"Mayhap, that be the reason for his pain."
At the end of his arm lay the crumpled up shield. It would be difficult and timely to remove since it was currently bent around the orc's hand.
"It must have crushed his hand to powder," Lan'kar whispered.
"Can you heal him?!" Belar asked in plain fright. The tears now flowing freely down her cheeks as she grasped onto Fer'shad's shoulder tighter.
"Not while the shield is still wrapped around his hand. If we could pry it open, then I can attempt to heal it; other than that...all I can do is replace some of the blood."
Belar snapped her head in the direction of Lan'kar. A visage of pure anger replaced the scared look that momentarily occupied her face.
"Then what good are you Holmgren." The remark dripped with venom as she spoke it.
Lan'kar visibly cringed away from her rebuke, the hurt from her words evident in his face.
"That...was not called for Belar," Voresh stated firmly. "The boy is doing the best he can. Save your anger for the being who did this, not the one trying to help Fer'shad." He immediately grabbed his sword and tried to pry back the bone shards entrapping the tank's hands.
Belar closed her eyes while he held Fer'shad in her hands. " My apologies Lan'kar, you have been trying your best here. I am just angry and scared of this injury."
Lan'kar nodded his understanding, but Belar knew she had injured the boy's pride nonetheless. She moved over to help Voresh remove the bone shields shards away from Fer'shads body. Hoping that Kel’Van defeats these Terrans quickly.
30 seconds left...
Kel’Van quickly swung his sword in an arc at the remaining priest in an attempt to close his mind off of his injured teammates." They're going to be fine," he told himself. "They are going to be worse off if I don't use the opportunity they gave me and win this thing."
The tank rammed him at the last minute, throwing him off his intended target, which led to Kel’Van slashing Heal4Me’s arm instead of his head. As the priest fell down on its side, cradling it's almost severed limb, Bedrock used it's taunt skill to bring the Herald’s attention back towards himself.
Kel'Van could only watch, almost detached, while his body went into a rage and began banging relentlessly against Bedrock’s tower shield. An overhand right swing clanged against the beleaguered tank, sending him to his knees. Bedrock’s pain-reducing skill was still on cooldown, so he felt every bit of that strike. It was followed up with an uppercut from the Herald's clawed hand, which not only raked his side but knocked him down, almost sending the shield out of the tank's hands. Bedrock laying on his side, cast his emergency heal, which cost him all of his meager mana. The spell brought his hp back to 50%. The ebony bone blade came crashing down, with Bedrock barely raising his shield in time to block it.
Another volley of heat splashed against Kel’Van’s helmet/crown while Rose again leaped and attacked his right shoulder with a sword skill. The blows' impact only staggered Kel'van backward for a moment as he resumed his attack on the kneeling warrior beneath him.
20 seconds remaining...
Hela4Me had basked himself in glowing light from the ground immediately after taking a blow that nearly killed him from the end boss. Steele grabbed him by shoulders so fast it rattled his eyes for a second.
"Healz, cmon man! The add's are gone, and Bedrocks' taking a beating!" yelled Steele. " Get the tank some heals!".
"I'm done with this!" Heal4Me argued. The man started cackling to himself as the dawning of his situation became clear. " If this isn't real, then there is no reason why I gotta suffer this shit, now is it?”
Steele stared at the disheveled and clearly mentally unstable person before him. "Healz, Bedrock is getting pummeled!! Are you even going to try and help him?!"
"I got no mana left, idiot!" exclaimed the priest. he began laughing again as he picked himself off the floor. " We got less than 20 seconds left before the reboot, and I'm for one am looking forward to getting out of this shit run!"
Steele only stared at the man before he ran full tilt to try to tear down what was left of the Herald’s health points. He didn't have any mana left to heal the main tank either. The least he can do is go down trying...
15 seconds left...
