Glimmer, A Throne of Souls (Convergence Book 1)

by Stephen Landry

  I was a few feet away when I opened my mouth to speak. I wasn’t trying to sneak. I wanted her to know I was there, that I came to help. She turned around as if in slow motion. Her brown eyes were crying black tears. She lifted her right hand with a palm pointed outwards as if towards someone else, thumb and one finger forming a circle and three fingers fully stretched as if in a gesture to convey that I was not worth her time. Then there was smoke and I was somewhere else.

  I was standing outside a house. I still had my weapons and outfit from the game. From the outside the house looked impressive. It had been built with wood covered in render and has red brick decorations. Tall, rounded windows add to the overall style of the house and have been added to the house in a very symmetric way. The roof is high and square shaped and is covered with red ceramic tiles. One small chimney pokes out the center of the roof. Several long, thin windows let in plenty of light to the rooms below the roof. The house itself is surrounded by a modest garden, covered mostly in grass, a few flower patches and with a small pond.When I walked inside there was a huge kitchen and one large bathroom, it also had a cozy living room, five bedrooms, a cozy dining area, a game room and a modest basement as I explored further. Nothing about it seemed strange or like anything from the game. The house looked normal. For the first time I felt like I was back in the real world. I entered a room inside the basement. The room was shaped like a circle. This floor had a different style than the floor above. A young girl is sitting in the room.

  “Adam?” she says her voice faint. She speaks as if asking a question.

  “Adam,” she says again with confirmation.

  “Yes, I’m Adam, are you like me?” I ask.

  “Not like you, like others, not like you,” she says falling back and letting out a loud scream. Her body bends as if she is having a seizure and we are back inside the temple. I see parts of her limbs rot and decay into dead flesh like that of the undead.

  “The Luyten, the elemental, kill it!” shouts Bendi.

  “I can’t, its a little girl,” I scream back.

  Her body twists and I see a fire envelop her side as she rises from the ground floating several feet above the ground.

  She turns towards me. Black tears continue to run down from her eyelids. The ground begins to shake. In the smoke, a trembling of stones, and suddenly I feel myself challenged by a towering beast of blood and smoke. Six piercing eyes stare at me with a petrifying temper, and another rumble surges from its fanged mouth as if a warning or challenge has come my way.

  Bellowing smoke, and flowing shadows adorns its shrunken head, which itself is glowing faintly in the dark. The sound of a roaring fire escapes the creature's loose nostrils set within a fat nose. Its shrunken head sits atop a massive, heavy body. Chains are stuck within its flesh, the creature seems to take pride in this. The creature strides toward me, its four legs lumberingly carry its demonic body with a serene energy. The creature comes closer and closer, its eyes never leaving my own. The girl is floating above it, her hand moves in several gestures as she commands it.

  “I don’t want to fight!” I scream.

  A second creature appears. Two fuming eyes stare at me with a debilitating severity, and another crackle echoes from its concave mouth as it stares you down. Six thick horns adorn its lank head, which itself is covered in small gashes. A wheezing breath escapes the creature's full nostrils set within a withered nose. Its lank head sits atop a broad, sinewy body. Bizarre bulges crawl beneath its skin, but I don't exactly want to take a closer look to inspect this further. The creature moves forward slowly, its six legs steadily carry its glowing body with a harrowing energy.

  One against two.

  I try to use my sixth sense to get an understanding of the creatures but nothing. Nothing except the word Daemonic. I try to get an understanding of the girl.

