by Aaron Oster
“But how could a mortal do so much damage?” Katherine asked, looking both worried and angry. “I thought it was impossible.”
“I don’t know,” Gwendolyn replied. “One thing was odd about him, though. His looks.”
“How do you mean?” Morgan asked.
“I mean, that while he bore a passing resemblance to you, it was so faint that I hardly recognized him. It was as though someone had taken you and made you the fittest, best-looking and most feral version of yourself, then somehow multiplied it by ten.”
While Morgan’s eyebrows drew together, Herald was just nodding his head.
“I can confirm that that much is true. While he may have once looked exactly like you, his appearance is quite…unique.”
“How, though?” Morgan asked. “And how was he able to injure Gwendolyn so badly? Why draw out the battle so long if he knew he could win from the beginning? And, if he’s that strong, what can we do about it?”
“All questions that I’m afraid I can’t answer,” Herald replied. Before anyone could say anything else, he added, “but I can say something for certain. Morgan is way more powerful than I’d realized or given him credit for. If you lot don’t watch yourselves around him, you’re liable to end up dead, or worse…”
To their credit, none of them asked what could be worse than death. They’d all been through too much to not know the answer to that.
“I guess we need to lay low for a bit,” Morgan finally said. “Our plans are still unfolding accordingly. Meanwhile, we need to come up with a solution to take the other me out of the equation for good. As it stands right now, he poses too great a threat not to.”
The others, even Sarah, nodded in agreement. For once, they were all on the same page. Morgan needed to be stopped, and it was up to them to come up with a plan of action.
1
Morgan sat in a plush office, decorated with all the finery money could buy. The chair was quite comfortable, tilted back at a slight angle and layered in cushions to keep its occupants relaxed for hours on end. Across from him, on the other side of a large desk, sat the Queen of the North Kingdom, who was one of the only people Morgan still truly cared about.
Katherine looked much the same as she had when he’d returned from his mission two weeks prior, though she did appear to be better rested now that he was back. In the time since his return, they’d managed to capture several Faeland spies, though not a single one had given them anything to go on.
Up until now, Katherine had been happy to allow him to rest, relax and train his protégé, Grace, only interrupting to ask him to dinner. She hadn’t been too pushy, for which he was grateful, but the way she continued to dress provocatively and drop subtle hints caused Morgan to dial down his feelings of attraction in her presence. Much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, he was still feeling a bit lonely.
After two years of not being with anyone, it was harder than he’d thought it would be to refuse her advances. And while his time with Grace was helping to mend his broken heart, it wasn’t fulfilling the same needs. Grace was much too young to help him in that way, and even if she were old enough, Morgan viewed her more like a younger sister, or perhaps even as a daughter.
He still had no idea what that was supposed to feel like, and Lumia was oddly silent on the subject. Even as he continued training Grace, Lumia gave him the same advice over and over again. To search his heart and come up with the answers on his own. The problem with that was that he had nothing on which to base those feelings. Even after all this time, there were still new emotions, ones so foreign to him that he simply didn’t know how to interpret them.
Her training was coming along nicely, and while Grace had initially been stubborn and willful, she was now much more willing to listen and learn.
“Morgan?”
Morgan nearly jumped as Katherine’s voice interrupted his train of thought.
“What?” he asked, blinking several times and looking at the woman. “What did you say?”
Katherine just shook her head, giving him a wry smile.
“I swear, you’ve changed over the past couple of years. The old Morgan never drifted off as much as you do. What exactly were you thinking about now?”
“Nothing important,” Morgan replied, tucking his train of thought away to resume at a later time. “Now, where were we?”
“We were discussing your next mission to Faeland and the people you’d be bringing along with you,” Katherine replied.
Morgan was grateful she didn’t press the issue, as he didn’t want to discuss his troubling thoughts and unanswered questions. Especially the ones regarding her.
“Are you sure we need to be acting again so soon?” Morgan asked. “I know we’ve been finding more spies, but judging by the reports from the barrier, the rate of decay seems to be slower than anticipated.”
“It is,” Katherine admitted. “And that’s exactly why we need to go now. Firstly, we need more people on the ground, those who can scout and map the area to give us a better idea of what we’re facing. With Herald’s betrayal, it’s now more important than ever to gather information.”
Morgan felt his brows draw in a bit at that, remembering well their discovery of a spy in their midst. Of all the people they’d expect to betray them, Herald was the very last, which made it all the more shocking. They hadn’t tipped their hand just yet, as a compromised spy was a far more valuable asset than a dead one. If they were to oust Herald and his spies, they would simply cut off the stream of information.
But, if they continued doing what they’d begun, they could continuously feed false information to their enemies, which was far more valuable.
“Now is also the time,” Katherine continued, “to try and gather the ingredients needed to reproduce the miracle injection that Grace brought back with you.”
“Have the alchemists already cracked it?” Morgan asked, leaning forward excitedly.