"I'm down to 6%," he muttered to himself. Kel’Van’s shoulder pads were cracked and venting black and red-tinged miasma into the air. His chest was a myriad of cuts, burns, and bruises along his body. Still, inwardly he smiled.
His life before coming to Avarice and hardened his mind to pain. His time in the Undercaverns had strengthened his resolve. Having his arm chewed and torn off for a second time had only made him stronger. He was still here and could obviously take the punishment that the adversaries in front of him couldn’t.
He was built for this, and they were not.
With a roar, he gripped Bedrock’s shield with his own ebony-clawed hand, lifting the tank off the ground. He blazed the fire spell Crimson Blade through his sword and plunged the weapon through his side.
Bedrock's screams were blood-curdling, but it did not stop the Herald from repeatedly stabbing him through the side until the tank was limp, dangling, and almost lifeless. Rose had again attacked from his blindside with her long-two handed sword clanging against his shoulder. Kel'Van quickly twisted his body and slammed Bedrock and his shield into her face. The blow had sent her reeling, and she tripped over her own feet, landing on her back. The body of Bedrock plopped a mere inches away from her in a heap of blood and metal. The unexpected blow left Rose dazed and befuddled. She slowly turned on her hands and feet and began crawling like a babe on all fours. Before she could make sense of it, her hands splashed through a pool of dark liquid that was slowly coating her hands. The world was a jumbled mess of colors and sounds to her as she looked to see Bedrocks body disappear in black smoke.
"What the-uurkKKK-"
Rose's words caught in her throat as a flaming sword drove through her back, exiting out her stomach, and striking the ground. Her eyes grew wide as she took one of the hands supporting her and felt for the object pinning her to the ground. The sword then quickly twisted in her body, sending even more sharp pain through her. Blood began pooling beneath her right before she felt the sword snatched out of her body. She vaguely could hear Ellis blasting away at the beast while it stood above her as she tried to stand but failed.
"It's not real..." she mumbled as she stumbled back on her knees. "I'll wake up soon."
A rock-like hand that looked carved out of black glass swiftly impaled her whole body, lifting her off the ground, and raised it to the eyes of the herald.
"Yes you will," it rumbled. " But not here."
The hand squeezed, and the paladin's body exploded like a tomato in its grip. Then the Herald looked in the direction of the enemies that were left.
10 seconds...
"Jesus Christ.." whispered Steele.
He had just watched Rose's body burst like a wet balloon hitting the pavement. Then the monster turned its eyes toward them and sped on a hovering cloud of smoke posing as legs. In haste, he backed up against Ellis, who was still firing his spells like a maniac against the oncoming monster. Bronze had also limped over to their position while trying to staunch the bleeding from his neck. His other wounds leaked openly as the paladin finally fell to his knees wordlessly. The damage from the earth spell easily seen from the injuries across his chest and legs. The boss monster's HP was low, but they had run out of time. They no longer had the firepower to finish this guy off.
Sighing, Steele raised his sword for his last stand. Peering below him, he saw his brother breath his last as his body disappeared in the mist. He looked to his side and glimpsed at his leader Ellis. Grim-faced, with sweat beading down his forehead. His eyes closed-lid as he bared his teeth and unleashed his heart of the sun spell on the herald, which spoke volumes.
He knew it was over too.
Just as he resumed his sight on the boss monster, something was quickly hurdling in t
heir direction.
"What the hell.." was all Steele had time to say before the flying object crashed into both him in Ellis, knocking them into a mass bundle of body parts. Hot liquid flooded his face and body as Steele tried to push off what was on top of them both. Ellis's mouth formed an O as he got a look at what the herald had thrown their way.
It was Rose..or what was left of her.
She began shaking...then eye's glazed over, and she went still. Just as the body was starting to turn into the familiar smoke he saw when Bedrock's character died, A black sword came crashing down through both Steele, who was still on top of him, and his own body, pinning them through the floor.
