“That…” Riley struggled to marshal a response, her expression mirroring Jason’s.
“As I said at the beginning, you two don’t have much time,” Rex replied to their unspoken complaint. “Necessity is the mother of invention and all that. Now about the next room, since I bet you two are just itching to get started…” the skeletal man waved a dark hand at the far wall.
A pile of bone near the wall began to tremble and shake. Riley and Jason immediately reached for their weapons, but, this time, no monsters formed. Instead, the piles exploded – the ivory materials whipping through the air. Bones continued to collect until the maelstrom was a solid white, obscuring the wall from sight. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the bones simply collapsed to the floor, the rattle and scrape of bone striking stone causing a shiver to run up Jason’s back.
On the far wall now stood a massive door composed entirely of bone, the substance intertwining in overlapping waves to form a thick frame and arch. Jason could see skulls mixed in among the bones, vacant eye sockets staring at them as though challenging him and Riley to enter – or perhaps warning them away. The door itself was comprised of a solid, melded white slab of bone with jointed skeletal arms serving as handles.
“Well, that isn’t terrifying at all,” Riley grumbled.
Jason couldn’t help but agree. The door looked formidable, which only raised questions regarding what they would find on the other side. However, despite their last grueling encounter and Rex’s foreboding comments, he was still curious to discover what new ability he would learn in this next room.
“I guess we should get started?” Jason offered, sparing a glance at Riley.
Riley frowned, glancing at something that he couldn’t see – presumably some sort of notice on her system UI. “Actually, I need to go,” she replied, not quite looking at Jason as her hand swiped at the air. “I need to meet a friend.”
Jason could feel his stomach lurch again. With the adrenaline of the last battle still coursing through his veins, he had forgotten all about Caleb. Of course, he would be more important to her than helping Jason finish these challenges. He could feel a glimmer of irritation simmering in his veins.
“It’s fine,” he said curtly. “Go ahead. I’ll go investigate by myself.”
Riley glanced at him in surprise. Picking up on his harsh tone, she frowned. “Okay. I guess I’ll be back tomorrow after class.”
Jason just grunted in acknowledgment. “Have fun with your friend,” he added just before Riley disappeared in a flash of light. He stared at the spot she had just vacated for a long moment, his thoughts warring between anger and depression.
A clacking sound knocked Jason out of his morose thoughts. He turned to find Rex staring at him. “I’m trying to click my tongue,” the general explained, gesturing at his jaw. “But without any flesh, it’s a little difficult. Of course, I guess I don’t really have a jaw either.” He swiped his hand through his face, the mist breaking apart before reforming a few seconds later. “And that just makes me wonder where my voice is coming from…”
The undead man shook his head, the vapor rippling and blurring. “That’s a rabbit hole right there! Anyway, back on subject, you haven’t done anything to mend things with the girl have you?”
“It’s complicated,” Jason replied slowly.
“Well, then uncomplicate it. I wasn’t sugar coating things for you a second ago. You two barely made it through that challenge, and the next one isn’t easier. And we haven’t even discussed the third challenge yet…” He trailed off again, his head tilted as though listening to something. A worried expression lingered on his face for a fraction of a second before he turned his attention back to Jason.
Jason grimaced at the thought of talking to Riley. What would he even say? “Hey, so you picked another guy over me. That makes me really upset. I thought we were about to kiss – you know, right after I revealed that I had explored one of your worst memories without your permission. Oh, and forgetting for a second that I only saw that memory after slitting your wrists as part of an unholy sacrifice. So now you’re bound to me whether you like it or not. #soulmates.”
He mentally recoiled at the thought. It was no wonder she had chosen someone more normal; whose life wasn’t in shambles and wasn’t being painted as a psychopath as part of a very public regulatory hearing. Yeah, I’m a fucking catch, he thought bitterly.
Rex sighed as he watched Jason’s inner turmoil play out across his face and the way he stood with his arms crossed defensively. “I can tell you aren’t going to listen to me. That’s fine. I’m just dead – because of you, I might mention. I also have access to the memories of thousands of years of the Kin. So, I definitely don’t know what I’m talking about,” he added sarcastically.
“I…,” Jason began, fumbling to figure out how to respond.
He was saved from answering as his UI dinged, indicating that he was receiving an income message. “Uh, I have a message. One second.”
Rex just stared at him. If the skeletal man still had eyebrows, they would have been raised skeptically. With a swipe of his wrist, Jason pulled up his chat window.
Frank: Hey. You and I need to talk if you have a moment. We just arrived in the first town, Fastu, and we’ve encountered a few… problems.
Jason: Sure. Just give me a moment, and I’ll call you over the game’s voice chat.
Jason turned back to Rex, who was still watching him expectantly. “Frank ran into a problem, and I need to talk to him.”
