Sandqueen (Rise To Omniscience Book 7)

by Aaron Oster

  The day had been long on all of them, so she remained where she was, thinking deep into the early hours of the morning. She remembered well the Morgan of two years ago, and how hard it had been for him to seal Octagon away. She thought about what it had cost him to do so, and how many millions had died along the way. That’s why it was so hard for her to accept that he had just singlehandedly defeated a beast that was pretty close in power, if not just as strong.

  Pentagon must have been a real monster for Morgan to need to destroy an entire city to take her down, and of that, she had no doubts. Katherine had seen the Ruined City, now nothing more than a crater surrounded by walls, as well as the core of the Pinnacle King. It had been the most incredible thing she’d ever seen, and though it was clear that the others wanted it just as much as she did, none had dared try to claim it as their own. Only one person was deserving of that core, and that was Morgan, the supermage who had singlehandedly done the impossible.

  Only when the sun began to peek up over the horizon, heralding a new dawn, did Katherine finally move, pushing back her chair and heading out of the meeting room. There was someone she hadn’t seen in quite some time, and now that she had returned here, she thought she was long overdue for a visit.

  ***

  The door slammed shut behind him as he left the meeting room, and although he couldn’t sense anyone around this late at night, Morgan refused to allow even a hint of the sheer exhaustion he was feeling to show on his face or in his posture. Aside from the mental and physical exhaustion he felt from the use of his Soulstream, there was a new, more immediate exhaustion that he was dealing with, and it was of the type he hadn’t known existed.

  Morgan figured out that it was reiki exhaustion. He had used so much of it while his Soulstream was active, and while his body had been able to handle it at the time, the aftereffects were less than pleasant. Not only that, but the constant injuries and rapid healing left him feeling about ready to drop. Yet Morgan knew he could not go to sleep just yet. There was someone he needed to meet, someone who owed him answers, and he knew exactly where to find him.

  The window he’d been walking toward was pushed open, and he vanished, using his Gravity Warp to enter the chaotic tunnel of color that would take him to his destination. He appeared moments later, standing atop the walls of the Ruined City and looking out over the destruction wrought by his fight with the Pinnacle King. Almost nothing was left past the city walls, just a couple of structures on the far side of the city. Other than that, all that remained was a massive crater, a hole in the earth that went hundreds of feet down and exposed the many layers of the city as a result.

  He had no idea why so many places were hidden beneath this city in particular, but there was one thing he knew for sure. He needed answers, and the only one who could give them to him would be along soon. Taking a look up and down the walls, it was clear that his intended target had yet to make an appearance. That wasn’t an issue, as Morgan could afford to wait.

  He slid to the ground, pulling the spear from his back and draped it across his knees. Then, he pulled the shining core from his Spatial bag and read over its description once more.

  Name: Core of Pentagon the Desiccator, Pinnacle King of Drought

  Rank - 51

  Total available energy - 1Bn/1Bn

  New skill - Sand Cyclone

  This core was taken from Pentagon, the Pinnacle King of Drought. Created by Samuel, the god of Somerset, Pentagon and her siblings were born for one purpose — to destroy the Kingdoms in which they were placed. Killing a Pinnacle King is no easy feat, and to those who accomplish such a momentous task, the ultimate reward is bestowed. The amount of energy available is the highest one may possibly receive in the Five Kingdoms, as well as a new skill, learned upon the first absorption.

  For just a few moments, Morgan debated putting the core away, but he knew that an opportunity like this one would be rare, and he shouldn’t squander it. Absorbing it all at once would be a mistake, as while it would boost him several ranks, he’d miss out on the growth in-between. He was confident that he’d done all he could at rank 69, so moving up one more would only be prudent.

  A sharp intake of air was the only sound that came from him as he moved up, his muscles strengthening that little bit more, and his capacity to growing along with it. Along with it came the knowledge bestowed on him by the new skill, and though he was hardly in the mood, Morgan opened its description.

  Sand Cyclone - Manipulate the earth and wind to create powerful tendrils of whirling sand. These tendrils may be extended from your body or the ground. Turning to points, they have incredible piercing power.

  Cost - 150 RP

  Though he was tempted to stand and try out the new skill, his lack of enthusiasm for using any reiki at all right now stopped him from doing just that. Instead, he closed the skill’s description and looked over his status.

  Name: Morgan

  Advanced Supermage: Rank - 70

  Energy to Next Rank - 0/230,000,000

  Ability Advancement - 15,000,000/15,000,000 (Max.)