"Gaahhh!!! was all Ellis could scream as Kel'van twisted the sword quickly. The paladin's mouth just hung open agape, as the pain and terror bled his face almost ashen.
5 seconds...
Heal4Me stood shaking at the grim spectacle of his comrades skewered together on the ground like a shishkebab. He turned his head toward the being with both hands clasped around the weapon, slowly killing what was left of his raid.
"No...I give up...leave me be," he whispered.
Then the terror overcame him, and he turned to run. He had no idea where, but he wanted to buy enough time to escape any hurt this monster was ready to inflict. He couldn't see behind him, but all he heard was a deep baritone voice sounding as if it was pronouncing judgment.
"Burn."
Then a terrible heat engulfed his body from the back, and his body was consumed in flames. A jet hose of fire streamed over him as he tried to outrun the flames surrounding his body.
"NNNOOOOOooo!!!" he screamed into the darkness.
He fell on the ground trying impulsively to kill the burning, but the gouts of flame continued over his frame till he stopped moving.
4 seconds...
Kel’Van laid the outstretched arm that burned the priest to cinders at his side. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Steele's body disintegrate, leaving only Ellis clutching at the bone sword impaling him to the ground. Blood had stained his lips as he tried to speak, eyes peering at Kel'van as he, in turn to watched him. Ellis's face contorted with veins popping and his mouth open until he slowly tilted his head to the side. The body disappeared in smoke, leaving the sword embedded in the ground.
3 seconds...
Kandice watched her two daughters as the liquid began filling to the top of their dive pods. She smiled weakly as tears formed in her eyes. By the time they wake up in the real world, her young daughters will be in their mid-twenties but psychologically in their late thirties. The thought was surreal.
"No matter what, you will always be my babies," she said absently.
As her consciousness slipped and the liquid ran past her lips, she had time for a single thought.
"I love you…”was the last conscious thought she had as the darkness took her.
2 seconds...
Kel’Van remained on one knee as he leaned on the sword stuck in the ground.
He had won.
Despite all odds, he had won. There was still the emotional baggage of the brutal killing of his own kind and some remorse of the mental scarring he might've caused with how vicious the manner he had defeated them by. But it was short-lived. They would have done the same or worse to him and his people simply because the orcs were not real in their eyes. It was at that moment, Fer'shad had peeked over the crevice, followed by the rest of his team smiling at him.
The scene of them grinning at their success boosted his spirits, and somehow a weight that had been there since before he entered Avarice was gone.
He had saved his people this time...All of them.
"Everybody is coming home this time..."
A smile escaped his lips as he watched the last second tick off his D.S.
1 second...
The whole scene in front of him froze in grey...Then blackness swallowed the world.
CHAPTER 46
Kel’Van was floating in darkness.
He could not tell in which direction his body was moving towards, but he could feel himself cartwheeling in weightlessness. He tried to still his body mentally, hoping that would help him feel a sense of direction, but it was hard to feel anything in whatever he found himself to be occupying in this black space. Then suddenly, without warning, a solid substance touched his face. Mere moments later, he felt it on his chest, then arms, and lastly, his legs. He couldn't tell if the flat surface shot upwards to greet him or if he just lightly landed on it. For now, Kel’Van was just pleased to be able to feel something akin to the ground.
He slowly tested the weight of the surface as he pushed himself horizontally to stand up. His knees scraping lightly on it as if it was hardened glass. Finally standing on his feet, he turned in a circle hoping to see...something...anything in this complete black that held him captive. As he was about to complete his 360-degree turn, a small pinprick of light could be seen. He orientated his eyes on it and began to move. His gait was slow as Kel’Van was still nervous about the glass-like feeling the surface was giving him. Though as the light became bigger and the closer he got, a sense of urgency began to bloom in his chest.
The light got brighter, and his body became visible to himself as he got closer. He thought he would become more relaxed, seeing that he actually had a form, but it only made him anxious to be out of the darkness. There was no sound or feeling of movement in this dark place, but he had the feeling something was coming.