  Name: Luyten

  Age: 11

  Gender: Female

  Race: Elemental

  Level: 10

  Class: Mage

  HP: 100

  Mana: 100

  Stamina: 100

  Agility: 10

  Endurance: 10

  Intelligence: 10

  Charisma: 10

  Luck: 10

  I aim my rifle balancing it on my glimmering arm. I don’t aim it at the girl. I can’t. I aim it at the first daemon. I fire several bursts of energy and watch as it falls back before switching my target over to the second daemon and firing. The first creature comes towards me flashing its teeth. I roll backwards and dodge it’s jaw. The second creature is already making its move though and I can’t counter. It strikes me in the chest knocking me back. I hear Bendi shriek and run. I switch to my sword stand tall and throw my entire body towards the second creature slashing as hard as I can with as much stamina as I can use. The blood evaporates into the air. I do this again and again each time retreating backwards switching to my rifle and firing at the first creature while my stamina rebuilds.

  Several minutes pass. The girl still commands the creatures from above controlling them like they are puppets from another dimension. I take one last swing at the second daemon and watch as it bursts into ash around me. I taste it on my tongue. The smoke. The bitter taste of copper in the air and I feel a cold chill around me the walls to the temple crash down and there is a thunder in the sky, a jangling of chains, and suddenly I’m confronted with a nauseating beast of heat and smoke. Five flickering eyes stare at me with a debilitating severity, and another thunder thunders from its skeletal mouth as if to summon others. Six jagged horns adorns its gnarled head, which itself is almost bark-like. A puff of smoke escapes the creature's broad nostrils set within a meager nose. Its gnarled head sits atop a hard, muscular body. Otherworldly armor covers every inch of it, but what this means will hopefully remain a mystery.

  The creature dashes forward, its two legs gracelessly carry its diabolical body with a composed energy. A long tail whirls behind it, coarse hairs cover it sporadically. Than it stops. The creature no longer looks at me, it has lost interest. The first daemon attacks again hitting my side and knocking me to the ground. I drop Requiem and grab Bendi’s rifle by the strap. A part of me wonders if I should kill myself now and just respawn. Take my chances later. I’m only a level 3. The girl is level 10… and there is no way my conscious is going to allow me to kill her.

  The third daemon has regained interest in me. I can see flashes of white light from inside its mouth as it opens its jaws. Its trying to eat me. Another loud moan from its mouth as it stares me down. Two meager wings extend themselves fully from its back made from scythe like bones, and feathers that reach upwards towards the sky. Its eyes are still affixed on me. I can feel its intensity grow with every passing second. It comes at me. Rather than aim my rifle I hold out both my arms and unleash a wall of ice around me. The creature freezes instantly and falls. I move backwards picking myself up and firing blue blasts of energy until all of my mana is gone.

  The first creature stares at me with the same hate as the third. It moves away slowly. The third creature begins to thaw as Luyten fires a blast of fire down from above.

  A moan in the night, both creatures cry in agony as they merge together. A clamor of metal, and suddenly I’m confronted with a sickening creature of flame and anguish. Two piercing eyes stare at me with a staggering energy, and another moan escapes from its cavernous mouth in pure agony. Spiky protrusions adorns its withered head, which itself carries a perpetual grin. Thick snot escapes the creature's jagged nostrils set within a withered nose. This is the undead reborn. Two creatures crafted together with daemonic energy. Its withered head sits atop a towering, sinewy body. Plated of steel have merged with flesh, perhaps the remnants of an encounter in a different world. The creature strides toward me, its four legs gracefully carry its demonic body with a grim energy. A blade-like tail crawls behind it, a magma-like pattern flows through it with every motion. Unimpressed eyes still look at me, but only barely. Its t
ired. I’m tired. We’re both losing.

  “Why are you doing this Luyten?” I scream towards the girl.

  “Everything must end, this world should never be,” she whispers just loud enough for me to hear. Her voice is frail. I wonder if she is just a puppet herself. Someone pulling her strings as she pulls on the strings of the daemons. It doesn’t matter now.

  What was once a shirt is now nothing more than dirty pieces of fabric barely held together, hanging from my shoulders like a discarded old towel.

  There's a big tear across the backside and holes all over the front, leaving much of myself exposed to the elements. My pants are just as bad. There’s a big tear at the backside and holes across all sides. I’m still wearing ragged shoes as before through they feel too small and the sole to my right shoe has come loose at the heel.

