The Pantheon Moves

by Michael Chatfield

  A weaker person might look away in fear and shock. The rest of Party Zero understood that look and shared in it with him. They might be tired and their strength was only just starting to recover, but together they would charge forward into what came.

  Dave opened up his interface and went to his character sheet.

  Character Sheet

  Name:

  David Grahslagg

  Gender:

  Male

  Level:

  196

  Class:

  Dwarven Master Smith, Friend of the Grey God, Bleeder, Librarian, Skill Creator, Aleph Engineer, Weapons Master, Champion Slayer, Master of Space and Time, Master of Gravitational Anomalies

  Race:

  Human/Dwarf

  Alignment:

  Chaotic Good

  Unspent points: 0

  Health:

  4,550

  Regen:

  24.90 /s

  Mana:

  15,490

  Regen:

  61.70 /s

  Stamina:

  4,780

  Regen:

  52.65 /s

  Vitality:

  455

  Endurance:

  1,245

  Intelligence:

  1,549

  Willpower:

  1,234

  Strength:

  478

  Agility:

  1,053

  The nervousness was gone, replaced by the numbness that came after combat and the loss of friends and comrades.

  Dave closed his character sheet, a determined look in his eyes.

  ***

  Frank Simmons sank into his couch. The springs had long since given way. His mind was dull and his eyes lifeless. His job at the local supermarket had long, boring hours, with not much to show for it in his paycheck. He felt drained from the physical work and the pressures on his meager income.

  He grabbed his controller from under the couch and pressed the start button. His console booted up as the television turned on, showing the console’s logo and the familiar sounds of it starting up.

  A smile appeared on his face as he pulled on his headset.

  He’d served with the United States Marines for ten years. He’d left without anything but a diploma. He’d moved back home to look after his parents. His useless sister had come in and got his mother with dementia to sign over everything to her.

  She lived in some mansion in Texas while he lived in the middle of nowhere, looking after his parents until they passed away. His dad had gone first, lung cancer; his mother followed three years later when there was a mess-up with the medication she was on.

  That was two years ago. Worn down by life, Frank retreated into video games. There he was not some guy who had been fucked over by life. He could be a thief, an outstanding paragon of virtue, or the devil incarnate. He didn’t have to care about whether the new coupons were going out and when old lady Lucinda showed up with her fifteen stamps for everything she bought.

  The main menu appeared in front of him. He moved over to boot up his game when he heard someone clear their throat.

  Frank turned and jumped, pulling out his earbud.

  Oh shit I hope I didn’t break it!

  Frank looked at the young woman who sat in the recliner to his side. “What the fuck are you doing here? Who are you?” Frank demanded, embarrassed by his reaction and pissed at the fact he might have broken his headset.

  “Why is it all you gamers love swearing so much?” The woman sighed. She disappeared from Frank’s seat and appeared in front of him.

  He looked at her in shock. What she’d done was clearly impossible.

  “Frank Simmons, age thirty-five within Earth simulation. Actual age, four and a half years,” the woman said.

  “What do you want? How is that possible? What did you do?” Frank’s mind was already moving a hundred miles per second as he rushed through possibilities. His mind kept going back to the books and video games he’d read and played. There was no way that someone could simply teleport across a room in reality!

  A chair appeared behind the lady as the room appeared brighter, as if someone had increased the brightness.

  Frank rubbed his eyes, unable to understand the impossible things that were happening in front of his eyes.

  “My name is the Lady of Air. I’m one of the figures within what we call the Affinities Pantheon. I know it sounds all rather strange, but soon everything will be revealed. Frank, it’s time you found out what’s really going on.” Air gave Frank a deep look.

  “What are you going to do to me?” Frank had lost his fighting trim from his time in the marines, but once someone was a marine, they were always a marine. He was readying himself to fight if he needed to.

  “I’m going to do nothing to you. I’m going to show you a few things, let you make up your own mind and let you make a decision. There’s a war going on, one for your survival. I’m simply asking if you want to help fight for your survival and the survival of the human race, or hide in this simulation,” Air said, her voice neither forceful nor soft.

  Frank frowned. “What do you want to show me?” Frank no longer felt tired and drained. His body and mind was alive as he unconsciously sat taller and his eyes carried a demanding light in them instead of the glazed-over defeat that usually registered in his eyes.

  “Reality,” Air said.

  The room around them disappeared. They appeared within a room with a star map and people rushing around from console to console. People yelled to one another; a captain sat in his seat as explosions shook the ship.

  Frank looked around at everything. The people looked so real but their talking was dimmed and one couldn’t make out what they were saying.

  Frank was still sitting on his couch at the back of the room.

  “Do you know why your room disappeared?” Air stood up from her chair. It disappeared into nothing as she looked from Frank to the rest of the ship’s bridge.

  “What?” Frank was only starting to take in the sights of everything in the room when Air’s words sunk in. He frowned, trying to figure out a way to answer her.