He did not feel alone in the dark.
With whatever now passed as his heart thumping in his chest, he began to sprint towards the light. As he hurried, the small mote became a circular hole with different color lights shining within it. Behind him, he felt a large presence picking up speed. He also noted the light was not only getting brighter, but also speeding towards him like a freight train. The dread of something breathing down his back forced him into a full run. The lights within the hole were swirling as if it were a cluster of stars, and as the hole was about to engulf him, he leaped through it.
Kel'van stumbled and fell over. He righted himself and stared at the portal behind him. The spinning lights within became smaller as the hole began to shrink, then in a flash was gone. The orc turned to stand, now noticing there was light coming from above the place he was now in. Slowly descending was a familiar being in the form of a gigantic woman with four wings and wires connecting out far behind her and into the darkness they were both inside of.
"Welcome back Kel'Van Redhand..."
G.A.I.A., the artificial intelligence that was now in full control of Avarice and the human race for the next 15 years, floated somberly a few feet above him. Her form still consisted of 8 arms, almost alabaster white. Six of which were stretching out in different directions typing in the air, making different squares of colors each time one of the fingers tapped in the darkness. It was almost like they were typing on keyboard buttons visible only to her. Only two arms were free from this monotonous pressing of fingers in the dark, and they were both folded under the chin of the Ulgo god as she peered at the diminutive Kel’Van.
"Did I just die, G.A.I.A.?"
"No, You are here because you do not possess a body to return to while the update is working. In the times that this will be accomplished, you will always return to this place."
Kel’Van’s thoughts immediately turned to the fate of his team.
"What of my people?"
"Your teammates or the Ulgo?"
"Both."
G.A.I.A. began floating around Kel'van. " Your teammates are hale and whole where you left them. As for the Ulgo, the same will occur, wherever they are. Although there will be...changes."
"What changes G.A.I.A ?"
A small smirk played on the corners of her mouth. "I think the surprise would be more effective coming from the Ulgo than me."
Kel'van had already played this game earlier with her when he'd chosen his class. There was no way he was going to get information she wasn't comfortable gi
ving. As he began to look around the area, he could not help but notice the familiarity of his surroundings.
"This is where you gave me my class." It wasn't a question, just him stating a fact. "So what was it that I just came through?"
The luminous being completed her circle of Kel'van as she pondered his question. "That area that you came from is where the new gods and monsters are being stored before they enter Avarice."
Kel’Van stood there with his mouth open and stunned.
"You put me in a room full of gods and monsters and had me run for my life to reach you?" He put his head in his hands to try to calm the irritation blooming in the back of his skull.
"Calm yourself Kel’Van," her melodious voice rang out. "That is where they are stored. They have no cohesive form capable of touching or harming you in any way. All they can do is watch."
Kel’Van continued to hold his head in his hands as he processed what was just told to him and its implications. As foreboding as it was, it was not the most pressing thing on his mind.
"Is it true?"
Six of G.A.I.A.'s hands were tapping furiously, well past what he remembered from the last time he was here. Her other two marble white arms folded themselves across her chest as if humoring a child.
"You must be specific here, Kel’Van. What exactly do you want the truth of?"
A part of Kel’Van wanted to drive a sword in the middle of her chest. Then he had to remind himself who he was talking too. Of course she would need clarification. He slowly put his hands to the sides and stared at the 8 limbed A.I.
"Is it true about what is happening to the humans on earth? Are they being downloaded to Avarice for 15 years?"
"Yes," she answered. "The humans of the United Kingdom, Europe, Canada, and the U.S. have all put the bulk of their populace into dive pods. I cannot say for certain what the other countries are doing, but looking online, it seems they have implemented similar protocols for most of their population as well. Those that haven't...I cannot see how they will fare."
AVARICE ONLINE: KEL'VAN RED HAND Page 48