  I continued to fight the creature. A dull pulsing pain crept up through my leg, increasing in intensity every second. Ten seconds passed, and then another ten. The pain would soon become unbearable. I was sure it'd all be over soon enough. Pain would never last that long, right? The realization I may be wrong caused a moment of panic. It was all too much to handle and for a moment I considered giving in to the pain and giving up. I could respawn. I could come back to this… Something in the back of my head told me I was wrong… there was no coming back from this. Fortunately there were some calm moments, moments when the pain was easy to manage and even easy to ignore, but those moments didn't last. I managed to block out some of the pain as I kept dodging and building my stamina. I kept my mind occupied with other tasks. Staying alive. It wasn't ideal. I had to do something. This had to end somehow. I was staying alive. Even with all the damage I had taken my health had yet to drop below 50 but I was feeling it all. For the last forty five minutes my stamina had yet to rise above 30.

  The pain from my wound flared up with an intensity unlike ever before. Something's wrong, something frighteningly wrong. Cold shivers shot through my body and both my hands and legs were trembling. The road ahead was a tough one and right now I wasn’t sure whether I was willing to walk it, let alone whether I would be able.

  It became harder and harder to swallow the pain, to ignore the sensations and the voices telling me to stop. I felt sore all over, the injury was clearly taking its toll on my entire body. I refused to let this day go to waste, so I pressed onward. The daemon hit me hard. I fell back again using the ice wall the freeze it before it grabbed hold of me. My health had dropped to 40. Blood seeped from my wound and sweat dripped down my forehead. I felt a dull pain against the back of my head, but it was surely numbed by the adrenaline pumping through my veins. Desperate for some form of relief I sought out every solution. Ignoring it, working through it, using it to fuel my strength. Nothing seemed to work. I paused for a moment and took a deep breath. I used my powers to numb my body. I felt my body temperature lower as I became numb to all sensation. My health dropped to 30. I yelped again and again. There was blood, blood everywhere.

  Weak, I feel so weak. I can feel blood running along my body, but my head is too heavy to take a look, my arm is too heavy to lift, everything is too heavy. I feel so weak. I should lay down, why am I still standing? I'm so tired, yet somehow I'm still standing. It makes no sense. Body, please, I want to rest. Lay down already, it's okay How long have I been here? How much longer will this take?This is the end of the line for me isn’t it. Yes I will die soon. Oh god, I’m going to die. What if I don’t come back. What if no one ever finds me. I’m exhausted. The world is a blur. I can’t win against this daemon. All I can do is shoot. One shot. One shot into the air above. The puppet master pulling the strings. There must be something I can do, right? There must be a way I can still live, I just need to find it. Think, think. There must be a way.

  “The life of a girl has a chance to change, for better or worse, as a strange woman enters her life. The strange woman claims the girl can pick three people in the entire world and that they will die. An evil dictator? Some crazy terrorist? A childhood bully? Pick whoever you wish, these men or women will supposedly take care of it, but there's only 12 hours to decide. Unsure what to think of all this and of this strange woman, the girl agrees to the proposal, it all feels very exciting, as if a big adventure was about to begin. But the woman lied. No… the girl wasn’t lucky. Her wish came with a price. A life for a life. Everything must burn, the world, this world, this is the lie,” Luyten began speaking… I could hear her clear as day over the sounds of growling from the daemonic beast below.

  “And so the girl chose, she chose three beasts and they died… they died again and again… they died in smoke and fire, smoke and fire, smoke and fire, they burned again and again and the girl pulled the strings again and again, smoke and fire, she chained them, cut them, scarred them, burned them until they were monsters, there was nothing left to make them men anymore, they deserved it, the world deserved it, the world makes monsters, three wasn’t enough. The girls wish wasn’t enough. The world has to burn,” she finished. The daemon came at me again. I aimed down my sight at the girl. There was no other way.