Rex snorted. “Of course. Just remember what I said. You can only bury your head in the sand for so long before someone comes along and guts you and steals your stuff.” With that, the former general disappeared, the mists making up his body breaking apart and swirling through the air before streaming back into the globe in the center of the room.
Despite Rex’s brutal rendition of that saying, there was some truth to his words. It was just that, in this particular case, the truth didn’t help. Jason still didn’t know how to fix things with Riley – or whether he could fix things. So, for now, he would deal with whatever problem Frank had run into. At least that would give him something else to focus on. Besides, he wasn’t sure this counted as burying his head in the sand. He still had to deal with the other issues plaguing his kingdom, after all! Although a nagging voice in the back of his mind informed him that he was just trying to rationalize ignoring the issues between him and Riley.
He was really starting to hate that voice.
Jason hurried back into the mana well room before pulling up his system UI and initiating a call with Frank. He heard a tone chime several times before Frank’s voice came through. “Hey, man,” Frank greeted him, his voice sounding more subdued than normal.
“Hey, Frank,” Jason replied tentatively. “So, what’s this problem?”
He heard a sigh on the other end of the line. “I’m not even sure where to start.”
A few minutes later, Frank had relayed most of essential bits of information – from their encounter with the Wraithlings on the road to Fastu, to the destruction of the town at the hands of the Leeches. The barbarian also filled him in on his suspicions that someone was manipulating the eco-system around the Twilight Throne. Jason wasn’t exactly comforted by the idea that someone was messing with the native undead.
“Well, shit,” Jason finally replied as Frank finished his story.
“That basically sums up my reaction too,” his friend replied dryly.
“I’m not sure what we can do about someone messing with the nests – if that’s even the case,” Jason added. “For all we know, those crystals could have formed naturally. We could have either Cecil or Morgan check it out and see if they can learn anything else, but I’m not counting on anything. It’s not like any of us have a lot of experience with terraforming an area with dark magic.”
Frank let out a snort of amusement. “I guess that’s true. Although, these attacks do seem odd. If things were operating normally, it f
eels like the native undead would have settled into some sort of balance. They’re all predators, but it doesn’t make sense how fast some are evolving or how their numbers have increased so dramatically.”
“Unless this is just part of the process,” Jason replied, rubbing at his eyes in frustration. “But you raise a fair point. We can’t rule out the possibility that something or someone is behind this. Although, I’m not sure what we can do about it at the moment.”
“And here I was hoping you’d have some clever strategy,” Frank said, amusement tingeing his voice. “No crazy ass plan that puts me in imminent danger? I’m disappointed.”
“You have to give me a second. I don’t just hand out amazing strategies on command,” Jason replied, smiling slightly. With everything going on, he hadn’t realized how much he missed his friend – including his teasing.
“Kidding aside, right now, I think we need to focus on the immediate problem,” Jason continued. “Is everyone in Fastu dead?”
Frank grunted. “Basically. There are a handful of survivors, and even those people are injured. I had the Kin pile the remains of the townsfolk and the Leeches near the gate. I know your brilliant strategy thing is still on cooldown, but if you had some way to raise these people remotely, that would be awesome. I don’t know how we’re going to get the corpses back to the Twilight Throne otherwise – we left behind a full division to clean up that first nest of Wraithlings.”
Jason grimaced. He had been busy lately and had entirely forgotten about his promise to Frank to investigate ways to use his Undead Devotion remotely. His gaze shifted to the mana well beside him, the dark energy collecting in the basin seemed to suck in the light from the nearby torches. Well, there was no time like the present.
“Give me a second,” Jason said.
Without waiting for his friend to respond, Jason plunged his hand into the mana well. The energy trickled around his fingers, causing his skin to tingle. The well’s interface came online, floating above the basin. He noticed several icons in the menu that hadn’t been there before – each one looked like a floating exclamation point. Perhaps they indicated new features.
He tapped the menu item related to the well’s status and a series of screens popped up.
Mana Well Console: Status
Description: The well holds liquid dark mana that can be used to aid the city and its residents. The available mana is limited, however. Actions taken by citizens of the Twilight Throne that are consistent with their desires, and kills made by citizens of the city, increase the power held by the well. Other options to increase the well’s spirit charges may become available over time. The mana well can also be upgraded and expanded to increase its storage capacity and the efficiency with which it collects spirit charges.
Well Level: 2 (23% to level 3)
Current Spirit Charges: 56/110
Spirit Charge Income: +3 every 2 days (average).
Jason’s brow furrowed in confusion as he reviewed the prompt. It appeared that the well had somehow leveled up and he had gained a large number of Spirit Charges. The only problem was that he had no idea how that had happened. He re-read the description once again. Maybe this had been the result of the battles between Frank and the native undead? Or possibly the deaths of the villagers in Fastu? Or maybe all of the above?
In any event, the well had clearly leveled up and Jason now had a decent stockpile of Spirit Charges. Now, he just needed to figure out what he could do with them.