  Ability - Natural Disaster

  RP - 8,430/8,430 (Regen - 84.7 per second)

  Strength - 723

  Agility - 1,079

  Constitution - 852

  Intelligence - 843

  Wisdom - 847

  Skills - Hypersonic Flight, Maximum Increase, Maximum Stormforge, Earthen Shift, Nature’s Wrath, Compression, Gravity Tear, Sunblast, Sand Cyclone

  Traits - Dense Body Max., Recovery Max., Aura Sense (inherited), Aura Flare (inherited), Perfect Self, Soul Stealer, Suppression (inherited)

  Extra - Gravity Breaker (10th category), Collapsing Star (HyperNova), Shooting Star (Inferno), Massive Meteor (2nd category), Continental Crush, Soulstream

  His status closed, leaving Morgan to stare into the night sky. All the way out here, with no cities nearby, he could see the stars for miles around. The air escaped his lungs in a long exhalation, the sigh leaving him before he had a chance to give it any conscious thought. He was tired and not just physically.

  He was tired of all the fighting. The constant death was weighing on him in a way it never had before, and the longer he remained without Sarah, the harder it became to keep going, to keep pushing forward and to stay motivated in what he was doing.

  “My, don’t you sound all glum? Why the long face?”

  “Nice to see you, too,” he muttered, half-turning his head to stare at the man who he’d been waiting on. “Would it have killed you to be here when I arrived?”

  “Well, I’m sort of in the middle of something else right now, and stopping in the middle of training is never an easy thing.”

  “You, training?” Morgan asked, letting out a snort. “For what possible reason would you want to…?” he trailed off, his tired mind finally grasping what the man had said. “Wait…You’re training someone else?”

  “What?” Gold asked with a shrug, giving him one of his usual cocky smiles. “Did you think you were the only one I’d ever train?”

  “Well, no, but I’d just assumed…” Morgan trailed off once more, shaking his head in annoyance.

  They were getting off-topic, something which Gold seemed to be a master of. This was a typical tactic of his, redirecting the conversation as soon as he arrived so that Morgan would forget the original reason he’d tracked him down. Well, not this time.

  “What did you do?” he asked, rising to his feet.

  “My, what an abrupt change of topic,” Gold said airily. “As to what I’ve done, I’m afraid you’ll have to be a bit more specific.”

  “To the spear,” Morgan snapped, shoving the gleaming length of Godsteel in the man’s face. “What the hell did you do?”

  “I’m afraid I don’t know what you…” Gold began once more, but Morgan was having none of it.

  “No, Gold. No lies. No Bullshit. None of your usual games! I’ve seen Sarah three times since visiting the Soul Well, and while I might have accepted seeing he
r twice, three times is one too many to be a coincidence. So, tell me. What the hell have you done?”

  It wasn’t just the fact that he’d seen her more than once, but that he’d seemingly blanked out before doing so. Not only that, but he’d noticed the same odd details the last couple of times. Mainly the silvery mist that seemed to permeate the air, as well as his proximity to the weapon each time. The fact that the spear seemed to be alive and have a consciousness of its own also told him that something was definitely off.

  And, seeing as neither he nor Ivaldi had done anything, the only remaining culprit was Gold. The man always did things without consulting him, and many times, those things had a direct impact on him as a result.

  “Fine,” Gold agreed, much to Morgan’s surprise. “I’ll tell you what you want to know. But only on one condition.”

  Morgan resisted the urge to punch the man, or, better yet, run him through with the spear. He might be a god, but he wouldn’t survive if he were stabbed with it.

  “And what would that condition be?” he asked, trying to keep the anger from his voice.

  “I would like you to meet someone.”

  “That’s it? Just meeting someone?”

  “That’s it,” Gold confirmed.

  Morgan did not want to go anywhere else tonight. All he’d wanted to do was come out here, get some answers and then go to sleep. But in hindsight, he should have expected as much. When it came to Gold, nothing was ever that simple.

  “Fine,” he said, after a few seconds. “But you’d better keep your word this time. No weaseling out of it or giving me half-truths. You’ve messed with the wrong thing this time, and if I am not one-hundred-percent satisfied with your answer, I will kill you.”

  Morgan wasn’t saying this as an idle threat. If Gold had jeopardized Sarah’s revival, he would kill him without a second thought. Sure, he may very well lose his life if he attacked the god, but if Sarah wasn’t going to be coming back because of what he’d done, Morgan saw no point in continuing on. He’d very nearly killed a god before – though he hadn’t actually finished the job – and he had the utmost confidence in himself that he could do so again.

  “I promise that I will give you the full answer,” Gold replied, in an uncharacteristically serious tone.