  “I can’t do it,” I said lowering my rifle. I couldn’t take the shot. No matter what I was determined not to kill Luyten. I didn’t care that she was an NPC or that she was cursed, she was a child. From the words she spoke I gathered that her backstory had been one of abuse. Three men, daemons, had done something horrible to her and she wanted revenge. She got it here in this place by making a deal with something… my guess another elemental or a witch and now she was trapped. Her existence brought the dead around her to life. She had come to this fire shrine looking for sanctuary but in turn had caused nightmares to appear in the surrounding woods. The shrine somehow amplified her powers.

  The daemonic creature charged me. I wasn’t ready for it. It knocked me towards the door to the shrine and I began to run. It chased me outside breaking through the wall as we entered the clearing where I had fought the ghouls. It knocked Bendi’s rifle from my hand. I ran towards the mining equipment wondering if I could get it to hit one of the explosives. Red barrels always go boom. I lured it in and dodged. The barrel exploded but did nothing to the creature. Fire elemental right. The daemon came at me again. On the ground I saw a plasma cutter, a mining tool that the first colonists had brought with them. I grabbed the piece from the ground. It had the grip of a pistol with the shape of a nail gun. I took a second to study it. Damage 40, weight 20. Perfect. I pulled the trigger and watched as energy built up at the head. The daemon took the full blunt shock of the weapon. I didn’t both to let go instead letting the energy spill forth from the weapon until finally it stopped working and broke down.

  Using my time wisely I strutted towards Bendi’s rifle picking it up off the ground. I fired it at the daemon using all my mana. It stopped moving. I felt my experience jump. +5000 XP. Level 4. +10 skills +10 defense + 10 offense + 100 XP bonus.

  It wasn’t over. A new quest appeared.

  ‘Defeat Luyten’s Wish”

  The creature began to transform again… Its bones broke and it changed shaped. It looked painful. Like a butterfly breaking from a cocoon. Dark ebony eyes sunken within the creature's long, scaled skull. Several horns atop its head, just above its large, warped bat like ears. Large fan-like skin and bone structures runs down the sides of each of its jaw lines. Its nose two wide, rounded nostrils and there are small crystal growths on its chin. A few sharp teeth poke out from the side of its mouth and show a glimpse of the terror hiding inside. A long neck runs down from its head and into a muscular body. The top was covered in crystal-like skin and rows of crystal growths runs down its spine. Its bottom was covered in small scales and colored differently than the rest of its body. Four bulky limbs carried it and allowed the creature to stand illustrious and dignified. Each limb had 5 digits, each of which end in keen talons seemingly made of obsidian. Massive wings grow starting from just below its shoulders and end at the middle of its back. The wings are almost butterfly-like, a spe
cialized layer of seemingly color-changing skin makes up most of the wing and each bone structures ends in a curved, yet blunt tip. Its narrow tail ended in a sharp tip and was covered in the same crystal-like skin as its body. It was a dragon.

  Name: Luyten’s Wish

  Age: 0

  Gender: None

  Race: Elemental

  Level: 10

  Class: Daemonic Dragon

  HP: 500

  Mana: 500

  Stamina: 1000

  Agility: 10

  Endurance: 10

  Intelligence: 1

  Charisma: 0

  Luck: 5

  Chapter 7

  I leveled up to 5 just shooting at the dragon. Each shot farming more and more experience than the last. It took to the air and I dodged as it flew down towards me. Rolling on the ground again and again. My health was down to 30. I was getting better at playing the game. Timing my rolls and attacks. When I felt like I was cutting it too close I would throw up an ice wall and duck for cover. The dragon was hellbent on killing me. I could see the girl laying on the ground just inside the temple near the edge where the daemon had broken through to the outside. She looked frail and broken as if almost all of the life had been snatched from her.