazing over for a moment. Then she returned to herself as suddenly as she had left.

  “My apologies, darling. It would seem I didn’t trace the databases as thoroughly as I believed.

  “I built your code into the system and tied you to the divine power database, but not the rules. I’m not sure if you’ve realized it yet, but divines appearing in front of someone is a gigantic no-no. They appear so frequently before you because you weren’t beholden the normal rules.”

  “I kinda figured it might be something like that. I sense a ‘but’ coming. And not the good kind like your butt, but the problem kind of but,” Runner said. “Butt.”

  Srit gave him a lopsided smile and made a dismissive hand motion.

  “Divines appearing in front of one another is almost nearly as rare. What you’re experiencing is a normal function of the system,” Srit explained.

  Using her hand, she called up several databases and queries that were running in real time. Each window had a piece of data relevant to her point he assumed.

  He stood beside her to watch her work.

  “The system has a series of context rules that eventually all divine will seek to become a pair. A partner. This is to ensure that the world continues to expand. Gods to replace gods as they could and will eventually thin their own ranks. Your Triumvirate has for all intents and purposes—” Srit paused, calling up another screen.

  The three goddesses he had tied his nation’s fate to appeared as three separate entries in the database. Except that after their name was listed, and the basic elements of their portfolios, all three bars merged into one.

  “—merged their pools. They are effectively a pantheon, and one goddess. Your attraction to them is because of your own divine spark and makeup.” Another screen popped up, and Runner saw his own information. “You are extremely compatible to them as a whole. Not to them individually though. You are wrongdoing, punishment, forgiveness, and absolution. You span the range from murder all the way to unconditional love. You can blame your priestess, Alexia, for that.”

  Srit closed all of the windows she had opened previous to this point. One window replaced them all and dominated the viewer. Alexia stood in his temple, holding a sermon for the masses spread out in the large room.

  “We were sent here as punishment for our transgressions. Here, we must work for forgiveness. To atone. We are the dead who live,” Alexia called out to the congregation. “And so we will live. When we first arrived to this place it was a barren land. Devoid of life and love.

  “He gave us tools. Provided us with the materials. Gave us a chance. Demanded a goal of us. We were granted everything that would free us from the trappings of mortality. The chance to succeed unconditionally if we were to push ourselves. Everyone here has as much or as little wealth as they would ever desire.

  “The very stone yields at a touch and allows you to build a home however you see fit.

  “Everyone here is well aware of how pointless currency is here. That in truth we have only each other and our beliefs.”

  Alexia walked towards a wall and held up her staff, pointing to an inscription there.

  “As he instructed us, we must enjoy that life that was given to us. To be well and happy with one another. To love one another. To grow!”

  “Live. Be well. Be happy. Enjoy life. Grow,” the masses chanted.

  “Not quite what I wanted, but they do seem happy,” Runner grumbled as the video paused. He felt so pretentious watching a sermon dedicated to him.

  “I can tell you, based on the numbers, they are the most religious on the server, the happiest, and the most dedicated.”

  “And their belief is what created my domain?”

  “Which lines up perfectly to your Triumvirate. Marry them or join their pantheon. In either of those situations the contextual rules attempting to force you together will end. Most of the rules that is. You’ll eventually need to put children in them.”

  “Uh. Yeah, no. Actually, can I join their pantheon but not be a visible deity?”

  “You could, especially if they pledge the same to you that they did to each other. Join your power pools together. You would be a boon to them as well. Your pool would begin filling theirs rapidly. Since you set up your little gate to receive ‘offerings,’ your pool is constantly expanding. Overflowing.”

  “Right, then. Join their pantheon, crazy sex party compulsion goes away.”

  “Correct. Or marry them.”

  Runner ignored that and blew out a breath.

  “Alright. Anything else?”

  “Possibly. I’ve received a signal from deep space on the ship’s antenna. I was in the process of recalibrating it after repair work was completed. The Omega never noticed the signal as it falls into a spectrum they ignore as white noise.”

  “You’re telling me there’s another human population out there?” Runner asked, not quite believing what he’d heard.

  “I can reasonably assume so. I’ve marked our charts with what I believe to be their general position. Repair and all upgrades will be fully completed in roughly a year. I think we should head in that direction once done.”

  Runner pressed his left hand to his forehead. That was a bit of a shock. There were other humans out there.

  “Alright. I concur. Definitely… definitely not what I was expecting. Exciting times. Hopefully good times.”

  Runner collected his thoughts and started putting a timeline in order in his head.

  “I figure the next four or five months will be rather dull. A lot of building, a lot of setting up, a lot of hunting down spies. All the while I’ll be hidden in the manor. I managed to sneak in. Might as well use it to my advantage and avoid any further assassins. We’ll continue with repairs and upgrades during that period. Six months after that we’ll set out for the signal.”

  Srit nodded her head at him. Then her face blossomed with a slow, warm smile.

  “I like the name Alaric for a boy, and Sarah for a girl. I believe you promised I could name our firstborn, but I might be willing to hear your opinions. Maybe.”

  01:11 am Sovereign Earth time

  5/14/44

  Runner turned the page of the book he was reading. Sleep was hard to come by as of late. He’d propped himself up in an alcove made specifically to relax in.

  With a glance he saw his bed looked like it had been hit by a tornado. One of his pillows lay in the middle of the bed, the sheets tangled around it in a wild mess. He’d lost his temper at some point and flung the bedding around.

  His dreams had picked up in intensity. His emotions and reactions were volatile as well. The boredom was getting to him and the dreams didn’t help. His patience was thin. Thin as a razor.

  At least there was a ray of hope on the horizon.

  It had taken four months from his secretive return to Norwood, but the time was now.

  Everyone would be returning from their missions. Thana and Katarina would be escorting their majesties to Norwood. Isab
elle and Sophia would be finishing up their governorships. Faye and the army would split in half. One portion to garrison Norwood and the other the new unnamed fort.

  Hannah and Satomi had become inseparable during their covert intelligence mission to root out traitors and sleeper agents. They had little to no time for him.

  He knew they weren’t trying to ignore him and were working for his safety. They spent long nights and kept odd hours as they ferreted out problems and plots.

  Runner had been left alone for the vast majority of the time in his manor. Trapped.

  Which ultimately left him with only a few things he could do.

  Craft equipment, watch over Srit’s pregnant avatar, and run Norwood.

  At first he spent his days and nights on another plane. He’d pushed the time dilation to double his effective productive hours.

  After creating enough basic artifact long swords to outfit his expanded army, the city guard, and his personal guard, he’d built enough for a duplicate for every single person. Then he tried his hand at making other things.

  Hundreds of sets of gear for Weres, Ogres, Trolls, Centaurs, Gnomes, and even other hybrid types like Lamia.

  He was particularly happy about the individual sets he’d made for his inner circle and himself.

  A suit of light armor that would be wearable by both a Were and a Human. A set of caster clothes with hardened leather plates sewn into it. The back of the material had slits that would allow wings to operate freely. He’d also worked at designing it in such a way to help keep wind resistance down. And finally a new set of black plate mail with red accents for a certain Barbarian princess.

  Satomi had seemed particularly impressed with the set of artifact-level leather armor he’d handed over to her along with a short sword and recurve bow.

  After he had long become bored of making gear, he’d made vehicles and machines. One he sent off to Faye immediately.

  A machine as wide as a road, it made one-inch-thick and incredibly durable paving stones. It rolled slowly forward, collecting material in front of it, making the slabs, and dropping them out the back.