When they’d been in Faeland, forging Morgan’s weapon with the help of Ivaldi, a dwarven smith, Grace had been injured quite badly. The dwarf, taking pity on her, had given her a special medicine, one that had healed her near-instantaneously. Grace, in her wisdom, had stolen a sample to bring back, giving their alchemists a chance to study and reproduce its magical effects.
“They have, and they haven’t,” Katherine replied, a sour look coming to her face. “They’ve succeeded in isolating all the specific ingredients. The problem is that more than half of them have never even been seen.”
“I’m guessing that means that they only grow in Faeland,” Morgan replied, already knowing where this was going.”
“That’s what they’re guessing,” Katherine replied.
“I’m also guessing this means you’re going to want me to talk to Ivaldi and try to get the secrets out of him.”
“That would be the most convenient,” Katherine said with a nod. “And it would also be the best use of your time.”
“And what about Grace?”
“What about her?”
“I can’t take her with me, not again.”
“Why not?” Katherine asked with a raised eyebrow. “Did she not take care of herself well enough the last time you were there? Or have you forgotten that it was only thanks to her that you managed to drive a literal god off?”
Morgan bit back an immediate retort, fighting down the emotion welling up inside.
“I know you want to protect her, Morgan,” Katherine continued, her voice softening. “But you can’t protect everyone all the time. One day, Grace will grow up and go out on her own, and the best thing you can do for her is to prepare her for that eventuality.”
“But what if I don’t want to?” Morgan asked, staring off into space and thinking of the young girl.
“That is simply the way of the world,” Katherine said, giving him a sad smile. “Everyone grows up, Morgan. Either that or they die. She won’t be around forever, not like…well, you know…”
Morgan did know, though
he was glad she hadn’t said it out loud. The pain of losing Sarah was still immense, and every moment he was forced to spend apart from her was pure agony. But he knew that if he continued on his path and stopped the foreign gods and the forces of Faeland from tipping the balance of power in favor of Chaos, Sarah would return to him.
“So, who will be coming along on this mission?” Morgan asked, blatantly changing the subject before it became too difficult to talk.
“Well, we’ve decided that it would be best to send representatives from every Kingdom, and, after speaking with the various rulers, I have a list of names. Hilda of the East, Marson of the West, Bill from the South and Nembi of the Central. As for the North, you will be our scout, though you’ve already managed to do an adequate job.”
“And where exactly will we be sending our Central Kingdom spy?” Morgan asked.
“To map out the lands of the Beastmen,” Katherine replied. “Since we already have a fair bit of information on them, it will be the least damaging for us to receive false information.”
“When exactly will we be heading out?” Morgan asked, seeing that this mission had already been planned.
He was fine with returning. After all, he had a mission of his own to complete — aside from ending the agents of Chaos, that was. He needed to find the Soul Well, hidden in the heart of Faeland. He had a new skill that he’d be able to access, but only once he found this mysterious well. Morgan had never come across such specific requirements to learn a skill before, so he was extremely eager to see what it could do and find out why the Soul Well was so special.
“In a few days,” Katherine replied. “There are still a few last-minute details to arrange, so until then, you’re free to do as you wish.”
Morgan nodded, glad that they weren’t asking him to head out immediately. He still needed to do some serious training of his own, and Grace was far from prepared to head back. At least, not without a lot more training.
“If that’s all,” Morgan said, already half-rising from his seat. “I’ll just be…”
“Please,” Katherine said, leaning forward in her chair a bit, “sit.”
It wasn’t an order, just a simple request. Morgan could tell by her body language, from the way she was intentionally giving him a view down her already plunging neckline, the way her pulse quickened and by the way she licked her lips, what she wanted to discuss. If he were smart or callous, he might have left out of hand. However, he simply couldn’t do so, not after all they’d been through.
What he needed to do was tell her that he simply wasn’t interested, that she should pursue someone else. But he just didn’t know how to say it. No matter how he thought about it, there wasn’t any way to phrase it that wouldn’t completely crush her. Worse, he wasn’t even sure if what he’d be saying was the truth.
Despite him shoving down his feelings, he knew what he felt for her. However, what he also knew, was that if he gave in, that would be it. There would be no going back, and his betrayal of Sarah’s trust would be gone forever.
“Why don’t you stay for lunch?” Katherine asked. “I have a bit of time off and can…”
“I do have to get going,” Morgan replied before this could go any further. “Got training to do and all that,” he continued, backing up towards the door.
“Aww, can’t you stay, even for just a little?” she asked with a pout. “I feel like you’ve been avoiding me ever since you came back.”
“Not avoiding,” Morgan lied. “Just busy. Grace is still getting a handle on her new supermage skills, and I’ve been spending all of my free time training her.”
“I’m sure she can wait for just another half-hour,” Katherine replied.
“I really do have to go…”
Katherine rose as Morgan reached the door, her tall, curvy form outlined by the clinging material of her outfit. Morgan was very glad he’d pushed his ability to feel attraction as far down as he had, because even from here, it was clear to see that the thin silk top clinging to her chest and stomach was the only thing covering her skin.