He tapped at the screen and navigated back to the main menu. He saw exclamation points hovering beside both “Miracles” and “Build Options.” He was curious about what buildings he could now construct and tapped at the icon. An inspection of the updated build list indicated that the Dark Spire now had new options. He brought up the description for that structure.
Mana Well Console: Build Options
Structure: Dark Spire
Description: This building can be formed anywhere inside the Twilight Throne’s radius of influence. The tower acts as an extension of the dark keep, expanding the territory’s perpetual darkness in a greater radius. Further upgrades provide additional benefits.
Cost: 5 Spirit Charges
New Upgrades Available:
Vision Enhancement (+10 Spirit Charges)
Remote Casting (+5 Spirit Charges)
There we go! Jason thought to himself. Finally, something was working in his favor!
“Hey, Frank,” he said aloud. “You still there?”
“Sure. You sound excited. Did you find something that can help?”
“Possibly,” Jason replied. “Just hold on a second. I’m going to try something.”
Jason turned back to the console, an excited grin appearing on his face. He tapped the two upgrade features and then saw an option hovering below the notification, the word “Build” framed in glowing blue. Without hesitating, he pressed the button, and the entire menu disappeared. In its place, a topographical map appeared above the well, showing the Twilight Throne and the area around the city. The display flickered with translucent sapphire energy – similar to the city management interface.
Not wanting to waste time, he quickly searched the map. The Twilight Throne was centered in the middle of the zone, the city shown as a glowing green icon that stood out in stark contrast to the rest of the map. Shifting his attention, Jason’s eyes traveled directly west. A few seconds later, he discovered what appeared to be a small village, located just within the city’s area of influence. Strangely, he noticed that the town was a solid gray.
Maybe this means it hasn’t been claimed yet? He wondered if he needed to manually claim every village or if this would happen automatically once all the villagers were slain – like Peccavi. He supposed they would likely find out as Frank continued his mission.
It only took him a moment to confirm that the remainder of the towns inside the Twilight Throne’s area of influence were similarly gray – with the sole exception of Peccavi, which was illuminated in the same green glow as the Twilight Throne. At least now he could easily check on Frank’s progress without needing regular updates from his friend.
Not sure what to do at this stage, Jason simply tapped Fastu on the map. As soon as he did, another notification appeared in the air in front of him.
Mana Well Console: Build Confirmation
You are about to build a [Dark Spire] in the town of Fastu. The total Spirit Charge cost is [20].
Please confirm that you wish to build the structure. [Yes/No]
Jason only glanced at the notification before hitting “yes.”
The map abruptly vanished, and he was left standing with his hand submerged in the dark mana, blue torchlight flickering through the room. Yet, nothing seemed to happen.
Just as he was starting to wonder if he had done something wrong, the opaque black substance between his fingers shifted slightly. As he watched, the mana appeared to come alive, tendrils stretching out of the well even as the rest of the energy clung to his skin and began crawling up his arm. The tentacles of mana lashed at his skin, grabbing hold of him even as he tried to pull away and swiftly covering his body.
Jason felt his skin grow cold where the mana touched him. It kept growing – faster and faster. It stretched up his arms and covered his torso, creeping up his neck and closer to his face. As the dark liquid spread, it felt like ice was being injected directly into his veins, clouding his thoughts and making it difficult to think. A part of his mind reveled in the sensation; in the relief from his constant tormented thoughts. It clung to that sense of power, abandoning restraint.
Two tentacles suddenly lanced out from the basin, stretching into the air until they hovered in front of Jason’s face. The tendrils sharpened into fine points, inching toward his pupils. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest, fear briefly clouding his mind despite the chill energy that flooded his veins.
Then the tendrils shot forward, and the world went dark.
Chapter 20 - Unholy
Had his friend hung up on him?
He didn’t have long to consider this question as a violent tremor suddenly shook the small town. Frank listed to the side, his palm slamming into the boards of a nearby building and barely allowing him to stay standing.
As Frank regained his balance, he saw a large crack rip open the earth at his feet, the split running through the town in the direction of the gate. The nearby buildings groaned under the strain, and their wooden boards cracked and splintered as the ground shifted.
He heard cries from the front of the town and decided he should get his ass moving instead of standing around and staring. He wasn’t certain what was going on, but he needed to protect the Kin. For all he knew, this was another undead creature come to finish off Fastu for good. His legs transformed into their wolf-like appearance and he began sprinting through the buildings, following the cracks in the ground that were all leading back toward the gate.
As he reached the courtyard where they had fended off the leeches, Frank came to an abrupt stop, his feet kicking up gray dust. The splinters in the earth all funneled to a single point beside the gate, where a massive obsidian spire was slowly emerging from the ground. Its surface seemed to be made of jagged crystal, all sharp edges and harsh angles as it stretched into the sky – growing larger and larger as Frank watched.
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