  Morgan let out a grunt in reply, then slung the spear over his shoulder and approached the man. He didn’t bother asking where they were headed, as Gold wouldn’t tell him. It didn’t really matter either way, as he would be finding out momentarily. The man clapped a hand on his shoulder, and an instant later, Morgan found himself standing in an icy wasteland, the wind tearing at his clothes as a blizzard howled all around them.

  Cold like this didn’t bother him at all, though he had no idea where in the world he could be. As far as he knew, even the furthest reaches of the North weren’t this cold at this time of year. In fact, it would be nearly downright pleasant there. Wherever they were, they were either off Somerset altogether, or in a part of the world that he’d never visited before. Either way, he was going to find out, and like with his questions about Sarah, Morgan was not going to let this go without getting a proper explanation.

  “Follow me,” Gold called, starting to trudge through the calf-deep snow.

  Morgan did as he was told, crunching through the white powder after the man and doing his best to ignore the wind whipping at his hair and tearing at his clothes. It was more an annoyance than anything else, but still unpleasant, nonetheless. They continued trekking for nearly thirty minutes, walking uphill all the way.

  More than once, he was tempted to just float up and use his Flight skill, but reiki exhaustion stopped him from pursuing that course of action. What he didn’t know was why Gold had insisted on appearing all the way down here, instead of at their destination. But whatever the reason, Morgan would make sure he included it in that explanation he was owed. The hill finally began to level off, and through the whirling wall of wind and snow, Morgan began to hear something.

  A low, grunting sound, followed by swishing, reached him. Small flashes of light illuminated his surroundings, barely visible through the snow, and Morgan began to feel a distinct sense of power from up ahead. However, it was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. The structure of the power seemed all wrong. The flow of energy was strange, and the way it moved and twisted felt unnatural. Morgan had no idea who this person was, but the closer he got, the more his curiosity grew.

  Then, as they passed under a tall stone archway, the storm suddenly dissipated, leaving him a clear view of the landscape ahead. The moon shone bright and full in the sky above, painting the snow a light blueish purple. The landscape itself was strange and almost surreal, extending about fifty yards before him and to either side, before ending in a cliff.

  And there, standing near the very edge, was a man, one who was bare-chested and spinning the strangest-looking weapon he’d ever seen. It was whirling arcs, reflecting the moonlight off its strange, green-brown surface. Though he’d seen many types of metal in his time, the metal that this man’s weapon was made of was completely foreign and shone with an odd inner brilliance of its own.

  The man was tall, nearly the same height as him, and completely covered in corded muscle. He was bulkier than Morgan and had a wider frame. His chest was broader, as were his shoulders. In him, Morgan could see the clear signs of a life spent working. The man finished a wide sweep of his weapon as they approached, then turned, grounding the spiked end and looking toward the two of them.

  “Morgan,” Gold said, stopping a couple of feet away from the man, “I would like to introduce you to a very important guest of mine. He’s traveled quite a way to be here, and I thought that since he’ll be leaving soon, the two of you should be acquainted.”

  Morgan stared back as the strange man looked him over, his stormy-gray eyes trying to dissect him, just as he was trying to do the exact same.

  “This,” Gold continued, clapping his hand on the man’s shoulder, “is Arbor. I think the two of you will get along nicely.”

  Afterword

  What’s up, Super-People?! Thanks for reading yet another one of my books and allowing me to continue to do the work I love! You’re all awesome (obviously), but you know how you can be even awesomer? By leaving a review, of course. While we didn’t quite make it with Silverspear, I know we can do it this time!

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  Thank you in advance, and I hope to see you all back for the next one!

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goes out to my two beta readers, Josh and DJ. You guys rock!

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  Coming Next

  Pal-Tee Planet: Book 2 (October 1st)

  The Rules: Book 3 (October)

  Buryoku: Book 4 (November)

  Series by Aaron Oster

  Rise to Omniscience

  Supermage: Book One

  Starbreak: Book Two

  Skyflare: Book Three

  Solarspire: Book Four

  Stormforge: Book Five

  Silverspear: Book Six

  Sandqueen: Book Seven

  Book Eight TBA

  Buryoku

  Power: Book One

  Light: Book 2

  Water: Book 3

  Book Four coming November 2020

  The Rules

  Somerset: Book One

  Pendrackon: Book Two

  Book 3 coming October 2020

  Land of the Elementals

  Rampage: Book One

  Emerald: Book Two

  Origin: Book Three

  Book Four TBA

  Pal-Tee Planet

  Giantlands: Book One

  Book 2 Coming October 1st 2020

  All dates are only an estimate and are subject to change. Please check my social media for any and all updates.