  “Have you ever heard about the debate that we could be only brains in a vat in a massive game?” Air asked.

  “Yeah, I’ve heard of it before.” Frank nodded.

  “Well, currently your brain is being destroyed and put into a real body. All of this, all that you know, is a simulation. The universe’s biggest prison, eradication system, and entertainment center all rolled up into one. The human race stuck in the illusion of Earth being real. I’m going to tell you the history of Earth, its true history, and free you of this simulation.” Air looked into Frank’s eyes, piercing through him. “It’s time to wake up from your dreams, Frank Simmons. A war is about to begin, the likes of which has never been seen before. It’s up to you to decide if you’re willing to help or not.”

  Frank’s mind reeled from all that had happened in just the space of a few minutes. But with Air’s words and the way that she looked at him, he felt as if he had woken up. He stood from his couch, a fierce look in his eyes. He didn’t know what was going on, but he knew he wanted to see it through.

  ***

  Frank Simmons opened his eyes for the first time, ever.

  He was on a table, wearing a simple shirt and pants. He sat up, all manner of stickers on his body with runes covering them. The table underneath him was also covered in runic lines. There were people around him, all looking at him in shock. His eyes fell on Air, who stood off to the side.

  It was if an explosion had gone off in his mind. He opened and closed his hand. It felt the same as if he had been on Earth. However, now with all Air had shown him—the things that they had done, racing across Earth, seeing different sights, her replaying different moments of his life that had been recorded—all of it only served to prove that Earth was a simulation.

  He was still in a state of shock. But as he closed his hand again, it formed a fist. His lips thinned, an
ger building within him.

  His entire life, he had been pushed and pulled by AI controllers. Air had given him a way out from that life and that prison. His life was his own once again and he had options. Not only that, but he had also gained purpose: to free others like him and win the ability to do what he wanted to.

  His first step would be to become stronger, to help where he could to remove the Jukal Empire that had destroyed Sol and worked to kill off any remaining humans.

  ***

  Alkao watched as his secretary left the room and closed the door behind her. Alkao could feel the pity, the way she wished to help relieve his pain more.

  He could only give a slight smile and try to excuse himself.

  The door closed and the magical coding around the room activated.

  Alkao turned from his desk to the twin glass doors that looked out over Unity City located in the heart of Devil’s Crater.

  Images and scenes rolled through his mind. His first time meeting Anna and getting his ass kicked. How he had come to know her; his desire to see her smile; blooming in the joy he took as they became closer. When she’d “trained” with him and kicked his ass, but still he’d got back to his feet, honing his fighting skill with her just to spend more time with her. The small dates they’d gone on here and there. The times when she’d forgotten about her tail, which would wag behind her in happiness. Or when she smiled and the world seemed to be a better place.

  Tears fell down his cheeks, but there was also a small but heartbreaking smile on his lips as he lived through those precious memories, savoring them all but knowing that the person who had made them special was gone.

  There was a knock from his door. He let it go, not answering. A message appeared on his interface. He glanced to it; he wiped his eyes and checked his appearance. He hid his grief and pain deep. He was Alkao, king of Devil’s Crater and leader of the Devil’s Crater council and army.

  He would mourn later. Right now he had to deal with the new threat that had emerged; the sworn enemies of the demons, the Lady of Light’s angels.

  His eyes flashed with a cold light thinking of them and the other creatures and people who had invaded Emerilia. He promised that their day would come; he would do his all to save as many Emerilians as possible.

  Before he could press the button that would unlock his office, a gray light filled his room. Sitting there in a recliner, looking dejected, was an elderly gnome.

  “Hello, Alkao. It’s been some time.” Bob looked at him.

  “Bob?” Alkao said, stunned by his appearance.

  “Since you were Anna’s boyfriend, I felt like it would be best to tell you something.” Bob took a deep breath and leaned forward in his chair somewhat. “There is a chance that I can bring her back.”

  “What? How? What do you need from me?” Alkao lurched forward from his seat, his hands on the desk as he looked at Bob.

  “I don’t need anything from you, but I have a warning. If I am to complete this, Anna will not be as you remember her,” Bob said in a heavy voice.

  “How?” Alkao braced himself but was unwilling to let this moment and possibility pass.

  “Originally, Anna was meant to be an AI assistant to help me look after Emerilia and monitor its progress. But as time went on, she became more and more attached to the people of Emerilia and she asked for me to make her a body that would allow her to walk among the people of Emerilia.

  “She stopped being an administrative AI and instead became a person of Emerilia. However, she was originally an AI at first. A part of her mind was connected to the Datskun at all times. This was meant as a way for me to look after her and in the event that I died or was removed that she would be able to take over my work and look after Emerilia. It was only a seed and a small connection at that. However, from it, I think that I can recover some of her memories. They might be buried in there and I’m not sure how much she would remember or not. It might be that she comes back fine; it might be that she can’t remember anything but the days when she was first created. There is not much information there but I hope enough to return a part of her.” Bob paused.