There was a time when something like this wouldn’t have even phased him, but Morgan was a different man now. His time alone had given him ample opportunity to come to terms with his emotions, as well as what they meant to him. Even now, with his ability to feel attraction dialed down, it was still difficult to refuse her. It wasn’t only because of her looks that he was having such a hard time, but because of the connection he knew she could offer.
Katherine was more than just a pretty face. She represented something he hadn’t had since Sarah’s death. A companion. Someone who understood his woes and troubles. Someone who could comfort and assure him when things were tough. Someone who would love him for who he was, and not for the power or position he offered. He knew that if he accepted her offer, he could very well be content. But if he did, what would Sarah say when she returned?
Her smiling face flashed in his mind’s eye, and Morgan felt his resolve firm once again. No matter his needs right now, Sarah had to come first. She had given up her life for him, and he would not betray her now.
“Can’t you just…” Katherine began, reaching out a hand as though to stop him.
“See you later,” Morgan said, slipping out the door and almost slamming it shut behind him.
Once out in the corridor, he let out a long breath, fighting to calm his racing heart and focus on what he needed to do next. He was glad to have gotten out of yet another meeting without betraying the woman he loved. Taking a few deep breaths, Morgan purged those thoughts from his mind and began striding down the corridor, heading to where he knew Grace was training.
What he’d told Katherine wasn’t a lie. He did need to check up on her, and there was no better time to do so than the present.
2
Instead of using his Gravity Warp skill to travel to Grace via teleportation, Morgan instead decided to do it the old-fashioned way, by using his own two feet. However, Morgan was never one to waste time, so he pulled up his status as he walked.
Name: Morgan
Advanced Supermage: Rank - 67
Energy to Next Rank - 96,444,209/157,000,000
Ability Advancement - 15,000,000/15,000,000 (Max.)
Ability - Natural Disaster
RP - 7,220/7,220 (Regen - 72.3 per second)
Strength - 700
Agility - 1,048
Constitution - 830
Intelligence - 722
Wisdom - 723
Skills - Hypersonic Flight, Maximum Increase, Maximum Stormforge, Earthen Shift, Nature’s Wrath, Compression, Gravity Tear, Sunblast
Traits - Dense Body Max., Recovery Max., Aura Sense (inherited), Aura Flare (inherited), Perfect Self, Soul Stealer, Suppression (inherited)
Extra - Gravity Storm (7th category), Starbreaker (7th category), Collapsing Star (HyperNova), Shooting Star (Comet), Massive Meteor (2nd category), Continental Crush
Morgan had done a bit of training in the time he’d been back, and though he hadn’t taken it as seriously, he’d still collected a respectable amount of energy. He’d also boosted his attributes a little, finally bringing his Strength over the 700-mark. He was nearing the limits of rank 67 and knew that he’d soon need to push for the next. He’d been focused more on gathering energy to increase his skills and was getting closer to growing their power with each passing day.
Though he typically looked over his skills, traits and extra skill at night, Morgan decided to do so now. Better to look them over when he had the free time, rather than be wasteful.
Skills:
Hypersonic Flight - Manipulate gravity and air to reduce your weight and move through the skies. You can now reach your maximum speed instantaneously. There is no longer a weight limit. For an additional cost, you can briefly increase your speed to hypersonic levels.
Cost - 50 RP per second
Max. Height - 450 Ft
Max. Speed - 250 Ft per second
Hypersonic Speed Cost - 2,800 RP
Duration - 20 Seconds
Cooldown - 24 hours
Maximum Increase - Manipulate gravity and air to maximize your speed and power. (Currently Agility & Strength X4). Additionally, you may draw out the full potential of your inner self for a short period of time for an additional cost. This will give you a massive +25% boost to all your attributes (This stacks with the first effect).
Cost - 700 RP
Duration - 20 seconds
Cooldown - 25 seconds
Increase Cost - 2,500 RP
Duration - 75 seconds
Cooldown - 6 hours
Maximum Stormforge - Manipulate gravity and air to forge solid constructs in the shape of your choice that can be changed, projected and controlled at will. Constructs can now be summoned at a distance and are automatically charged when summoned. You can continually stream RP into a construct for a sustained electrical current.
Cost - 350 RP per construct
Duration - Until dismissed
Electric Current cost - 100 RP per second
Earthen Shift - Shape the earth as you see fit, control it in its many forms. You can now use elements in the ground to your advantage. Finesse increased by 150%.
Cost - 100 RP per second
Nature’s Wrath - Infuse your body with the energy of the world and harness the power of nature from your surroundings. This skill has no time limit but will cause significant strain on the body. It will also drain reiki in ever-increasing amounts the longer it is used.
Cost - 5 RP per second; cost doubles every 10 seconds
Cooldown - 1 hour
Compression - Compress the air however you choose. You can create massive air pockets at will and expand them to the maximum your power will allow in its current state.