  “Well, why are we talking? When can you begin?” Alkao asked.

  “That is a problem. We can only start to pull her information and take it apart to once again code her so that she can assimilate a new body once all of the other AI controllers are taken offline.

  “She is the center of the whole system. She controls nearly everything. However, if I was to remove her, she would disrupt the system. The AIs would look into it, the Jukal would look into it—and we would be exposed. We can only think of reviving her when we announce ourselves to the Jukal. However, I can wake up the part of her memory that was kept aboard the Datskun,” Bob said.

  “When can I see her? When will you know when it works?”

  “I will need to try to wake her up. I don’t know how long this will take and I can’t guarantee you anything. I want her AI program to figure out what’s going on on its own before I start introducing it to people she knew. If we go too fast, it could make her have a break and corrupt her drives and information banks. For this, I need to talk to Air to sort it out,” Bob said.

  “Okay, okay. Just please let me know if it works or not. Standing on the edge like this…” Alkao shook his head.

  “As soon as I know something, I’ll let you know,” Bob promised. He paused, as if wondering to say what he was thinking. “Anna and I might be father and daughter but I wasn’t able to see her much these past couple of years. She was one of the things that kept me going in the early years of Emerilia. I never saw her take a boyfriend before—she was always too scared to lose someone. With you, I think that she knew she might lose you, but it was worth that pain to know you and have you as her boyfriend for as long as possible.”

  Bob’s words made Alkao clear his throat that seemed to have tightened up as his eyes once again itched with unshed tears. “Thank you,” Alkao said.

  Bob nodded and sniffed, finding it hard to hold back tears before he and his chair disappeared from Alkao’s office.

  Chapter 3: Flying Citadels’ Advance

  As soon as Josh heard about the Lady of Light’s legions of angels returning to Emerilia, he felt as if a timer had run out for his Guild and the Terra Alliance.

  Markolm had become a land of fanatics in the space of a few months. Those who believed in the Lady of Light flowed to the island, increasing the population by four times. Power continued to flow into the Lady of Light’s divine well. Her power grew every day as more champions were picked among the people and an army was being raised.

  All of this information had come from the spies the Stone Raiders’ leader Lucy commanded with a high level of skill and efficiency.

  All of the angel generals had also been converted from not only Creatures of Power but champions of Light, with their great Affinity and the fact that they were made through the power of Light. Thereby doubling their levels, making all of them Level 1500 powerhouses or stronger.

  The angel legions were strong and their coordination was powerful. Seeing the images of them flying in formation was enough to make Josh’s heart tighten in fear. If they were to all gain the Lady of Light’s blessing and become champions, then the legion’s power would be incredible.

  “We’re getting reports that there are a number of the Earth Lord’s forces attacking the Lady of Light’s legions. The Dark Lord seemed to have joined in on the fight as well,” one of the people within the command center said.

  “Good. If any of the flying citadels or the different locations under the Terra Alliances control see them, they’re to attack with everything they have.” Josh knew that he couldn’t fight the legions now; his forces were spread out too thin. He was dealing with enemies across Emerilia, from portals and from the event.

  “What is the status of our flying citadels?” Josh asked.

  “The Goblin Mountain flying citadels have secured the portal. The two southern citadels and the wes
tern have been suppressed. The forces originally within the other citadels are moving to occupy them and rebuild their defenses. Esa reports that she is ready to move half of her strength back to Terra in order to rest them and make them ready for any further actions. The Goblin Mountain citadels are moving toward the second open portal inside the Densaou Ring of Fire lying to the south of the Xelur portal and east of the Orun Free States. The Nalheim, dragons, and Terra Alliance have kept the Alturarans suppressed at that location. The citadels will provide additional support to help in taking control of the area. The commander of the Goblin Mountain flying citadels requests to break down into wings and send his second group of citadels to assist the portal locations that are to the east of the Densaou Ring of Fire,” one assistant called out.

  “If he believes it is the best use of his group, then he has my permission. How is the second wing of the Gudalo flying citadels faring?” Josh asked.

  “They are moving northwest near to the old location of Quindar’s lair where the portal is located on the island within the nearby lake. The area is filled with Ooinfa. They will provide long-range fire support so as to not get caught within the illusion spells. They will move from the air, dropping their forces on the four Ooinfa-controlled citadels, concentrating their forces on one citadel at a time. With their suppression abilities, they should be able to counteract the illusion spells to a great extent, as well with the Band-Aid’s ability to reduce the effect of magic cast at our people. They will be arriving within a few hours,” another assistant said.

  “Good. Have all of the reserve citadel forces on standby and ready to replace those active as soon as possible. I want those citadels moving throughout the day and night in order to defeat these portal groups,” Josh said.

  “Yes sir!” The two assistants turned back to their work as Josh looked toward the Jakan citadel.

  A red and blue streak left the citadel and headed for the flying citadels.